How to Fix: Profile Not Ranking / Visibility Drop #
Sharp drop in impressions, calls, and direction requests without making any profile edits.
Step-by-Step Solution #
Step 1: Diagnose the Issue #
Check your Insights for:
- When did the drop occur?
- Which searches are affected?
- What actions decreased (views, calls, directions)?
Step 2: Audit Relevance Signals #
Profile completeness:
- Business name, address, phone
- Categories (primary + additional)
- Business description
- Hours
- Services/products
- Attributes
- Photos
Keyword optimization:
- Does your business description mention your services?
- Are categories accurate?
- Do you have relevant services listed?
Step 3: Audit Distance Signals #
Location factors:
- Is your address correct?
- Are you set up as service-area vs. storefront correctly?
- Do you serve the areas you’re trying to rank in?
- Check competitor locations (are they closer?)
Step 4: Audit Prominence Signals #
Review profile:
- Total number of reviews
- Recent review velocity (getting new reviews?)
- Average star rating
- Review responses
Citation consistency:
- Check your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) on:
- Your website
- Yelp, Yellow Pages, BBB
- Industry directories
- Fix any inconsistencies
Website factors:
- Does your website mention your location/service areas?
- Is it mobile-friendly?
- Does it load quickly?
- Is it linked from your GBP?
Step 5: Check for Technical Issues #
- Profile suspended or disabled?
- Duplicate listings diluting your rankings?
- Verification status okay?
- Any recent Google algorithm updates?
Step 6: Competitive Analysis #
Look at top-ranking competitors:
- How many reviews do they have?
- What categories are they using?
- How complete are their profiles?
- What are they doing that you’re not?
Step 7: Take Action to Improve #
Quick wins:
- Get more reviews (ethically)
- Add missing photos (interior, exterior, team)
- Complete all profile sections
- Post weekly updates
- Respond to all reviews
- Add/update services
Long-term strategies:
- Build citations in relevant directories
- Improve website content and local SEO
- Get backlinks to your website
- Increase brand mentions online
- Build consistent review velocity
Common Ranking Drop Causes #
- Competitor opened closer to search location
- Lost reviews or had reviews filtered
- Google algorithm update
- Name or category change
- Suspension then reinstatement
- Duplicate listing created
- Seasonal search volume changes
Official Resources #
Need Professional Help? #
Ranking and visibility issues can be complex:
- Contact me directly → - I can do a complete audit and optimization
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