Google has confirmed that it ran a local search ranking update between November 30th and December 8th, named the November 2021 local search update. The company noted that this update involved the “rebalancing of various factors” in generating local search results.
Why we care. You may have noticed significant changes in local rankings on Google Maps and local pack results. This update, alongside the new local interface, could have affected traffic to your business or client businesses.
Now, it’s confirmed by Google that there were both a significant user interface change to the local pack results and a local ranking update during the same period.
The confirmation. Google confirmed this via Twitter:
Local SEOs called it. The local SEO community noticed these changes, which is likely why Google confirmed the update after its completion. A recent story highlighted local fluctuations, and Google confirmed the update two weeks after its rollout began and a week after it concluded.
Here is Danny Sullivan of Google initially saying there was nothing to confirm, and later providing confirmation.
Timing. Note the timing: This update occurred right before the holidays, overlapping with the conclusion of the November 2021 core update on November 30th and the start of the December product reviews update on December 1st.
More on Google updates
Other Google updates this year. This year, Google confirmed several updates, while others were not acknowledged. In chronological order, these updates included: The July 2021 core update, the rollout of Google MUM in June for COVID names with a light expansion in September, the June 28 spam update, the June 23rd spam update, the Google page experience update, the Google predator algorithm update, the June 2021 core update, the July 2021 core update, the July link spam update, and the November spam update. Additionally, the December 2021 product reviews update commenced on December 1st.
Previous core updates. The most recent prior core update was the November 2021 core update, which rolled out quickly. It followed the July 2021 core update, which also had a swift rollout, and the June 2021 core update, which was slower but substantial. Before that, the December 2020 core update was notably large, bigger than the May 2020 core update. January 2020 saw another core update followed by the September 2019 core update. The latter was perceived as weaker by many SEOs and webmasters, having less impact than prior updates. Google also had a specific update in November focusing on local rankings. More information on past Google updates is available.
