9 Common Local SEO Myths People Follows

We often hear things in the SEO community which are widely believed, but ultimately untrue. So we wanted to address some of this misinformation by forming a list of the most local SEO myths that we hear most.

• Getting rid of your info on Google My Business removes your business’ listing from Google Search.

A lot of business owners wonder how they can get rid of similar listings on Google Search. A common misconception is that they can delete their duplicate listing by getting rid of it on their Google My Business account. Wrong. Unfortunately, deleting a listing will just mark it as unverified. An article found in the Google help center verifies that even though the listing may be no more, Google may still keep information concerning your business

• Not claiming your listing means it doesn’t rank on search engines.

Sometimes people receive Robo calls saying that if their website is not currently claimed that it won’t show up on the search engines. However, a lot of times this information is not coming from professional sources in the industry.



This is another one of those local SEO myths. Most of the time, it’s someone trying to scam you into buying your way onto Google or another search engine. That’s not how it works. Don’t fall for the scams. Often times, even unverified listings will beat out verified ones on Google. It all depends on how well your page is optimized.

• Certain “professional” listings can be removed from Google.

Listings for professional services (doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, etc.) are often created automatically by Google. Owners of these professional practices usually do not like these, and would rather set up their own listings on Google. However, there are only two ways Google will get rid of these listings:

(1) If the professional practice does not qualify for a listing, Google will remove all outstanding listings.

(2) Google will remove “solo practitioners” from its listings. That means if your practice only has one professional, Google will remove the practice from its listings.

4. Adding to Google+ will improve your page ranking.

The SEO Geeks have dispelled this latest in the local SEO myths: Basically, the only way for people to find your business’ Google+ page is for them to specifically search for your business by name. Being active on Google+ will not help your overall ranking with Google.

• Mapping can be worked on apart from organic search engine optimization.

However, you optimize your site organically will always affect your Google Maps optimization. The organic and local SEO rankings of your business go hand-in-hand. It’s basically the same. They are directly connected. Search show that 75% of local listings also show up as organic searches on the first page.

6. Google and their employees are the end-all-be-all when it comes to ranking on search engines.

Google is often touted as the king of the web. And while this may be true—they are number one on Alexa rankings—not everything Google and their employees say are set in stone. Here are some ways Google has contribute to local SEO myths:

(1) Matching listings will be deleted eventually.

(2) Advice from Google support representatives: Contributing to Google+ will increase site traffic and your rankings.

(3) Modify your business description if you want to rank well, locally.

Look to what the SEO pros say instead of trusting someone over the phone from the Google support team.

7. You’ll rank in nearby towns by increasing your service area.

A feature allows business owners using Google to set their radius of business—or how far they are willing to travel to see a customer. It’s common for people to set a large radius thinking that they will rank higher in nearby towns. This is, of course, untrue. You will only rank in the area listing your business address.

8. When moving your business, you need to list the old location as closed.

This is actually inconclusive as far as Google in concerned. Google Maps will list the location as permanently “closed” when people search for your business on the Internet. However, if you have a verified listing on Google My Business, all you need to do is edit your business address in your settings. The key is that you want to make sure your previous address is marked “moved.”

9. Google shows everything on your Google My Business.

There are a lot of ways to customize your information on your GMB page. However, Google will draw data from a great many sources when looking for information on your business. Your GMB page is just one of those sources.

Google will most likely gather its data from your business’ website, Google Maps, and other third-party sources (like reviews, forums, etc.) There have been scenarios in which Google will list the wrong business hours for a location because their algorithms were not able to read the business website properly. So the key is to make sure Google can understand the information displayed on your page.

Are you shocked to find out about any of these local SEO myths? Did we miss any myths backed by Google or some of the SEO experts? If so, we’d love to hear about it! Please tell us in the comments below.