How Google’s Pigeon Update Affects Apartment Searches

Google recently released a new local algorithm update called Pigeon. What is this change and how does it affect you?

Pigeon (named by SearchEngineLand.com) is Google’s latest algorithm designed to improve localized search results, catering to the age of the smartphone and mobility. The changes mean some search queries are losing local pack results, while others appear to be gaining. Pack results are localized results that appear when someone initiates a search.

Apartment Search with Local Map Pack

Previously, almost any search for an apartment would generate the local map pack view (pictured above). This view includes a map to the right with three local search results to the left.  These local search results would link directly to the individual property website and is Google’s method for displaying many local results in a hybrid map-list form.

However, the Pigeon update has changed all that. For example, the search term “apartment” has lost pack results, while “apartment for rent” or “apartment near [location]” appears to have gained pack results. According to The Whitespark Blog,  there has been “a 23.4% drop in local packs. People have been reporting fluctuation in these results though. One day the term will not show a local pack, and the next day the local pack will be back.”

Google SERP for “apartments in [location]” Post-Pigeon Update

The core changes are behind the scenes, but the results in leads and local packs are evident. “Google told us that the new local search algorithm ties deeper into their web search capabilities, including the hundreds of ranking signals they use in web search along with search features such as Knowledge Graph, spelling correction, synonyms and more,” stated Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Land.com. “This new algorithm improves their distance and location ranking parameters.”

But not everyone is pleased with the results.

“The quality of the SERPs has been downgraded, with “search results within search results” (i.e., listing services) getting rewarded relative to their pre-Pigeon position,” said David Mihm, director of local search strategy at Moz.

According to Nicole Hess, Senior SEO Strategist at Delphic Digital, “Being out of the local pack correlates with a loss of organic traffic for a few locations. A loss of organic traffic is also occurring where listings are competing against paid ads that have star ratings.”

What does this mean for your apartment listing? Search queries revolving specifically around “apartments” now appear to be exclusively showing organic listings, with no map results. Real estate focused search queries involving “apartments” and “homes” are still showing local listings, though it appears to take a combination of long tail keywords and more targeted geography terms like neighborhoods to get the local listings to appear.

Why would Google change results for apartment searches?

It’s quite possible that Google considers general search queries – without the nearby operator – to be earlier in the decision making process or “buyer’s journey”. That is, if a user is searching for an apartment in a city, then she is likely interested in seeing a large list of available properties that she can sort and filter.

Providing access to listing services that specialize in consolidating these listings can prove useful during this research phase. On the other hand, a user that searches for an apartment near a specific location is likely further along in the decision process and more interested in seeing the relatively few choices that are available.

Apartment Renter Buyer’s Journey

So how can you make Pigeon work for you?

• Claim your local Google listing and make sure the data is accurate and complete, including your business location.
• Claim your listing in local relevant directories and listing services, especially those coming up on organic searches.
• Provide consistent data across all your listings, maps and directories.

By optimizing your local listings, you can benefit from Google’s localized focus in your apartment marketing.

But for many multifamily marketers, with the removal of the local pack from so many apartment-related search queries the Pigeon update will deliver fewer visitors from organic search. To replace those prospective renters, you’ll want to examine other acquisition sources and identify cost-effective means for new lead generation, including listing services (which have benefited from this change) and perhaps more expensive tactics like PPC in the case of new property lease ups.

Originally written by Mike Taus. Thanks Mike!

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