CAN ZIP CODE SERVICE AREAS INCREASE LOCAL RANKINGS IN CORRESPONDING AREAS?

Our hypothesis is that targeting specific zip codes around our primary area of operation, but not including our actual zip code, would positively influence our local search rankings and visibility in those targeted areas. This approach was based on preliminary observations that suggested a potential correlation between the defined service area in a Google Business Profile (GBP) and its local search engine results page (SERP) performance. We theorized that by strategically selecting zip codes near but outside our actual location, we could manipulate our GBP’s visibility to increase in those areas, potentially leading to higher rankings and more localized traffic from the targeted zones. Conversely, we also considered the possibility that such adjustments might lead to a decrease in visibility within our original location or other areas not included in the updated service area settings, reflecting a trade-off between broadening our reach and maintaining existing local dominance.

We ran tests late last year where we saw a slight correlation between the service area and listing rankings in different areas. Although these results were limited and hard to measure, we could still see results. During this time we also ran tests changing various service areas to zip-code-targeted service areas, as well as a few other variations, but didn’t find any conclusive data.

After the question came up on the vault however we decided to run another test….

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