{"id":658767,"date":"2025-03-25T17:50:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T14:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/"},"modified":"2025-03-25T17:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T14:50:19","slug":"how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/","title":{"rendered":"How geotagging photos affects Google Business Profile rank: Study"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a32f16f12a5b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a32f16f12a5b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#How_does_geotagging_photos_affect_local_SEO_A_10-week_study_reveals_surprising_effects_on_%E2%80%98near_me_vs_city-based_Google_ranking\" >How does geotagging photos affect local SEO? A 10-week study reveals surprising effects on &#8216;near me&#8217; vs city-based Google ranking.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#The_geotagging_debate\" >The geotagging debate<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Methodology_and_testing\" >Methodology and testing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#The_control_period\" >The control period<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Findings\" >Findings<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Service_city\" >Service + city<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Service_near_me\" >Service + near me<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Service_near_me_CoA\" >Service + near me (CoA)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Service_city_ATRP\" >Service + city (ATRP)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Service_near_me_ATRP\" >Service + near me (ATRP)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Service_city_SoLV\" >Service + city (SoLV)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Service_near_me_SoLV\" >Service + near me (SoLV)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-geotagging-photos-affects-google-business-profile-rank-study\/#Final_thoughts\" >Final thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_does_geotagging_photos_affect_local_SEO_A_10-week_study_reveals_surprising_effects_on_%E2%80%98near_me_vs_city-based_Google_ranking\"><\/span>How does geotagging photos affect local SEO? A 10-week study reveals surprising effects on &#8216;near me&#8217; vs city-based Google ranking.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\n<p>How does adding coordinates to the EXIF data affect local rank? Our team wanted to find out. That\u2019s why we recently conducted a 10-week study on the effects of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/evergrowmarketing.com\/geotagged-image-ranking-effect-google-profile-research-study\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">geotagging for local rank<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The geotagged images seemed to only affect the ranking for \u201cnear me\u201d queries in the areas the EXIF data coordinates specified. Their impact on those queries in those areas was positive and statistically significant.<\/p>\n<p>However, the study also found that queries that mentioned specific towns saw a decrease in ranking during the same period.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, when EXIF data targeted Salt Lake City, Utah, the query [lawn care near me] saw a significant increase in rank.<\/p>\n<p>For the same targeted area, the query for [lawn care salt lake city utah] saw, on average, decreases in rank.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-geotagging-debate\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_geotagging_debate\"><\/span>The geotagging debate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>SEOs have argued for years about whether adding coordinates to image EXIF data (known as geotagging) affects a business\u2019s Google Business Profiles (GBP) rank.<\/p>\n<p>The theory is that if a business owner or customer takes a photo from their phone and uploads it to a GBP, Google reviews the EXIF (metadata) of that image and uses the location of where it was taken as a ranking signal.<\/p>\n<p>Phones automatically use location details to input EXIF data on each photo taken from the device.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s speculated that Google uses the EXIF location data before s<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>ping it.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface, it makes sense.<\/p>\n<p>However, skeptics don\u2019t believe Google does this. This is because this data can easily be manipulated using any free EXIF editor.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"373\" height=\"491\" alt=\"Exif Editor\" class=\"wp-image-453545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor.png.webp 373w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor-257x338.png.webp 257w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor-86x113.png.webp 86w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor.png.webp\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"373\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor.png.webp\" alt=\"Exif Editor\" class=\"wp-image-453545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor.png.webp 373w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor-257x338.png.webp 257w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/exif-editor-86x113.png.webp 86w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Google\u2019s John Mueller said it was<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/bigseo\/comments\/132fha6\/comment\/ji5ngce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> unnecessary for SEO<\/a> purposes, two years ago on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reddit<\/a>. <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cNo need to geotag images for SEO.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mueller also told me he didn\u2019t know much about what GBPs do, in February <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/jakehundley.bsky.social\/post\/3libhgfbmrm27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1397\" alt=\"John Mueller Exif Gbp\" class=\"wp-image-453546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp.png.webp 1080w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-261x338.png.webp 261w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-464x600.png.webp 464w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-87x113.png.webp 87w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-768x993.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1397\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp.png.webp\" alt=\"John Mueller Exif Gbp\" class=\"wp-image-453546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp.png.webp 1080w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-261x338.png.webp 261w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-464x600.png.webp 464w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-87x113.png.webp 87w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/john-mueller-exif-gbp-768x993.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\"><\/figure>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Joy Hawkins, owner and president of local SEO agency Sterling Sky,<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sterlingsky.ca\/geotagging-photos-impact-ranking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> performed a test<\/a> on this in January 2024. She tested five GBP locations and saw no measurable increases over several weeks.<\/li>\n<li>A month later, consultant Tim Kahlert, CEO of Hypetrix,<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hypetrix.com\/blog\/geotagging-images-google-business-profile\/\"> performed a test<\/a>. He also concluded that \u201cthis tactic currently has no effect on local rankings.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These tests were better than nothing, but still weren\u2019t enough. Plus, the sample sizes of the locations tested were quite small.<\/p>\n<p>Those who say geotagging works <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/localranking.com\/blog\/does-geotagging-photos-help-seo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">never post their data<\/a> or case studies, only offering anecdotal evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Geotaggers aren\u2019t publishing their tests and skeptics aren\u2019t conducting them at scale. Google flip-flopping on their position doesn\u2019t help either.<\/p>\n<p>It was time this test was done justice.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-methodology-and-testing\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Methodology_and_testing\"><\/span>Methodology and testing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Our test included 27 of our lawn care business clients. All SEO efforts were paused for the sole purpose of this test.<\/p>\n<p>Every week on Tuesday and Thursday, we would post a client-owned image to their GBP (two images per week).<\/p>\n<p>We then selected two towns in their service area grid that needed improvement. We based these on a baseline report taken from Local Falcon at the beginning of the test period. We kept these towns moderately far apart to avoid any kind of bleedover.<\/p>\n<p>In this example, we might have selected \u201cLittle Falls\u201d and \u201cGarrisonville.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" alt=\"Service Areas\" class=\"wp-image-453547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas.png.webp 500w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas-338x338.png.webp 338w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas-113x113.png.webp 113w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas-95x95.png.webp 95w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas.png.webp\" alt=\"Service Areas\" class=\"wp-image-453547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas.png.webp 500w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas-338x338.png.webp 338w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas-113x113.png.webp 113w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/service-areas-95x95.png.webp 95w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>During the test period, coordinates would be added to the EXIF data of the images. On Tuesday\u2019s image, we\u2019d add the center of Little Falls. On Thursday\u2019s image, we\u2019d add the center of Garrisonville.<\/p>\n<p>We ran a report, monitored position changes, and charted them, every week<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"569\" alt=\"Position Changes\" class=\"wp-image-453548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes.png.webp 1024w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-600x333.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-800x445.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-200x111.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-768x427.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"569\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes.png.webp\" alt=\"Position Changes\" class=\"wp-image-453548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes.png.webp 1024w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-600x333.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-800x445.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-200x111.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/position-changes-768x427.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n<p>For each location, we tracked three keywords. Following the example above, we tracked:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cLawn care garrisonville\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cLawn care little falls\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cLawn care near me\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For [lawn care near me] we monitored how it affected position changes in both of the target towns.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-control-period\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_control_period\"><\/span>The control period<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Establishing a proper control period was crucial.<\/p>\n<p>The control period had to run for the same duration as the test period (five weeks). To establish consistency and isolate variables, we:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Maintained the image posting schedule. This ensured adding images on different days didn\u2019t influence rank.<\/li>\n<li>Stripped all EXIF data to ensure the only variables in the test period were the coordinates.<\/li>\n<li>Monitored the same keywords to set a baseline.<\/li>\n<li>Paused all SEO efforts for all 27 locations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We continued as normal when the control period ended. The only change was adding town #1\u2019s coordinates to Tuesday\u2019s image and town #2\u2019s coordinates to Thursday\u2019s image.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-findings\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Findings\"><\/span>Findings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most of what we found validated the skeptics\u2019 statements. But that doesn\u2019t mean we ignored the geotaggers.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-service-city\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Service_city\"><\/span>Service + city<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In our example, when images were geotagged with their coordinates, both Garrisonville and Little Falls saw decreases in rank for \u201clawn care garrisonville\u201d and \u201clawn care little falls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The conclusion? Geotagging had no impact whatsoever.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-service-near-me\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Service_near_me\"><\/span>Service + near me<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This one surprised me \u2013 and it had statistical significance. Garrisonville and Little Falls saw an overall increase in rank for [lawn care near me] queries.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-service-near-me-coa\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Service_near_me_CoA\"><\/span>Service + near me (CoA)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Local Falcon also produces reports on Center of Business Address. This monitors the rank of your target keywords where the business pin is actually located.<\/p>\n<p>The end result: EXIF data had no effect on the business\u2019s actual location for \u201cnear me\u201d queries. Ranking dropped a lot more when EXIF data was added to the images targeting different areas.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-service-city-atrp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Service_city_ATRP\"><\/span>Service + city (ATRP)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Average Total Rank Position is the average position in the target area. This is seen if only adding images targeting those two areas affects the rest of the service area.<\/p>\n<p>The end result: There was no impact. When EXIF data was added for the full-service areas, the average rank of those areas decreased further.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-service-near-me-atrp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Service_near_me_ATRP\"><\/span>Service + near me (ATRP)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The \u201cnear me\u201d queries for ATRP yielded the same result as above.<\/p>\n<p>No impact, yet rankings plummeted further with geotagging.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-service-city-solv\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Service_city_SoLV\"><\/span>Service + city (SoLV)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Share of Local Voice is another metric Local Falcon tracks. It shows how often a location shows in the top 3 positions of the map pack for the target queries.<\/p>\n<p>The results started to deviate from Center of Address and ATRP reports. However, not by much.<\/p>\n<p>The final result was that geotagged images had no impact. However, this time, the ranking didn\u2019t continue to plummet during the test period.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-service-near-me-solv\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Service_near_me_SoLV\"><\/span>Service + near me (SoLV)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We had the same results with \u201cnear me\u201d queries on both images as we did with the [service] + [city] queries.<\/p>\n<p>Geotagged images had no impact here.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-final-thoughts\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_thoughts\"><\/span>Final thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Out of the seven metrics we looked at:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only one saw an improvement.<\/li>\n<li>Six had no impact.<\/li>\n<li>Of those six, four of them saw a decrease in rank when images were geotagged<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1310\" alt=\"Do Geotagged Images Affect Local Google Ranking\" class=\"wp-image-453549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-206x338.png.webp 206w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-366x600.png.webp 366w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-69x113.png.webp 69w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-768x1258.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1310\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking.png.webp\" alt=\"Do Geotagged Images Affect Local Google Ranking\" class=\"wp-image-453549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-206x338.png.webp 206w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-366x600.png.webp 366w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-69x113.png.webp 69w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/03\/do-geotagged-images-affect-local-google-ranking-768x1258.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><\/figure>\n<p>The last five metrics focused on the service area as a whole, not the specific areas where the EXIF data was pointing. <\/p>\n<p>I can draw one main conclusion from this:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Although it helps the \u201cnear me\u201d queries in those targeted areas, it hurts everywhere you don\u2019t add geotagged images.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The solution?<\/p>\n<p>Upload tons of images to every town in the area to combat that. But you\u2019re going to run into two problems if you do this:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Your GBP will be spammed with low-quality images for the sake of adding images.<\/strong> Wouldn\u2019t it be better to just make sure the GBP is using good photos? Adding images for the sake of rank diminishes the user-facing quality.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You\u2019re still losing rank for queries that use the target city in the keyword. <\/strong>It\u2019s a trade-off that only looks at one version of a search term. The other version <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears to have negative consequences.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For these reasons, our agency won\u2019t geotag our clients\u2019 GBP images. Instead, we\u2019ll focus on things that have a greater impact on local rank.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n<p>About the author<\/p>\n<div class=\"information\">\n<div class=\"author-module\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 text-center\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" alt=\"Jake Hundley\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/12\/jake-hundley.jpg.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/12\/jake-hundley.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Jake Hundley\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-9\">\n<div class=\"about\">\n<div class=\"name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Jake Hundley<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"row g-2 pt-2\">\n<div class=\"col-auto twitter\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/follow?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fsearchengineland.com%2F&amp;region=follow_link&amp;screen_name=HundleyJake&amp;tw_p=followbutton&amp;variant=2.0\" rel=\"me\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-x-twitter\"><\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-auto\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jake-hundley\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"><\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tJake Hundley is the founder and co-owner of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cpv-x04.na1.hs-sales-engage.com\/Ctc\/ON+23284\/cpV-x04\/Jks2-6qcW69sMD-6lZ3mSW5Gfwx84Gblk2W2rPCJS17fn-rW3y6g3y81hPPNW567qM77-lbwDW1C1g5K6hzn_7W4jnBs593l6qrW7nCG_l3Yz-HHW3yB3PM1r-y0VV21r098n24LSW2-Jg6r97dzFyVY4VR46JrvdtVbLmK89jmk4HW1c2kn-318SSlW2jhcKk2QKt5GW54tr-L1RNflZW2RT-d645hBmpW8WjqvY84rLxZN57mqF5Gf1d3W8xCDrw7crgfNW2lp1Tj3dGrZPf4pT-B604\">Evergrow Marketing<\/a>, a digital marketing agency that focuses on the lawn care and landscaping industry. Jake also co-hosts The Agency Growth Podcast with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cpv-x04.na1.hs-sales-engage.com\/Ctc\/ON+23284\/cpV-x04\/Jks2-6qcW69sMD-6lZ3n8W7wfsqX2N-RgjN7VxYsrRBGKXW2H5-jR8NPrDfVlVK8q4PcdJ1W86Dcd07NN23fW7y79tp7RG22cW36wcnY2PQLN7W4mGdxx5QphwzW6kkbW-5Rv9vdN97Zl42PRxyYN8zcDpf_GDSbM1WN79c4cTFW69DC2p6sFWhJMZz7913J6vMV2-rKB6GXJz5W58Sk564p9F1TV7pZ3X1q4S6QW3v-HBb4Zds1XW4r6WQ34Y-XS7W2qbdFR54cP08f3t93WR04\">Agency U<\/a>.\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/geotagging-photos-google-business-profile-rank-453525\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How does geotagging photos affect local SEO? A 10-week study reveals surprising effects on &#8216;near me&#8217; vs city-based Google ranking. How does adding coordinates to the EXIF data affect local rank? Our team wanted to find out. That\u2019s why we recently conducted a 10-week study on the effects of geotagging for local rank. The geotagged&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":658768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2021\/08\/maps_local_1920.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[78070],"class_list":["post-658767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}