Google Announces January 2026 Local Search Ranking Changes

Google has begun rolling out changes to how local search results are ranked, and small businesses should pay close attention. The January 2026 update emphasizes three key factors: review recency and velocity, service-area precision, and mobile page experience.

Here is what we know so far and how to respond.

What Is Changing

Review Velocity Now Weighs More Heavily

Google has signaled for years that reviews matter for local rankings. What is new in this update is the increased weight given to review velocity — the rate at which your business receives new reviews. A business with 200 reviews but none in the last three months may now rank below a competitor with 50 reviews that gets two or three per week.

This is not about gaming the system. Google wants to surface businesses that are actively serving customers and earning feedback in real time.

Service-Area Boundaries Get Stricter

For service-area businesses (plumbers, landscapers, cleaning services, etc.), Google is tightening how it matches businesses to searcher locations. Overly broad service areas that span entire metro regions may see reduced visibility in favor of businesses with more precisely defined territories.

If you cover a specific set of cities or neighborhoods, make sure your Google Business Profile reflects that accurately rather than casting the widest possible net.

Mobile Experience Signals Increase

Google has used mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor for years, but the January update appears to give additional weight to Core Web Vitals performance on mobile devices. Local businesses with slow, clunky mobile sites may notice a dip in their local pack visibility.

How to Respond

Audit your review pipeline. If you do not have a systematic way to request reviews after every job or transaction, set one up this week. A simple follow-up text or email with a direct link to your Google review page is all it takes.

Tighten your service area. Log in to your Google Business Profile and review your service-area settings. Remove areas you do not actively serve. It is better to rank well in your core territory than to rank poorly across a sprawling region.

Test your mobile speed. Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights and address any critical issues. Focus on largest contentful paint (LCP) and cumulative layout shift (CLS) — these are the metrics Google cares about most.

Want a detailed look at your site's search performance? Semrush offers comprehensive site audit and position tracking tools that make it easy to monitor how these ranking changes affect your business.

The Bigger Picture

This update continues Google’s long-term trend of rewarding businesses that are genuinely active, accurately represented, and technically sound. There are no shortcuts here. The businesses that consistently serve customers well, collect feedback, and maintain their online presence will continue to win in local search.

If you have been putting off your local SEO housekeeping, January is the month to get serious about it.