Why Your Google My Business Rankings Have Dropped
Picture this moment: You're starting your day like any other, coffee in hand, ready to check your website analytics. But wait, something's wrong. Your traffic has plummeted overnight. The phone that usually rings throughout the day is eerily quiet. Your inbox, typically filled with inquiries, is nearly empty. Those client calls you had scheduled? They're turning into cancellations. What is happening?
As a certified business coach specializing in coaching small business owners, I've been getting panicked calls about this exact scenario for months now. In fact, 47 of my online business coaching clients experienced this same gut-wrenching drop. The strategies that built their businesses, showing up at the top of Google and being visible where their customers search, suddenly stopped working.
So what happened? And more importantly, how can you grow your small business when Google keeps changing the rules without warning?
This is the story of Google's Diversity Update, the rise of AI Overviews, and how these unannounced changes are wiping your business off the Google site.
How Google Turned the Small Business Gold Rush Into a Ghost Town
For years, we all followed the same playbook. Get your business listed on Google. Optimize your website and Google My Business profile. Show up in both the "Local Pack" (that map section at the top) and the regular website listings below. When you nailed this formula, you could essentially double your visibility. More eyes meant more clicks, and more clicks meant more business.
Take Sarah, one of my executive coaching clients in Austin. Her wellness center's website and Google My Business profile both ranked for "wellness coach near me." New clients found her through Google every single week. She'd invested thoughtfully in SEO, gathered glowing reviews, and created helpful content based on the strategies we developed in our coaching sessions. Her business was BOOMING! Her revenue was up 215% from 2023 to 2024.
But in early 2025, Sarah noticed something unsettling during our weekly coaching session.. Her website, which had held that coveted #1 spot in organic results, had mysteriously dropped to page two. Her Google My Business profile still appeared in the Local Pack, but her organic traffic was cut in half. Her usual packed calendar of discovery calls was way down, and she quickly shifted into panic mode.
Sarah wasn't experiencing some isolated glitch. Through my network of business and executive coaches, I discovered this was happening all over the US. A local retailer in Portland, another coaching client, lost 40% of their online orders seemingly overnight. A sales consultant I mentor in Miami watched their inquiry pipeline dry up, even though their Google My Business profile remained visible. A therapist in Denver found their homepage had vanished from Google's first page for searches they'd dominated for years.
Something significant had changed, and it was affecting a large number of small businesses across the US.
The Diversity Update: Google's New Rules That Changed Everything
In August 2024, SEO expert Joy Hawkins started connecting the dots. She noticed that businesses appearing in both the Local Pack and organic results were suddenly losing their organic rankings. After months of testing and collaborating with other experts, she named this shift the "Diversity Update."
Here's what's actually happening in plain English: Google decided it wanted to "diversify" search results, preventing the same business from appearing twice on the first page. If your business shows up in the Local Pack (the map section), Google now actively pushes your website down — or completely off — the regular organic listings for that exact search.
This isn't some minor algorithm tweak we can ignore. It's a major fundamental shift in how Google displays results. For years, the holy grail philosophy was dominating both spots. Now, that same strategy is actually hurting businesses.
As Joy Hawkins from Sterling Sky puts it, "If you link to your homepage on your Google My Business profile, you can expect your homepage to rank less organically."
While Google hasn't officially announced this update, countless SEO practitioners and agencies have confirmed its impact through real-world tracking since August 2024.
Real Stories from the Front Lines of Small Business
Remember Sarah, the wellness center owner in Austin? She'd always linked her Google My Business profile to her homepage, which ranked #1 for "wellness coach Austin."
After the Diversity Update hit, her homepage completely vanished from the first page of organic results. Yes, she still appeared in the Local Pack, but her organic leads dropped by 60%. During our emergency coaching session, we calculated she was losing $12,000 per month in potential revenue.
Tom runs a boutique clothing store in Portland and has been implementing the local SEO strategies from our business coaching sessions religiously. His Google My Business profile and homepage both ranked at the top — until they didn't. Suddenly, his homepage disappeared from organic results for "Portland clothing store." Online orders dropped 40%, and even foot traffic slowed as fewer people discovered his business online. His expansion plans? On hold.
Maria, a sales consultant in my executive coaching program to scale her business, watched her carefully built inquiry pipeline evaporate. She maintained her spot in the Local Pack for "sales consultant Miami," but her website no longer appeared in the organic listings. The steady stream of high-value leads she'd come to depend on stopped. Her quarterly revenue dropped by 35%.
These aren't cherry-picked horror stories. Through my network of certified business coaches across the country, we're seeing similar drops for service providers, retailers, lawyers, consultants, and anyone who relies on Google to drive business to their company. If Google is part of your growth strategy, and let's be honest, for most small businesses, it has to be, you need to understand what's happening.
Why Google Made This Change (And Why It Devastates Small Businesses)
Google claims it wants to "show a wider variety of businesses" in search results. They're positioning this as giving more companies a chance to be seen and preventing any single business from monopolizing both the map and main listings.
But here's what they don't tell you, and what I explain to every client in my business coaching programs for small businesses: this translates to one harsh reality. The "double visibility" strategy we've all been taught is now actively working against us.
This matters because most small businesses can't afford to pay for ads on every relevant search term. In the past, organic Google search results have always been the most cost-effective way to attract new, high-intent customers. When you lose organic visibility, you're not just losing traffic; you're losing credibility, trust, and that steady stream of leads that keeps your business growing.
And here's the kicker: this update doesn't just affect traditional brick-and-mortar stores. If you are a coach, consultant, or service provider who uses Google to reach your clients, you're caught in this net too.
The AI Takeover: Another Layer Crushing Small Business Visibility
As if the Diversity Update wasn't challenging enough, Google has also rolled out AI Overviews (formerly known as SGE — Search Generative Experience). This is what it means for your business's visibility on Google.
When someone searches for "how to grow your small business" or "best HVAC company near me," Google's AI now picks companies and generates a summary answer right at the top of the page. These AI Overviews pull information from a select handful of websites (usually big, authoritative brands) and display it directly, often with a company link.
According to Forbes, AI Overviews can cause a 15 to 64% decline in organic traffic, depending on your industry. In some cases, 60% of searches now result in zero clicks because users get their answers without ever visiting a business's website.
Forbes reported in April 2025 that "Google's AI Overviews have pushed top-ranking links down by as much as 1,500 pixels — equivalent to about two full scrolls on a desktop and three on a mobile device — leading to a notable decrease in click-through rates, even for well-ranked sites."
The harsh reality I share with my business coaching clients? Even if you successfully navigate the Diversity Update, AI Overviews can still make your business invisible to searchers.
The Advertising Trap: Why Paying Google Isn't the Answer
At this point in our coaching sessions, business owners often ask, "Fine, I'll just pay for Google Ads and guarantee my visibility."
Here is what I want to share with you. Google Ads, including Local Search Ads, do appear above both the Local Pack and organic results. If you're willing to open your wallet, you can indeed buy visibility. However, competition for ad slots has become increasingly fierce. Costs per click continue to climb — I've seen some of my coaching clients paying $45 per click for competitive terms. Small businesses are increasingly caught in bidding wars against large brands with substantial marketing budgets, which is significantly impacting how digital ads are ranked and targeted. This will ultimately contribute to a more expensive and competitive advertising landscape in 2025 and onward.
More concerning, relying solely on ads makes your entire business dependent on Google's pricing whims. One algorithm tweak or policy change can upend your strategy and budget overnight. I've watched too many business owners burn through their marketing budgets with little to show for it.
The truth is, organic search remains essential for long-term, sustainable growth. It generates high-intent traffic, fosters brand credibility, and reduces your customer acquisition costs over time. Ads should supplement your organic presence, not replace it.
The Path Forward: Adapting Your Strategy for Long-Term Success
The reality is harsh: Google's Diversity Update and AI Overviews have fundamentally changed how small businesses must approach online visibility. The strategies that worked for years are now actively working against you.
But here's what I've learned as an online business coach with 25+ years of experience. The businesses that adapt quickly don't just survive these changes—they thrive while their competitors struggle to keep up.
Sarah's wellness center? After implementing the strategic pivots we developed in our coaching sessions, she not only recovered her lost traffic but exceeded her previous revenue by 22%. Tom's clothing store discovered new revenue streams that reduced its dependence on Google altogether. Maria's consulting practice now generates higher-quality leads than ever before.
The key isn't panicking or throwing more money at Google Ads. It's about understanding exactly how these changes affect your specific business and implementing a comprehensive strategy that builds sustainable growth, regardless of Google's next algorithm update.
Don't Let Google's Changes Destroy Your Business Growth
If you're experiencing a drop in traffic, leads, and revenue from Google's latest changes, you're not alone. More importantly, you don't have to navigate this alone.
As a certified business coach with over 25 years of experience helping established business owners scale and increase profitability, I've developed proven strategies that work even when Google continually updates its rules.
I'm offering you a Complimentary 45-minute Business Growth Analysis where I'll:
Audit your current performance to identify precisely where the revenue leaks are happening
Pinpoint the specific impact these changes are having on your lead generation and sales
Discuss an action plan to restore and exceed your previous results using Google-proof growth systems
During this complimentary 45-minute business growth analysis, you'll walk away with absolute clarity on what's really happening to your business and a concrete roadmap to fix it, whether we work together or not.
You'll also discover the exact strategies my most successful clients use to build resilient growth systems that thrive regardless of algorithm changes or market shifts.
Please note that I offer only 2 of these intensive sessions per month, so spots fill up quickly.
Don't let Google's changes control your business destiny. The business owners who take action now will be the ones to dominate their markets, while their competitors are still wondering what happened.
