Hawk update (2017): the unconfirmed local filter change

What was reported#

Google never confirmed this update, and never named it. Local search consultant Joy Hawkins reported it in Search Engine Land on 8 September 2017, noting that her observations were “based on an analysis of how local results have changed rather than on any official announcement.” She wrote that she had “dubbed” the update Hawk, and that the local search community “settled on the name ‘Hawk’ for this algorithm update, because hawks eat possums.”

The name points back to the 2016 Possum update. Google filters local listings that look similar to ones already ranking, and Hawkins reported that Possum had started filtering businesses simply because they were physically near a similar business. Her reported observations about Hawk, which Google did not confirm, were:

• The proximity filter became stricter, so fewer nearby businesses were filtered out.
• Listings that shared an address or building were still being filtered.
• The change affected local results only, with no impact on regular organic results.

When it rolled out#

There is no Google date. Hawkins dated the change to 22 August 2017, and said she could pin it down because her rank tracking took daily screenshots, and several unrelated cases changed on that day. That is the date used here. No end date exists.

What is known about its impact#

Nothing from Google. With no confirmation, there are no Google figures on how many searches or businesses were affected. Hawkins gave examples of individual businesses that reappeared in local results after being filtered since Possum, but those are case studies, not measurements.

What site owners should do#

Google’s current local ranking guidance applies, whatever Hawk was. Google says local results are based mainly on three factors:

• Relevance: how well a Business Profile matches the search. Provide complete, detailed business information.
• Distance: how far the business is from the searcher, or from the location Google infers.
• Prominence: how well-known the business is, including links to its website and the number of reviews and ratings.

Google also says “there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.” If a listing vanishes from local results for some searches, check whether a similar business shares its address or sits very close by before assuming a penalty.

How to check whether it affected you#

This is historical. Search Console keeps only 16 months of data and never covered local pack rankings, so use archived local rank tracking or Google My Business insights from August and September 2017, if you kept them. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists the confirmed updates around it.

Related updates#

• The Possum update introduced the proximity filtering Hawk adjusted.
• The Pigeon update was an earlier major local search change.
• The November 2021 local search update was a later local change.