Openness local ranking change (2023): what Google confirmed

What Google changed#

Google confirmed the change on 15 December 2023 through its Search Liaison account on X: “we’ve long used ‘openness’ as part of our local ranking systems, and it recently became a stronger signal for non-navigational queries.” In practice, a local search for a type of business became more likely to show places that were open at that moment.

Google explained the distinction in the same thread. Searching for a business name is navigational, because you want that particular business. Searching for a general topic, such as a family lawyer or a plumber, is non-navigational, and that is where openness now counted for more.

When it rolled out#

Google gave no start date, only “recently.” Sterling Sky, a local SEO agency, reported large ranking changes on 7 December 2023 and asked Google about them. It later wrote that its hourly rank tracker showed the change rolled out on approximately 1 November 2023, the date used on this page. The exact day is approximate. Google stated no completion date.

Google did not name the change. Sterling Sky wrote that it “decided this update needs a name” and called it the Openness Algorithm Update. The label on this page follows that description.

What is known about its impact#

Google published no figures. It said the signal “might change in various ways, as we continue to evaluate the usefulness of it.” On 18 December 2023 its Search Liaison agreed that concerns raised by local SEOs, such as people planning ahead rather than searching for somewhere open right now, were good points being discussed with the team.

What site owners should do#

• Keep your Business Profile hours accurate, including special hours for holidays.
• Do not list false hours. Google’s Search Liaison said he “wouldn’t recommend businesses do this, given the ranking signal may continue to be adjusted.”
• Follow Google’s local ranking help page, which says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.

Openness is a local ranking factor, not a separate named system in Google’s ranking systems guide, so there is no retirement status to report.

How to check whether it affected you#

Look for a pattern by time of day: rankings that hold during opening hours and fall away when the business is closed. Business Profile performance data and rank tracking run at different hours show it best. For late 2023, Search Console no longer holds the data, since it keeps 16 months. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists the updates around it, including the November 2023 core update.

Related updates#

• The November 2021 local search update was the previous local change Google confirmed.
• The November 2023 core update began the same month.