{"id":2058,"slug":"sterling-sky-controlled-tests-debunked-tactics","title":"Sterling Sky controlled tests — GBP posts, geotagged photos, description keywords DON'T move ranking","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["local-seo-mechanics"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Controlled tests by Sterling Sky / Whitespark show:\n\n- **Service-area settings DO NOT extend ranking radius.**\n- The **GBP business description is NOT used in ranking** (Google has confirmed this).\n- **Primary GBP category** does matter.\n- **Open-now status** does matter.\n- **GBP posts produced zero ranking movement** (Sterling Sky 9-week test of 441 keywords).\n- Adding a service term to a business name moved a listing from unranked to position 4 (controlled test, Joy Hawkins) — the most exploitable mechanic.\n\n**Source:** Sterling Sky / Whitespark controlled tests.\n\n**Confidence:** Industry-consensus (controlled mechanic tests, more credible than survey).\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Useful as both a positive (\"primary category matters\") and a negative (\"we don't do posts for ranking\") signal in client work. The widget should not recommend GBP posts as a ranking lever.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-difficulty-to-work-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget difficulty-to-work mapping — three tiers of work for three sizes of gap (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:02.725Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:02.725Z"}