Sterling Sky controlled tests — GBP posts, geotagged photos, description keywords DON'T move ranking

Claim: Controlled tests by Sterling Sky / Whitespark show:

• Service-area settings DO NOT extend ranking radius.
• The GBP business description is NOT used in ranking (Google has confirmed this).
• Primary GBP category does matter.
• Open-now status does matter.
• GBP posts produced zero ranking movement (Sterling Sky 9-week test of 441 keywords).
• Adding a service term to a business name moved a listing from unranked to position 4 (controlled test, Joy Hawkins) — the most exploitable mechanic.

Source: Sterling Sky / Whitespark controlled tests.

Confidence: Industry-consensus (controlled mechanic tests, more credible than survey).

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.