Eight Months In: What Changed for a Wisconsin Flooring Store Since the Seven-Month Case Study

A month ago we published seven months of local SEO for a family-owned flooring showroom in a small Wisconsin lake town. We said we would pull the same numbers every 30 days and show them, up or down. This is the first re-pull. Every number was pulled on October 7, 2026, from the same sources, with its dates next to it.

This is a visibility update. It proves what Google shows, not what the phone did. Some of it went up. A good part went down.

The numbers, in the same order as the case study

Google search, three months against three months. Before we started (November 2025 through January 2026): 299 clicks, 4,807 appearances in United States searches. The case study’s comparison (June through August 2026): 353 clicks, 12,113 appearances. Both still read the same today. The latest three full months (July through September 2026): 353 clicks, 11,329 appearances. The site now shows about 2.4 times as often as before the work. A month ago that was 2.5 times.

Single months. February 2026: 126 clicks, 2,047 appearances. August 2026: 123 clicks, 4,576 appearances. September 2026: 121 clicks, 2,263 appearances.

The three “near me” searches, average position in Google’s search data, June through August → July through September:

• “carpet installers near me”: 4 → 3, on 45 appearances (74 before)
• “carpet stores near me”: 2 → 1, on 33 appearances (30 before)
• “flooring installers near me”: 4 → 4, on 13 appearances (12 before)

Searches on page one. The case study counted 67 searches on page one, 9 of them in first place, for the four weeks ending September 1. That was a hand count we could not rebuild line for line, so we wrote the rule down: average position 10 or better, something the store sells, and not a store name, a manufacturer name, or the same national franchise name in another city. Under that rule the same four weeks (August 5 to September 1) come to 74 searches, 12 in first place, out of 138 unfiltered. The latest four weeks (September 7 to October 4, the last day Google had data for) come to 83 and 22, out of 162. Many were seen only once or twice.

The seven service + their town searches. On September 4 a rank tracker had the site first for all seven. On October 7, four are still first (local flooring store, commercial flooring installation, commercial flooring installation services, laminate floor installation) and three are second (local floor installer, commercial flooring, professional flooring installation).

Searched from inside their town. On September 4 the site was first on 15 of 20 tracked searches and on page one for all 20. On October 7 it is first on 12 of 20 and on page one for 19.

The map grid. September 2 against October 1, same grid both times (49 points, a mile and a half out). Average position per search:

• carpet store: 1.0 → 1.4
• carpet installation: 1.0 → 3.9
• laminate flooring: 1.3 → 2.9
• commercial flooring: 1.4 → 4.6
• waterproof flooring: 1.6 → 1.6
• flooring store: 1.7 → 6.2

“Carpet” held at 1.0 (September 1 and October 2). A correction to the case study: that search runs on its own grid of 39 points, not 49.

The Google listing. From a synced copy of the listing’s numbers, not Google’s own dashboard. August has shifted since we published, so both readings are shown.

• Calls from the Google listing: 30 in February, 25 in August (26 as August reads today), 25 in September
• Direction requests: 66 in February, 44 in August (47 today), 77 in September
• Website clicks from the listing: 71 in February, 82 in August (93 today), 84 in September
• Listing views: 377 in February, 855 in August (886 today), 867 in September
• Listing search appearances: 307 in February, 765 in August (793 today), 764 in September

Reviews. 169 reviews, 4.93 average, every one answered. One new review arrived, on September 26, and it has its reply. The reviews are the store’s own work. Ours is the replies, which our reviews and follow-up service covers.

What went up

Direction requests rose from 44 to 77, above February’s 66. Two of the three “near me” searches moved up a place and the third held. Page-one searches rose from 74 to 83 under the same rule, first-place searches from 12 to 22. In the in-town set, two searches moved up to first: carpet installation + their town (from fifth) and waterproof flooring + their town (from second).

What went down

Search appearances halved in September: 4,576 → 2,263. The three-month figure fell with it, 12,113 → 11,329. Appearances for “carpet installers near me” fell too, 74 → 45. The likely read, not a finding: most of the loss is on desktop (3,131 in August, 1,278 in September), less on phones (1,420 → 963), and clicks barely moved. That fits losing far-down-the-page appearances, including the other-city franchise-name searches the case study said would never click. We have not yet checked it search by search. That is the first job before the next update.

Calls from the Google listing did not recover: 25 in August, 25 in September, against 30 in February. The likely read, not a finding: the same as a month ago. Being shown more has not turned into more taps on the call button. Website clicks from the listing are 84, up two on the August figure we published and down nine on August as it reads today.

The map grid dropped on five of seven searches, hardest on “flooring store,” 1.7 → 6.2. At every point where the store appeared, it was still in the top three. The averages fell because at some points it was outside the top 20 results: 11 of 49 points for “flooring store,” 7 for “commercial flooring,” 7 for “carpet installation,” 4 for “laminate flooring,” 1 for “carpet store.” The likely read, not a finding: this may be one day’s reading rather than a slide. One snapshot cannot tell us which. The grid is read again in early November and we will print what it says.

In town, first place on 15 of 20 became 12 of 20, and three of the seven service + their town searches went from first to second. In town, five searches lost first place: “flooring stores near me” (now third), vinyl flooring (second), flooring contractor (second), tile store (third) and floor covering + their town, which fell to fifteenth and off page one. The likely read, not a finding: one or two places is ordinary movement at the top of a small-town results page, but it is the wrong direction. Floor covering is a real drop, and the page Google now shows for it is the store’s “about” page, the wrong page for that search.

Listing views and listing search appearances are slightly down on today’s reading of August: 886 → 867 and 793 → 764. The likely read, not a finding: ordinary month-to-month variation. We will see if November agrees.

What we are doing next

The next jobs, in order: go through September’s lost appearances search by search, fix which page answers the floor covering search, and check the three slipped service searches against the pages that hold them. That is ordinary local SEO work. The map grid gets read again on the same 49 points in November.

The case study named two open items: roughly 400 product pages sharing one generic title because of a template on the website platform, and calls that start on the website not being counted. We have nothing new to report on either this month. The option on the table is a tracked phone line on the website, the same kind our own AI receptionist runs on. That is the owner’s choice. Until it exists, nobody can say what any of this did to the phone.

We run the same monthly re-pull on our own site.

Common Questions

Why did Google show the site half as often in September?

We don’t know yet. Appearances went from 4,576 in August to 2,263 in September while clicks went from 123 to 121. Most of the loss was on desktop. That fits losing appearances far down the page that nobody was clicking anyway, but that is a likely read and not something we have proven. We are going through it search by search before the next update.

Did the store get more calls this month?

No. Calls from the Google listing were 25 in September, the same as the 25 we published for August and below the 30 in February. That counts only taps on the call button on the Google listing. Calls that start on the website are not counted anywhere yet, so the full picture is unknown.

Is the store still first on the map?

For “carpet,” yes, at every point measured. For most other searches the average slipped between September 2 and October 1. Where the store appeared it was still in the top three, but at some points it did not appear in the top 20 at all. One snapshot cannot say whether that is a one-day reading or a real slide. The November snapshot will.

How can page-one searches go up while appearances go down?

They measure different things. The page-one count is how many different searches had the site on the first page: 83 in the latest four weeks against 74 a month earlier, counted by the same rule. Appearances are how many times the site was shown at all, including far down the results. A site can lose a lot of low-down showings and still hold more searches near the top.

Why did you change how you count page-one searches?

Because we could not rebuild last month’s 67 line for line, and a number nobody can repeat is not worth printing. The rule is now written down: average position 10 or better, something the store sells, no store names, no manufacturer names, no other-city franchise searches. Under that rule last month’s four weeks come to 74 and this month’s to 83.

Do these numbers mean the store is selling more flooring?

No. This update shows what Google displays and what people did on the Google listing. It does not show jobs or sales. Calls from the listing are flat and direction requests are up, and neither one tells you what happened at the counter. Anyone who tells you otherwise from numbers like these is guessing.

Is a drop from first to second worth worrying about?

On its own, not much. Positions at the top of a small-town results page trade places from month to month. It matters when it keeps going. Three of the seven service searches went from first to second this month, and three in-town searches lost first place on balance. If November shows the same direction, it is a trend and we will say so.

How often will you update this?

Every 30 days, with the same numbers in the same order, pulled on the day and dated. Every update is linked from the original case study, including the months where the numbers go the wrong way. This was one of those months for several of them.

If you want the same kind of read on your own business, with the numbers that went down left in, book a free audit or call (920) 383-3387.