Contents
Local Search Ranking Factors: Understanding the Basics
When it comes to local search rankings, there are a lot of factors that come into play. Local businesses need to understand what these factors are and how they can use them to their advantage. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most important local search ranking factors that businesses need to consider if they want to outrank their competitors.
1. Google My Business
One of the most important local search ranking factors is having a Google Business Profile (GBP) listing. This is a free tool provided by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including search and maps. By creating a GMB listing and optimizing it with accurate information, businesses can improve their chances of appearing in local search results.
2. NAP Consistency
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. It’s important for businesses to ensure that their NAP information is consistent across all online directories and listings. Inconsistent information can lead to confusion for both search engines and potential customers. By ensuring that NAP information is accurate and consistent, businesses can improve their local search rankings.
3. Online Reviews
Online reviews are another important local search ranking factor. Reviews provide social proof and can help to build trust with potential customers. Businesses should encourage customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook. Positive reviews can improve local search rankings and attract new customers.
4. Local Citations
Local citations are mentions of a business’s NAP information on other websites, directories, and social media platforms. By building local citations, businesses can improve their local search rankings and establish credibility in their local community. It’s important to ensure that citations are accurate and consistent.
5. On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization refers to optimizing the content on a business’s website for local search. This includes incorporating relevant keywords, optimizing title tags and meta descriptions, and including location-specific content. By optimizing their website for local search, businesses can improve their chances of appearing in local search results.
Local pack/finder ranking factors
| Rank | Factor | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Primary GBP Category | 193 |
| 2 | Keywords in GBP Business Title | 181 |
| 3 | Proximity of Address to the Point of Search (Searcher-Business Distance) | 176 |
| 4 | Physical Address in City of Search | 170 |
| 5 | Removal of spam listings through spam fighting | 143 |
| 6 | High Numerical Google Ratings (e.g. 4-5) | 138 |
| 7 | Additional GBP Categories | 134 |
| 8 | Quantity of Native Google Reviews (w/text) | 128 |
| 9 | Verified GBP | 117 |
| 10 | Proximity of Address to Centroid | 114 |
| 11 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page Title | 114 |
| 12 | Completeness of GBP | 112 |
| 13 | Sustained Influx of Reviews Over Time (rather than bursts) | 105 |
| 14 | Dedicated Page for Each Service | 105 |
| 15 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page Headings (H1, H2, etc) | 102 |
| 16 | Proper Placement of the Map Pin | 101 |
| 17 | Geographic (City/Neighborhood) Keyword Relevance of Domain Content | 101 |
| 18 | Internal Linking Across Entire Website | 100 |
| 19 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain from Locally-Relevant Domains | 100 |
| 20 | Recency of Reviews | 99 |
| 21 | Quantity of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL from Locally-Relevant Domains | 98 |
| 22 | Consistency of Citations on Primary Search Engines (Google Maps, Bing Maps, Apple Maps) | 98 |
| 23 | HTML NAP Matching GBP NAP | 97 |
| 24 | Internal Links TO GBP Landing Page from Other Pages of Website | 97 |
| 25 | Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to Domain | 94 |
| 26 | Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 94 |
| 27 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Landing Page URL from Industry-Relevant Domains | 92 |
| 28 | Age of GBP | 90 |
| 29 | Keywords in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 89 |
| 30 | Volume of Searches for Business Name | 89 |
| 31 | Topical (Product/Service) Keyword Relevance Across Entire Website | 88 |
| 32 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain from Industry-Relevant Domains | 87 |
| 33 | Volume of Quality Content on Service Pages | 86 |
| 34 | Keywords in Native Google Reviews | 85 |
| 35 | Reference to Location Specific Entities on GBP Landing Page | 82 |
| 36 | Website's Degree of Focus on a Specific Niche | 82 |
| 37 | Keywords in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to Domain | 81 |
| 38 | Click-Through from Search Results for Relevant Search Terms / from Geographically Relevant Locations | 79 |
| 39 | Positive Sentiment in Review Text | 78 |
| 40 | Quantity of Native Google Ratings (no text) | 78 |
| 41 | Mobile-friendly/Responsive Website | 78 |
| 42 | Business Title in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 78 |
| 43 | Proper Category Associations on Aggregators and Tier 1 Citation Sources | 78 |
| 44 | Quantity of Citations from Locally-Relevant Domains | 78 |
| 45 | Internal Links FROM GBP Landing Page to Other Pages of Website | 77 |
| 46 | Authority of Third-Party Sites on Which Reviews are Present | 76 |
| 47 | Diversity of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 76 |
| 48 | Quantity of Engagement Signals on GBP (scrolling through listing, clicking photos, reading reviews, reading Q&A, clicking on Posts, etc) | 76 |
| 49 | Click-Through Rate from Search Results (General) | 75 |
| 50 | Diversity of Inbound Links to Domain | 74 |
| 51 | Prominence on Key Industry-Relevant Domains | 74 |
| 52 | Keywords in Titles Across Entire Website | 73 |
| 53 | Loadtime of GBP Landing Page | 73 |
| 54 | Volume of Quality Content on Entire Website | 73 |
| 55 | Driving Directions to Business Clicks | 73 |
| 56 | Consistency of Citations on Key Sites (Yellowpages, Yelp, D&B, CityGrid) | 72 |
| 57 | Clicks to Call Business | 72 |
| 58 | Keywords in Headings (H1, H2, etc) Across Entire Website | 71 |
| 59 | Website Uses HTTPS by default | 71 |
| 60 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain | 71 |
| 61 | Consistency of Citations on Data Aggregators (Infogroup, Localeze, Foursquare/Factual) | 71 |
| 62 | Business Title in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to Domain | 70 |
| 63 | Diversity of Anchor Text to GBP Landing Page URL | 70 |
| 64 | Quantity of Citations from Industry-Relevant Domains | 70 |
| 65 | Quantity of Positive Google Review Attributes | 69 |
| 66 | Quantity of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 69 |
| 67 | High Numerical Ratings by Authority Reviewers (e.g. Yelp Elite, Google Local Guides, etc) | 68 |
| 68 | Diversity of Anchor Text to Domain | 68 |
| 69 | Quality/Authority of Unstructured Citations (Newspaper Articles, Blog Posts, Gov Sites, Industry Associations) | 68 |
| 70 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page URL | 67 |
| 71 | Volume of Content on GBP Landing Page | 67 |
| 72 | Domain Authority of Website | 67 |
| 73 | In-store visits tracked by Android or Google Maps Mobile app location detection | 66 |
| 74 | Quality/Authority of Structured Citations | 65 |
| 75 | Presence of "Website mentions" Justifications in Local Search Results | 63 |
| 76 | Keywords in Domain Name | 63 |
| 77 | Quantity of Unstructured Citations (Newspaper Articles, Blog Posts) | 62 |
| 78 | Quantity of Reviews on Industry-Specific Sites | 61 |
| 79 | Loadtime of Pages Across Entire Website | 61 |
| 80 | Page Authority of GBP Landing Page URL | 61 |
| 81 | Presence of GBP Services | 60 |
| 82 | Quality/Relevance of Photos | 60 |
| 83 | Enhancement/Completeness of Citations | 60 |
| 84 | Presence of "Identifies as" Attributes on GBP | 59 |
| 85 | Proper Hours Set on GBP | 59 |
| 86 | Diversity of Third-Party Sites on Which Reviews are Present | 59 |
| 87 | Quantity of Third-Party Traditional Reviews (e.g. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Yellowpages, etc) | 59 |
| 88 | Sustained Influx of Links Over Time (rather than bursts) | 59 |
| 89 | Quantity of Third-Party Unstructured Reviews (e.g. blogs, newspapers, magazines) | 57 |
| 90 | Quantity of Structured Citations (IYPs, Data Aggregators) | 56 |
| 91 | Presence of Business on Expert Curated Best of and Similar Lists | 55 |
| 92 | Presence of Review Justifications in Local Search Results | 54 |
| 93 | Quantity of Photos with Google Vision-AI Labels Matching Keywords | 54 |
| 94 | High Numerical Third-Party Ratings (e.g. 4-5) | 54 |
| 95 | Keywords in URLs Across Entire Website | 54 |
| 96 | Presence of "Provides" Justifications in Local Search Results | 53 |
| 97 | Quantity of Reviews by Authority Reviewers (e.g. Yelp Elite, Google Local Guides, etc) | 52 |
| 98 | NAP in Schema/JSON-LD on GBP Landing Page URL | 52 |
| 99 | Local Area Code on GBP | 51 |
| 100 | Keywords in Third-Party Reviews | 49 |
| 101 | Unlinked Brand Mentions | 49 |
| 102 | Keywords in Image ALT attributes on GBP Landing Page | 48 |
| 103 | Keywords in Text Surrounding Links to GBP Landing Page | 47 |
| 104 | Consistency of Citations on Other Citation Sources | 47 |
| 105 | Sustained Output of Content Over Time (rather than bursts) | 46 |
| 106 | Quantity of Photos in General on GBP | 45 |
| 107 | Presence of Crowd Sourced Attributes | 44 |
| 108 | Keywords in Text Surrounding Links to Domain | 44 |
| 109 | Length of Dwell Time on GBP | 42 |
| 110 | Keywords in GBP Services | 41 |
| 111 | Presence of Owner Responses to Most Reviews | 40 |
| 112 | Quantity of Services Performed in Google Reviews | 40 |
| 113 | Presence of Outbound Links to Authority Topically Relevant Sites | 40 |
| 114 | User Added Attributes in GBP | 39 |
| 115 | Embedded Google Map for Location on GBP Landing Page | 39 |
| 116 | Keywords in Image ALT attributes Across Entire Website | 38 |
| 117 | BBB Accredited | 38 |
| 118 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page Meta Description | 37 |
| 119 | Length of Dwell Time on GBP Landing Page | 37 |
| 120 | Keywords in GBP Products | 36 |
| 121 | In-store visits tracked by third-party beacon or location detection technology | 36 |
| 122 | Quantity of Bookings Through Google Booking Partners | 36 |
| 123 | Presence of XML Sitemap | 34 |
| 124 | Comprehensive Google Q&A Section with Owner-Seeded FAQs | 32 |
| 125 | Matching Google Account Domain to GBP Landing Page Domain | 31 |
| 126 | Keywords in Image Filenames on GBP Landing Page | 30 |
| 127 | Setting Service Areas in GBP | 29 |
| 128 | Quantity of Messages Through Google My Business Messaging | 29 |
| 129 | Presence of Google Posts Justifications in Local Search Results | 27 |
| 130 | Quantity of Products on GBP | 27 |
| 131 | Keywords in Meta Descriptions Across Entire Website | 27 |
| 132 | Frequency of Google Posts Posted | 26 |
| 133 | Number of Bookings Through GBP Booking Feature | 26 |
| 134 | Presence of Appointment URL | 25 |
| 135 | Keywords in Google Posts | 24 |
| 136 | Quantity of Videos on GBP | 24 |
| 137 | Keywords in Image Filenames Across Entire Website | 24 |
| 138 | Trusted Photographer / Google Business View Photography | 23 |
| 139 | Participation in Adwords, Adwords Express, Hotel Finder, or other paid Google products | 23 |
| 140 | Quantity of Google Posts Posted | 22 |
| 141 | GBP Booking Feature is Enabled | 20 |
| 142 | Quantity of Transactions Identified Through Credit Card Partners | 20 |
| 143 | Quantity of Questions Asked in Google Q&A | 19 |
| 144 | GBP Messaging Feature is Enabled | 18 |
| 145 | Keywords in Google Q&A | 18 |
| 146 | Sum of Transactions Identified Through Credit Card Partners | 16 |
| 147 | Keywords in Owner Responses to Reviews | 12 |
| 148 | Keywords in GBP Description | 11 |
| 149 | Geo-tagged Photos Uploaded to GBP | 2 |
| Rank | Factor | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dedicated Page for Each Service | 163 |
| 2 | Internal Linking Across Entire Website | 149 |
| 3 | Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to Domain | 148 |
| 4 | Geographic (City/Neighborhood) Keyword Relevance of Domain Content | 146 |
| 5 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page Title | 140 |
| 6 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain from Locally-Relevant Domains | 137 |
| 7 | Topical (Product/Service) Keyword Relevance Across Entire Website | 135 |
| 8 | Volume of Quality Content on Service Pages | 134 |
| 9 | Volume of Quality Content on Entire Website | 132 |
| 10 | Keywords in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to Domain | 128 |
| 11 | Diversity of Inbound Links to Domain | 127 |
| 12 | Mobile-friendly/Responsive Website | 125 |
| 13 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain from Industry-Relevant Domains | 124 |
| 14 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page Headings (H1, H2, etc) | 119 |
| 15 | Website's Degree of Focus on a Specific Niche | 119 |
| 16 | Keywords in Titles Across Entire Website | 117 |
| 17 | Keywords in Headings (H1, H2, etc) Across Entire Website | 110 |
| 19 | Diversity of Anchor Text to Domain | 106 |
| 20 | Physical Address in City of Search | 105 |
| 21 | Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 105 |
| 22 | Loadtime of Pages Across Entire Website | 103 |
| 23 | Domain Authority of Website | 102 |
| 24 | Keywords in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 101 |
| 25 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain | 101 |
| 26 | Sustained Influx of Links Over Time (rather than bursts) | 101 |
| 27 | Internal Links TO GBP Landing Page from Other Pages of Website | 98 |
| 28 | Quantity of Inbound Links to Landing Page URL from Industry-Relevant Domains | 98 |
| 29 | Diversity of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 97 |
| 30 | Keywords in Domain Name | 95 |
| 31 | Click-Through from Search Results for Relevant Search Terms / from Geographically Relevant Locations | 95 |
| 32 | Sustained Output of Content Over Time (rather than bursts) | 94 |
| 33 | Click-Through Rate from Search Results (General) | 94 |
| 34 | Loadtime of GBP Landing Page | 92 |
| 35 | Quantity of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL from Locally-Relevant Domains | 92 |
| 36 | Business Title in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to Domain | 91 |
| 37 | Internal Links FROM GBP Landing Page to Other Pages of Website | 91 |
| 38 | Prominence on Key Industry-Relevant Domains | 91 |
| 39 | Reference to Location Specific Entities on GBP Landing Page | 88 |
| 40 | Volume of Searches for Business Name | 88 |
| 41 | Keywords in URLs Across Entire Website | 86 |
| 42 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page URL | 85 |
| 43 | Diversity of Anchor Text to GBP Landing Page URL | 82 |
| 44 | Authority of Third-Party Sites on Which Reviews are Present | 80 |
| 45 | Volume of Content on GBP Landing Page | 80 |
| 46 | Business Title in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 80 |
| 47 | Proximity of Address to the Point of Search (Searcher-Business Distance) | 77 |
| 48 | HTML NAP Matching GBP NAP | 75 |
| 49 | Quality/Authority of Unstructured Citations (Newspaper Articles, Blog Posts, Gov Sites, Industry Associations) | 74 |
| 50 | Keywords in Text Surrounding Links to Domain | 73 |
| 51 | Presence of XML Sitemap | 72 |
| 52 | Quantity of Third-Party Unstructured Reviews (e.g. blogs, newspapers, magazines) | 70 |
| 53 | Presence of Outbound Links to Authority Topically Relevant Sites | 69 | 54 | Quantity of Inbound Links to GBP Landing Page URL | 69 |
| 55 | Presence of Business on Expert Curated Best of and Similar Lists | 69 |
| 56 | Quantity of Citations from Locally-Relevant Domains | 68 |
| 57 | Diversity of Third-Party Sites on Which Reviews are Present | 65 |
| 58 | Consistency of Citations on Primary Search Engines (Google Maps, Bing Maps, Apple Maps) | 65 |
| 59 | Quantity of Citations from Industry-Relevant Domains | 65 |
| 60 | Page Authority of GBP Landing Page URL | 63 |
| 61 | Quantity of Unstructured Citations (Newspaper Articles, Blog Posts) | 63 |
| 62 | Keywords in Image ALT attributes Across Entire Website | 58 |
| 63 | Unlinked Brand Mentions | 58 |
| 64 | NAP in Schema/JSON-LD on GBP Landing Page URL | 57 |
| 65 | Quality/Authority of Structured Citations | 57 |
| 66 | Consistency of Citations on Key Sites (Yellowpages, Yelp, D&B, CityGrid) | 55 |
| 67 | High Numerical Google Ratings (e.g. 4-5) | 54 |
| 68 | Quantity of Reviews on Industry-Specific Sites | 54 |
| 69 | Quantity of Third-Party Traditional Reviews (e.g. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Yellowpages, etc) | 52 |
| 70 | Keywords in Image ALT attributes on GBP Landing Page | 52 |
| 71 | Consistency of Citations on Data Aggregators (Infogroup, Localeze, Foursquare/Factual) | 52 |
| 72 | Keywords in GBP Business Title | 50 |
| 73 | Keywords in Text Surrounding Links to GBP Landing Page | 49 |
| 74 | Primary GBP Category | 48 |
| 75 | Proper Category Associations on Aggregators and Tier 1 Citation Sources | 47 |
| 76 | Quantity of Structured Citations (IYPs, Data Aggregators) | 46 |
| 77 | High Numerical Third-Party Ratings (e.g. 4-5) | 45 |
| 78 | Keywords in Image Filenames Across Entire Website | 45 |
| 79 | Enhancement/Completeness of Citations | 45 |
| 80 | Keywords in Image Filenames on GBP Landing Page | 44 |
| 81 | Proximity of Address to Centroid | 43 |
| 82 | Keywords in Third-Party Reviews | 42 |
| 83 | Positive Sentiment in Review Text | 41 |
| 84 | Consistency of Citations on Other Citation Sources | 41 |
| 85 | Keywords in GBP Landing Page Meta Description | 38 |
| 86 | BBB Accredited | 38 |
| 87 | Sustained Influx of Reviews Over Time (rather than bursts) | 37 |
| 88 | Quantity of Native Google Reviews (w/text) | 36 |
| 89 | Keywords in Meta Descriptions Across Entire Website | 36 |
| 90 | Length of Dwell Time on GBP Landing Page | 36 |
| 91 | High Numerical Ratings by Authority Reviewers (e.g. Yelp Elite, Google Local Guides, etc) | 35 |
| 92 | Recency of Reviews | 35 |
| 93 | Embedded Google Map for Location on GBP Landing Page | 35 |
| 94 | Quality/Relevance of Photos | 33 |
| 95 | Keywords in Native Google Reviews | 33 |
| 96 | Verified GBP | 32 |
| 97 | Completeness of GBP | 31 |
| 98 | Presence of "Website mentions" Justifications in Local Search Results | 31 |
| 99 | Additional GBP Categories | 30 |
| 100 | Quantity of Photos with Google Vision-AI Labels Matching Keywords | 29 |
| 101 | Quantity of Reviews by Authority Reviewers (e.g. Yelp Elite, Google Local Guides, etc) | 27 |
| 102 | Age of GBP | 24 |
| 103 | Participation in Adwords, Adwords Express, Hotel Finder, or other paid Google products | 22 |
| 104 | Quantity of Engagement Signals on GBP (scrolling through listing, clicking photos, reading reviews, reading Q&A, clicking on Posts, etc) | 22 |
| 105 | Matching Google Account Domain to GBP Landing Page Domain | 21 |
| 106 | Clicks to Call Business | 21 |
| 107 | Length of Dwell Time on GBP | 21 |
| 108 | Presence of "Provides" Justifications in Local Search Results | 20 |
| 109 | Driving Directions to Business Clicks | 20 |
| 110 | Presence of Review Justifications in Local Search Results | 19 |
| 111 | Proper Placement of the Map Pin | 19 |
| 112 | Quantity of Positive Google Review Attributes | 19 |
| 113 | Local Area Code on GBP | 16 |
| 114 | Removal of spam listings through spam fighting | 16 |
| 115 | Quantity of Native Google Ratings (no text) | 16 |
| 116 | Quantity of Photos in General on GBP | 15 |
| 117 | Quantity of Products on GBP | 15 |
| 118 | Quantity of Services Performed in Google Reviews | 15 |
| 119 | In-store visits tracked by Android or Google Maps Mobile app location detection | 15 |
| 120 | Presence of Owner Responses to Most Reviews | 13 |
| 121 | Quantity of Bookings Through Google Booking Partners | 13 |
| 122 | Comprehensive Google Q&A Section with Owner-Seeded FAQs | 12 |
| 123 | Presence of Google Posts Justifications in Local Search Results | 12 |
| 124 | Proper Hours Set on GBP | 12 |
| 125 | Frequency of Google Posts Posted | 11 |
| 126 | Presence of Crowd Sourced Attributes | 11 |
| 127 | Presence of GBP Services | 11 |
