Local Search Engine optimization

SEO for local search engines (local SEO) is like (national) SEO, in the sense that it's an action that affects its visibility for a site or web page on the unpaid results (SERP or search engine results page), frequently known as "natural", "organic" and "earned" results. The more prominently a site is on the page of results, and the more frequently a website is found in the list of results for a search, the greater number of visitors it receives from search engine's visitors. These users can be then converted into customers. Local SEO differs from general SEO in that it focuses on improving the presence of a business's online presence to ensure that their websites are displayed by search engines when people search locally for their items or offerings. Local SEO is the same process as general SEO; however, it incorporates specific factors to place a business on the map for local searches. For instance, local SEO is about optimizing your website's presence online to increase the number of the business you can get via relevant local search results. Most of these searches are conducted via Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines; however, to improve your SEO within your area, you should also make use of websites like Yelp, Angie's List, LinkedIn local directories for businesses Social media channels and others.

Local Search Results

Local search queries trigger search engines to show two kinds of results in the Search results page Local organic results and the "Local Pack". Local organic results comprise websites relevant to the search query that have local relevance. They usually contain directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, Facebook and more. Its Local Pack displays businesses that have joined with Google and have taken over their Google My Business (GMB) listings.

The information that appears within the GMB listing and, consequently, in the Local Pack can come from various sources:

• The proprietor of the business. This can include opening and closing dates, descriptions of services or products, etc.
• Information is sourced from the site of the business.
• User-provided data, like reviews or uploaded pictures
• Information comes from different sources, such as social media profiles, etc.

Depending on the search type, Google can show relevant local results on Google Maps and Search.

Google Maps

Google has added a brand new Q&A feature on Google Maps, allowing users to ask questions to the owners and allow them to reply. The Q&A feature is linked to the Google My Business account.

Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) can be described as a tool for free that allows businesses to set up and maintain the details of their Google listing. They must show the physical location where visitors can go to. Google My Business listings are available for customers to visit. Google My Business listing appears when users look up businesses on Google Maps or in Google SERPs. The accuracy of the listings is a local ranking element.

Ranking Factors

Major search engines employ algorithms that determine how local businesses appear in local searches. The main factors that affect the chances of a local company being found in local searches are proper categorization within directories for businesses, a company's name, address and telephone numbers (NAP) being accessible on the website and references (mentions to the business's local location appearing on other relevant websites such as a chamber of commerce websites). The year 2016 saw research using statistical analysis analyzed how and why local businesses were ranked within local packs. Local Packs and identified positive relationships between local rankings as well as more than 100 ranking factors.

While the study was not able to be compared to Google's algorithm, the study did provide some interesting results:

• Backlinks revealed the most significant relationship (as well Google's Toolbar PageRank, indicating that older links can be an advantage due to the fact that the Toolbar was not for a long period of time).
• Websites that have more information (hence the use of more words) generally perform better (as was expected).
• Reviews on GMB also showed that they highly correlate with ratings.
• Other GMB factors, such as photos and having an official GMB page with hours of operation and opening hours, also showed an increase in correlation (with rankings); however, they were not as significant as reviews.
• A high-quality citation, such as a small number of duplications, as well as an adequate amount of citations, was important in determining whether a business would be included the best results in Local Packs. But within the pack, the number of sources didn't affect their rank: "citations appear to be foundational but not a competitive advantage."
• The authors were astonished that the geotargeting of elements (city and states) within the name of the GMB landing page had no influence on GMB rankings. The authors suggest that you use these elements only when it is logical to improve usability.
• It is the presence of the keyword in the name of the company that was identified as one of the major aspects (explaining the high frequency of spam within local packs). Local Pack).
• Schema structured data is a ranking element. The addition of the "LocalBusiness markup allows you to show relevant information about your company to Google. This includes address, opening hours as well as founder data, company's parent information, and many more.
• The number of reviews, as well as the overall star rating, is related to better rankings in the Google maps pack.

Local Ranking According to Google

Google claims that it uses three criteria to determine which query matches the best: relevance, prominence, and distance.

• Prominence is an indication of how well-known a place is in the offline world. For example, a museum or store that is important will be given greater prominence. Google also uses data from the internet to determine prominences, such as reviews, links and articles.
• Relevance is the ability of Google's algorithms to find the best matches for a user's query.
• Google uses distance to determine which listings are closest to the query terms. Google will calculate distance from the location information if no location term has been used.

Local Ranking: 2017 survey from 40 local experts

A survey of local SEO professionals revealed that reviews and links are now more important than ever for ranking locally.

Near Me Queries

Some authors have reported that Google Trends has shown significant increases in "near me" queries due to Apple and Google offering it as an option. These authors report that the "near me" query ranking correlates most strongly with Local Pack rankings.

Possum Update

Google released an important update to its local algorithm on September 1, 2016. Summary of the local search update:

• Google Local Pack's rank for businesses located outside of the city limits saw a significant rise in rankings.
• An additional filter is now in place. Google used the same phone number to filter listings linked to the same website before the update. Listings that have the same address or the same category will be filtered after the update. This applies even if they are from different businesses. Google will only display one dentist if there are multiple dentists sharing the same address.

Hawk Update

As explained above, the Possum update allowed similar listings to be filtered. Accordingly, only the listing with a higher organic ranking and a stronger keyword relevance would be displayed. This filtering was implemented by Hawk on August 22 2017. It applies only to listings within the same building or near each other (e.g. Listings located within 50 feet of each other or close by (e.g).

Fake Reviews

Reviews are an important ranking factor, as previously mentioned (see above). Joy Hawkins is a Google Top Contributor and a local SEO expert. She highlights the problems caused by fake reviews.

• Fake reviews posted on competitors' sites are not being reported by business owners because there is no appropriate procedure. GMB support won't consider requests regarding businesses unless they are made by the business owners. If a competitor has been gathering fake reviews nearby, you can bring it to GMB's attention via the Google My Business Forum.
• Google, unlike Yelp, does not display a warning label for businesses that have received unnaturally high numbers of negative reviews due to media attention.
• The current Google algorithms cannot identify review patterns that are not natural. Atypical review patterns are often not detected by human gauging and should therefore be identified by algorithms. Fake listings and profiles of rogue reviewers should be removed.