Local search ranking factors are those components that add to the rankings of a local business.
Initially a study created by David Mihm, the report is made using results from an annual survey of expert local SEO’s. Over the last few years, several agencies have made their own version of the list.
The following elements are what are widely considered to be the most important factors for improving the likelihood your listing will appear in, and higher in the local listings. These are in order of importance.
| Google My Business info | Closeness to searcher, business categories, keyword in business title, etc. |
| Inbound Links to website | Anchor text, linking domain authority & quantity, etc. |
| Reviews | Quantity, reviewer’s comments, regularity, ratings, etc. |
| On-Page optimisation | NAP on website pages, keywords in titles, domain authority, etc. |
| Citations | NAP consistency of other listings around the web, quantity and quality of citations, etc |
| Searcher behaviour | Click through rate, mobile click-to-call, checkins, etc. |
| Personalisation | How Google personalises a users search results |
| Social behaviour | How “engaged” a business is with customers on other platforms. |