GOOGLE BUSINESS LOCAL RANKING FACTORS

Google's 200 ranking factors: what you need to know

It can be difficult to know where to invest your resources in local SEO as a business owner.  Our Google Business Pro Service makes it easyto streamline your local SEO efforts. In order to do more with less, you need to understand the ranking factors that influence search results as well as tools and services.

How Do Google Ranking Factors Work?

Optimising for 200 or more ranking factors should boost your  search presence in Google's search results. In theory, optimizing for these 200 factors should boost your search visibility. It is, however, critical to interpret the critical factors to drive results because of the complexity of the search algorithm.

Google's 200 ranking factors: 7 things you should know

We want to share some suggestions with our clients about the factors that will likely matter to local clients.

Think beyond the website of the business

In addition to ranking factors specific to a business' website, they also affect its placement in Google Maps, organic search, and local pack. Apply user interaction and brand signals to your entire network of directory sites, blogs, and social networks.

Factors to consider when ranking:

Machine learning interprets true user intent based on location, personalization, and word choice.

Searches with local intent usually prioritize local business listings.

The importance of user interaction

Users' interaction with a website or business listing influences search results. To counter this, prioritize user experience in design, content quality and usability. If a searcher clicks on a listing and immediately leaves, this implies it was low quality or irrelevant.

Factors to consider when ranking:

In-depth content outperforms less informative content.

Google rewards pages that keep visitors engaged for a longer period of time.

On-Page Factors: Pay Attention

On-page optimization is a top local search ranking factor. It is quick and easy to improve search performance.  Meta descriptions and titles are within your control, and can be optimized around a target keyword and the user experience.

Factors to consider when ranking:

In order to provide users with the best experience, Google and Bing expect pages to load quickly.

Rankings can be improved with LSI keywords on a website, Google Business Profile (GBP), and listing sites.

The freshness and recency of the product

In order to deliver fresh results to searchers across many keywords, Google wants to create new, updated content on your business blog, GBP Posts, social platforms, and more. For your business, this means updating old content to ensure it is current and fresh.

Factors to consider when ranking:

A page's freshness is determined by how often it has been updated.

Google prefers pages with fresh updates that are older.

When developing content, consider E-A-T

Google E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) is a key factor in everything you publish online. From blog posts to listings, Google wants to deliver accurate, insightful and reliable results. Think about your entire web footprint when it comes to projecting authority, trustworthiness, and expertise.

Factors to consider when ranking:

Google assesses E-A-T metrics across multiple industries.

When distributing business data, consider the authority of linking pages and domains.

The importance of backlinks hasn't changed

Backlinks remain crucial ranking factors for Google, so prioritize high-quality, relevant backlinks to secure multiple organic and local search positions for your clients.

Factors to consider when ranking:

Websites Google expects to link to a page based on data.

Think about the words surrounding the anchor text to make it more relevant.

Don't take directory links lightly

If you need assistance with high-quality directory placement, our listing management services can help. In 2023, low-quality directory links will be considered webspam, resulting in a penalty.

Factors to consider when ranking:

A ranking penalty may be imposed on websites with low-quality links.

You shouldn't rely on a single backlink source for your small business.

Get Listing Management Service and GBP Pro Service for your business Today

Access the best local marketing tools and services. With our Enhanced Pro Service we help our clients grow their local presence. Get in touch!