{"id":20181,"date":"2020-06-16T23:36:39","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T23:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/?post_type=institute&p=20181"},"modified":"2024-05-23T07:41:53","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T11:41:53","slug":"local-seo-ranking-factors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/blog\/local-seo-ranking-factors\/","title":{"rendered":"The 7 Most Important Local SEO Ranking Factors"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a digital marketer, you should be familiar with the 7 most important local SEO ranking factors, especially if your business is dependent on local customers.<\/p>\n

Without this knowledge, you’ll prioritize ineffectively and pay attention to the wrong things when executing local SEO campaigns.<\/p>\n

The great news is that we already know exactly what’s required to optimize your online presence with local SEO and capture free organic traffic that’s both relevant and valuable to your business. We’ve spent the time, read the research, and created the definitive guide on\u00a0how to do local SEO<\/a>\u00a0– all so you don’t have to go through the pain of figuring it out yourself.<\/p>\n

To help you get started, we’ve created this resource highlighting the 7 most important local SEO ranking factors that digital marketers should focus on when executing a local SEO campaign.<\/p>\n

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What is Local SEO?<\/h2>\n

Digital marketers should already know that SEO stands for\u00a0search engine optimization<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When we talk about SEO, we’re normally focused on the organic search results for specific keywords and how to create content that can rank for a specific keyword on the search engine results pages.<\/p>\n

With Local SEO, however, the focus is a little bit different.<\/p>\n

When a user searches for a business that’s close to them or in their local area, Google returns local search results. For example, if you were to search for “taco restaurants in Miami”, you’d see this:
\n\"local<\/p>\n

Image: Local search results for “taco restaurants in miami<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are local search results – search results that highlight businesses in a specific local area. Local SEO is all about optimizing your online presence to increase the visibility of your business in local search results just like these, but relevant to your business and local area.<\/p>\n

Why Does Local SEO Matter?<\/h2>\n

There are three types of business for which local SEO is probably the cheapest, easiest, and most cost-effective method for reaching new potential customers:<\/p>\n

Businesses providing an in-person service<\/strong>: \u00a0massage therapists, physiotherapists, dentists, bicycle repair shops, swimming instructors, indoor rock-climbing facilities, theaters, and more.<\/p>\n

Businesses that serve a local area<\/strong>: plumbers, electricians, takeout restaurants, pest control, and more.<\/p>\n

Businesses that only sell to customers in person<\/strong>: sit-down restaurants, ice cream parlors, breweries, retail stores, and more.<\/p>\n

For these businesses, local SEO may be the fastest and cheapest way to increase visibility in local search results and start generating relevant organic traffic and business inquiries from local search.<\/p>\n

7 Most Important Local SEO Ranking Factors<\/h2>\n

Local SEO ranking factors are the signals that search engines like Google and Bing analyze to determine whether a website or business listing should be ranked in local search results.<\/p>\n

If you want your website or business listing to appear more frequently in local search results, we’ve identified the top 7 local SEO ranking factors that you should focus on when optimizing your online presence with local SEO.<\/p>\n

Searcher Proximity<\/h3>\n

The number one ranking factor that search engines use for local search rankings is the proximity between the searcher and the physical location of your business.<\/p>\n

To determine searcher proximity, Google needs two critical pieces of information:<\/p>\n