As a local business owner, you know your business needs to show up and rank high in local searches, but are you familiar with how search engines decide which businesses are relevant to which searches?
And, how do they even determine if the search is locally focused?
Googles algorithm will assume that the search has local intention – for example when you search “Chinese food” or “barbershop”. A lot times the searcher will use “near me” or “closest” in the search engine which in return triggers local businesses to show up.
Search engines use many factors to rank local businesses
Some of the main focuses are
Google My Business signals
Reviews
Proximity
Citations
Google My Business Signals
If you have not claimed/verified/optimized your GMB listings then you practically don’t exist as a local business in your community.
When a local customer searches for a business GMB will decide if this is the right business and whether or not you are near the searcher.
Reviews
Both humans and algorithms care about the reputation of a business. Your local search ranking will improve as more happy customers leave positive online reviews. This will also will make potential customers more likely to click on your listing.
Proximity
Mobile devices with enabled location services enabled will usually rank local businesses based on how close you are at the moment for the desired business you are searching for.
Citations
Citations are mentions of your business in other high-quality websites and online directories. Being consistent in your Name, address and phone number information throughout every online directory is a huge factor in how high you will rank.
So, To exist in local search or rank higher you need to work on these factors and more. Need help? Call us today for a free consultation with no strings attached.