Local search engine optimisation: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Practice of increasing online visibility}}

{{underlinked|date=May 2017}}

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{{Internet marketing}}

'''Local search engine optimization''' (Local'''local SEO''') is similar to [[Search engine optimization|(national) SEO]] in that it is also a process affecting the visibility of a [[website]] or a [[web page]] in a [[web search engine]]'s unpaid results (known as its SERP-, search engine results page) often referred to as "natural", "[[Organic search|organic]]", or "earned" results.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/local-seo/what-is-local-seo-why-local-search-is-important/|title=The Definitive Guide to Local SEO|last=Brian|first=Harnish|date=December 26, 2018|website=Search Engine Journal|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=October 1, 2019}}</ref> In general, the higher ranked on the search results page and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users; these visitors can then be converted into customers.<ref>Ortiz-Cordova, A. and Jansen, B. J. (2012) [https://faculty.ist.psu.edu/jjansen/academic/jansen_high_revenue_customers_2012.pdf Classifying Web Search Queries in Order to Identify High Revenue Generating Customers]. Journal of the American Society for Information Sciences and Technology. 63(7), 1426 – 1441.</ref> Local SEO, however, differs in that it is focused on optimizing a business's online presence so that its web pages will be displayed by search engines when users enter [[Local search (Internet)|local searches]] for its products or services.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101-getting-started-local-seo-scratch/127749/|title=SEO 101: Getting Started in Local SEO (From Scratch) {{!}} SEJ|date=2015-03-30|work=Search Engine Journal|access-date=2017-03-26|language=en-US}}</ref> Ranking for local search involves a similar process to general SEO but includes some specific elements to rank a business for local search.

For example, local SEO is all about ‘optimizing‘'optimizing' your online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches. The majority of these searches take place on [[Google]], [[Yahoo]], [[Bing (search engine)|Bing]], [[Yandex Search|Yandex]], [[Baidu]] and other [[search engines]] but for better optimization in your local area you should also use sites like [[Yelp]], [[Angie's List]], [[LinkedIn]], Local business directories, [[social media]] channels and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://seomediax.com/seo/the-importance-of-local-seo-statistics-you-should-know-infographic/|title=The Importance Of Local SEO Statistics You Should Know "Infographic"|last=Imel|first=Seda|date=June 21, 2019|website=SEO MediaX}}</ref>

== The birth of local SEO ==

The origin of local SEO can be traced back<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://searchengineland.com/evolution-seo-trends-25-years-223424|title=The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years|date=2015-06-24|work=Search Engine Land|access-date=2017-03-26|language=en-US}}</ref> to 2003-2005 when search engines tried to provide people with results in their vicinity as well as additional information such as opening times of a store, listings in maps, etc.

Local SEO has evolved over the years to provide a targeted [[online marketing]] approach that allows local businesses to appear based on a range of local search signals, providing a distinct difference from broader [[organic SEO]] which prioritises relevance of search over a distance of searcher.

== Local search results ==

Local searches trigger search engines to display two types of results on the [[Search engine results page]]: local organic results and the 'Local Pack'.<ref name=":2" /> The local organic results include web pages related to the search query with local [[relevance]]. These often include directories such as [[Yelp]], Yellow Pages, [[Facebook]], etc.<ref name=":2" /> The Local Pack displays businesses that have signed up with [[Google]] and taken ownership of their '[[Google My Business]]' (GMB) listing.

The information displayed in the GMB listing and hence in the Local Pack can come from different sources:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091|title=Improve your local ranking on Google - Google My Business Help|website=support.google.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-26}}</ref>

* The owner of the business. This information can include opening/closing times, description of products or services, etc.

* Information is taken from the business's website

* User-provided information such as reviews or uploaded photos

* Information from other sources such as social profiles etc.

* Structured Data taken from [[Wikidata]] and [[Wikipedia]]. Data from these sources is part of the information that appears in Google's [[Knowledge Panel]] in the search results.

Depending on the searches, Google can show relevant local results in [[Google Maps]] or Search. This is true on both mobile and desktop devices.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091|title=How Google uses business information|last=|first=|date=|website=support.google.com|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=March 16, 2017}}</ref>

== Google Maps ==

Google has added a new Q&A features to [[Google Maps]] allowing users to submit questions to owners and allowing these to respond.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://searchengineland.com/6-things-need-know-googles-qa-feature-google-maps-281255|title=6 things you need to know about Google's Q&A feature on Google Maps|date=2017-09-07|work=Search Engine Land|access-date=2017-10-02|language=en-US}}</ref>. This Q&A feature is tied to the associated Google My Business account.

== Google My Business Profile ==

Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly [[Google My Business]] (GMB) is a free tool that allows businesses to create and manage their Google Business listing. These listings must represent a physical ___location that a customer can visit. A Google My Business listing appears when customers search for businesses either on Google Maps or in Google SERPs. The accuracy of these listings is a local ranking factor.

== Ranking factors ==

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In 2016, a study using statistical analysis assessed how and why businesses ranked in the Local Packs and identified positive correlations between local rankings and 100+ ranking factors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://searchengineland.com/local-seo-ranking-factors-study-session-260605|title=Results from the Local SEO Ranking Factors Study presented at SMX East|date=2016-10-07|work=Search Engine Land|access-date=2017-05-02|language=en-US}}</ref> Although the study cannot replicate Google's algorithm, it did deliver several interesting findings:

* [[Backlink]]s showed the most important correlation (and also Google's Toolbar [[PageRank]], suggesting that older links are an advantage because the Toolbar has not been updated in a long time).

* Sites with more content (hence more [[Keyword (Internet search)|keywords]]) tended to fare better (as expected).

* Reviews on GMB also were found to strongly correlate with high rankings.

* Other GMB factors, like the presence of photos and having a verified GMB page with opening hours, showed a [[positive correlation]] (with ranking) albeit not as important as reviews.

* The quality of citations[[citation]]s such as a low number of duplicates, consistency and also a fair number of citations, mattered for a business to show in Local Packs. However, within the pack, citations did not influence their ranking: "citations appear to be foundational but not a competitive advantage."

* The authors were instead surprised that [[geotargeting]] elements (city & state) in the title of the GMB landing page did not have any impact on GMB rankings. Hence the authors suggest using such elements only if it makes sense for usability reasons.

* The presence of a keyword in the business name was found to be one of the most important factors (explaining the high incidence of [[Spamming|spam]] in the Local Pack).

* Schema structured data is a ranking factor. The addition of the 'LocalBusiness' markup will enable you to display relevant information about your business to Google. This includes opening hours, address, founder, parent company information and much more.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://schema.org/LocalBusiness|title=LocalBusiness - schema.org|website=schema.org|language=en|access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>

*The number of reviews and overall star rating correlates with higher rankings in the Google map pack results.

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Prominence, relevance, and distance are the three main criteria Google claims to use in its [[algorithms]] to show results that best match a user's query.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091|title=Improve your local ranking on Google - Google My Business Help|website=support.google.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-16}}</ref>

* Prominence reflects how well-known is a place in the offline world. An important museum or store, for example, will be given more prominence. Google also uses information obtained on the web to assess prominence such as review counts, links, articles.

* Relevance refers to Google's algorithms attempt to surface the listings that best match the user's [[Web query|query]].

* Distance refers to Google's attempt to return those listings that are the closest the ___location terms used in a user's query. If no ___location term is used then "Google will calculate distance based on what’swhat's known about their ___location".

== Local ranking: 2017 survey from 40 local experts ==