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{{Short description|Practice of increasing online visibility}}
{{pp
{{Internet marketing}}
'''Local search engine optimization''' ('''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
For example, local SEO is all about
== 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
== 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>
== Google
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
== 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
* 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
== Local ranking: 2017 survey from 40 local experts ==
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