When it comes to owning a business and wanting it to grow, learning everything there is to know about SEO is essential. Along with SEO, there is local SEO. Local SEO is all about optimizing your online presence to attract business from people in your area. For example, when someone searches for a “product near me” you would want your business to pop up for that service because it is near them.
Ranking factors are the individual elements that search engines use to determine where your website lands in search engine results. They are deciding factors that differ you from the competition, allowing your business to be the one that shines through. If you have ever looked through a search engine and wondered why certain businesses are above others, they most definitely have successfully optimized local SEO ranking factors.
How do you get your business to be the one that appears in these search engine results? How can yours be the one that people look at compared to everyone else? We will learn that together in this blog!
UNDERSTANDING LOCAL SEO RANKING FACTORS
Traditional SEO focuses on improving visibility on a national or even global scale, whereas local SEO zones the focus on customers in and around your local area, hence the name local SEO. Prioritizing SEO optimization in your local area can be valuable for businesses that thrive locally, on a smaller scale.
So, what exactly are ranking factors? They are the criteria that search engines use to decide which websites get to top the local search engine result pages. These factors can range from your website’s relevance to overall user experience. When you understand ranking factors, your business can tailor your SEO efforts to your benefit. SEO efforts are always changing, thus your user behavior, technology, and algorithms are also always changing.
KEY LOCAL SEO RANKING FACTORS
Google My Business Profile
- This should always be a starting point for your SEO strategies. Having a fully optimized Google My Business (GMB) profile, this can easily boost your rankings. When looking for a business, people most likely always choose Google.
Reviews
- Reviews are always good. Yes, even negative ones. They can play a significant role in your rankings and also provide you with proof that can sway customers. If your business replies to all reviews, even negative ones, it shows customers that you care.
Local Citations
- Citations are mentions of your business, for example, Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc. Always make sure that your name, address, and phone numbers are correct anywhere that you provide them.
On-Page SEO
- Keeping your information up to date and relevant is essential for business growth and success. This can also influence your rankings. If your information isn’t up to date, you will not rank the way that you would want.
Backlinks
- If you have other websites linking back to yours, that can prove to search engines that your site is credible. This can greatly influence and improve your rankings overall.
Mobile Optimization
- Mobile is the future, so optimizing your content to work on mobile is very important. More times than not, people quickly search for something on their phone rather than sitting down at a computer. Optimizing for both desktop and mobile offers a way better user experience.
Social Signals
- Being relevant on social media in today’s society is not only easy, it can be helpful for growth. Engaging with your audience, improving your online presence, and obtaining more eyes for your content can lead to better rankings.
When you understand and utilize these strategies, you will greatly improve your SEO ranking factors. These are things that you cannot work on once and then ignore. Ranking factors require endless updating. If you and your business want to dominate search engines and be at the top, you have to work for it. Maintaining your profiles, ensuring you have consistent information, and producing the best quality content on your website and social media, we have proven several ways to gain more eyes on your business. Consistency is key.
Are you ready to dive into the SEO world? Are you unsure where to start? Don’t worry! VIE Media specializes in helping businesses just like yours optimize their SEO efforts to gain that competitive edge over your competition. Contact us today and let us help you get your business ranking at the top of search engines.