Top 10 Local SEO Ranking Factors to Drive Local Traffic

In our article on local SEO statistics, we found out something important: 97% of consumers use the internet to find nearby businesses. For marketers and business owners, this statistic highlights the important role local SEO plays in attracting customers. However, the ever-evolving nature of SEO rules can make staying current a challenge.

Our team of experts crafted this guide to simplify the complexities of local SEO by outlining the key factors that can enhance your business's performance in search results. Ideal for both SEO novices and seasoned professionals.

Why is Local SEO Important in 2024?

Local SEO remains critical for attracting digital and physical store traffic. In fact, based on a study, 50% of consumers who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a store within a day. This highlights the immediate impact of local SEO on in-store traffic and customer acquisition.

Local SEO also increases online visibility, generates leads, and supports e-commerce. It is a cost-effective marketing strategy, allowing businesses to measure ROI through analytics. Furthermore, it builds trust and credibility by making sure that businesses appear prominently in search results, such as Google's 'Local Pack.'

As mobile browsing and voice search become more prevalent, local SEO provides the necessary adaptability. It offers a significant competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded online space. As the digital landscape evolves, local SEO is essential for business success.

10 Local SEO Ranking Factors for Business Success

Securing a top spot in local search results requires a focused approach to local SEO. This section details the 10 factors that influence your business’s local search rankings.

Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) often serves as the initial point of contact between your business and potential customers. It's not just an option anymore; it's a necessity for maintaining visibility and accessibility.

A well-maintained GMB profile will make sure that when potential customers search for your business, they find all the necessary information effortlessly displayed in the search results. This includes updated opening hours, contact details, and services offered.

Such immediate availability of information not only meets customer expectations but also prevents them from turning to competitors.

Furthermore, a complete and active GMB listing significantly boosts your local SEO. It does this by providing Google with consistent and accurate data, affirming your business’s credibility and relevance to local searches.

GMB profile that is up-to-date and comprehensive creates a favourable first impression and serves as a quick and efficient reference point for those seeking immediate information about your business.

On-Page Signals

Optimising on-page signals is important for reinforcing the local relevance of your website. This involves the precise inclusion of key elements such as your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on each page. Consistency in these details across your site helps search engines verify and rank your business in local search results.

Additionally, the strategic use of local keywords in your titles, meta descriptions, headers, and content plays a crucial role. These keywords should naturally relate to your business and location, targeting what local customers might use in their search queries.

To enhance on-page SEO, ensure that your title tags are concise and incorporate main keywords, reflecting the specific focus of each page. Meta descriptions should provide clear information about the content of the page, including services and geographic location, and they should encourage clicks by being engaging.

Attention to on-page SEO is important so that your site is deemed relevant and useful for both users and search engines.

Online Reviews

91% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, underscoring their critical impact on business reputation and customer decision-making. This high level of trust highlights the importance of actively managing and responding to reviews across various platforms such as Google, Yelp, and industry-specific sites.

Encouraging satisfied customers to share their positive experiences online can significantly enhance your business's credibility and attract more local customers. Regularly monitoring these reviews allows you to address any negative feedback promptly, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction and service improvement.

Moreover, the quantity and quality of reviews contribute to local SEO performance. Search engines consider these factors when determining your business's ranking in local search results.

You should actively seek reviews and engage with reviewers to maintain a dynamic, positive online presence that can lead to higher visibility and increased local traffic.

Backlink Profile

A solid backlink profile is key for enhancing your website's authority and search engine ranking, but not all backlinks carry the same weight. It is essential to prioritise quality over quantity when building backlinks.

Links from reputable and relevant local sources, such as business associations, local media websites, and industry-related sites, are more valuable than numerous low-quality links.

Focusing on high-quality backlinks can significantly improve your website's credibility and search engine trust. This approach involves identifying and collaborating with authoritative websites within your community and niche. The goal is to secure backlinks that not only drive direct traffic but also enhance your site’s relevance and authority in local search results.

Additionally, regularly auditing your backlink profile to identify and disavow any toxic or harmful links is important as it maintains the health of your SEO efforts and protects your site from potential penalties by search engines for unnatural linking practices.

Online Citations

Online citations are listings of your business that appear across various directories and websites. They play a huge role in local SEO by providing search engines with consistent information about your business, enhancing its legitimacy and visibility in local search results.

The key to effective online citations lies in the accuracy and uniformity of your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) across all platforms. Inconsistencies in these details can confuse search engines and potentially mislead customers, negatively impacting your SEO efforts.

To optimise your online citations, you need to regularly audit and update your listings across all relevant platforms, including industry-specific directories, local business associations, and more general sites like Yelp and Google My Business.

Brightlocal and other online citation management tools will assist in streamlining this process. These tools help you manage and update your listings efficiently, ensuring that your NAP remains consistent across all directories. Regular audits through such platforms can quickly identify any discrepancies or outdated information, allowing for prompt corrections.

Proximity to Searcher's Location

Proximity to the searcher's location is a fundamental factor in local SEO, significantly influencing how your business ranks in search results. Search engines prioritise businesses closest to the searcher when delivering results for local queries. This means that the physical location of your business relative to the user can directly impact your visibility.

While you cannot change your location to improve SEO, you can optimise other local SEO factors to compete effectively.

Making sure that your business's address is accurately listed on your website, Google My Business, and other online directories is important. This helps search engines confirm your location for geo-targeted searches.

Additionally, localising your SEO efforts—such as using location-specific keywords, engaging with local communities on social media, and participating in local events—can enhance your relevance to nearby searchers.

Behavioural Signals

Behavioural signals serve as vital indicators of user engagement and satisfaction, directly influencing local SEO rankings. These signals include metrics such as click-through rates from search results to your website, the time visitors spend on your site, and the actions they take, such as making phone calls directly from your listing or requesting directions. Additionally, frequent user interactions, like checking in at your location or engaging with your content through reviews, play a significant role.

Search engines use these behavioural metrics to gauge the relevance and popularity of your business among local searchers. High engagement rates suggest to search engines that your business is providing valuable content and services, which can improve your visibility in search results. Therefore, optimising your website and local listings to encourage positive user behaviours is important.

Local Landing Pages

Developing dedicated local landing pages is a strategic approach to boosting your business's visibility in specific geographic areas.

Each landing page should target a different location where your business operates, providing tailored content that resonates with the local audience. This includes integrating local keywords, such as the city or neighbourhood name, into the page's SEO elements like the title, meta description, and headers.

The structure of these pages is important. They should contain unique, relevant content about your services in that particular location, testimonials from local customers, and location-specific offers.

Additionally, ensure each page has clear contact information and a Google Maps link to the specific branch or store. This not only helps in ranking higher in local searches but also improves user experience by providing them with useful, location-specific information in a clear, accessible format.

Local landing pages serve as a direct connection between your business and the community it serves, making it easier for local customers to find and interact with your business online.

Local Content Marketing

Creating content that resonates with local audiences—such as blog posts about local events, news, or issues—establishes your business as an integral part of the community.

Strategically targeted content helps to position your business as a local authority, fostering trust and recognition. It’s important to include region-specific keywords and phrases that align with the local vernacular and search habits. Hosting and promoting local events, and sharing these on your website and social media, can further solidify your local presence.

Implementing local content marketing effectively increases the likelihood of your content being shared among community members, thereby amplifying your reach and impact. Moreover, such content is more likely to attract local backlinks, which further enhances your SEO efforts.

Social Signals

While social signals—such as shares, likes, comments, and follows on social media platforms—are often sidelined in discussions of direct SEO impacts, they play an important role in enhancing brand visibility and engagement.

These interactions contribute to the broader digital footprint of a business, indirectly influencing its search engine rankings through increased online visibility and traffic.

Active engagement on social media not only fosters community and customer loyalty but also drives traffic to your website by linking directly to your content.

This can lead to higher site engagement rates, which search engines interpret as a sign of quality and relevance. Furthermore, social media platforms provide a valuable channel for promoting local content and events, engaging directly with a local audience, and responding in real time to customer inquiries and feedback.

Your Easy-to-Follow Local SEO Checklist

To streamline your approach to achieving local SEO excellence, here's a structured checklist. This tool is designed to guide your efforts systematically, enhancing both visibility and conversion rates.

Google My Business (GMB):

• Claim your business listing.
• Fill in all details thoroughly, including NAP (name, address, phone number), business hours, and categories.
• Upload high-quality images.
• Regularly update your information to reflect any changes.

Quality Backlinks:

• Collaborate with local businesses to secure backlinks.
• Contribute guest posts to respected local blogs.
• Employ tools to assess the quality of your backlinks.

User Engagement:

• Actively monitor and respond to online customer reviews.
• Analyse metrics such as click-through rates (CTR) and call rates from your listings.
• Keep your content fresh and appealing with regular updates.
• Use social media to build community and interact with customers.

Bonus Points:

• Ensure NAP consistency is maintained across all online platforms.
• Develop local landing pages if you operate in various locations.
• Incorporate local keywords into your meta descriptions and title tags.
• Pay attention to behavioural signals, including mobile clicks to call.
• Engage in local content marketing to connect with community interests and needs.

Implementing this checklist will ensure that you cover all critical aspects of local SEO, positioning your business for better online discovery and customer engagement.