Does displaying a mobile number for business hurt local SEO?

[Clicksjim]

Perhaps a silly question but could someone please clarify if displaying a mobile number in the main site or Google places etc would hurt local SEO? Is having a regional landline/fixed telephone number a ranking factor?

EDIT: This is for a UK site, does anyone have experience of this is UK please?

[MiriamEllis]

My pleasure Clicksjim!

[Clicksjim]

Hi Miriam, wow - thanks for going to all that trouble, appreciated!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Clicksjim,

There's nothing silly about your question. I think it's a smart one. It took me a couple of days to get back to you on this because, like others on this thread, though I work in Local, I don't work in the UK. I wanted to speak with someone who does. We had a little chat.

Basically, I think there is agreement in the Local SEO community that a local area code is a ranking signal, but the strength of that signal, in relation to all of the many other signals, is unknown. It may be that Google uses that local area code signal to associate certain content with a geographic region, but how vital this is, in the whole scheme of things, is unclear.

The Local SEO I know (a very smart guy I trust) with UK clients says he ALWAYS advises clients to use a local area code landline because he feels it may give them a slight edge over competitors who don't, but he didn't state that he felt it gives them a really big advantage (but, most of us will try to take any opportunity we have to edge out the competition, right?). Another Local SEO I spoke with said he wondered if mobile numbers get less calls that landlines do, but he was just theorizing.

So, in your shoes, I would go with a local number for your UK clients, if you can, because it may give these clients a bit of an advantage, but if you absolutely can't do this for some of your clients, the effect will probably be slightly disadvantageous rather than majorly. so.

Hope this helps!

[sanctuarymedia]

I would say that if your mobile phone has the same area code as your business then you should be golden. Having this local number attached to your business is definitely a good signal.

[BedeFahey]

Unfortunately I do not have experience in the UK. I have done a smattering of work in New Zealand (for friends, since that's where I'm from originally)  where the mobile number system doesn't have area codes (027 and 021 are the only two prefixes for mobile). For more competitive phrases, I've never seen a business using a mobile number rank. This is only for a very small amount of work, however, and it could well be that there are other factors in play (such as the fact that the people using mobile numbers don't have any optimization, either).

I have a hard time believing that the UK algo would be so massively different from the US one that it would ignore phone number area codes.

Because it's a fairly big factor in the US, if I were being asked to make the call, I'd go with a landline with a local area code, which forwards to your mobile.

[Clicksjim]

Thanks for your resposnes - I forgot to mention that this is a UK based site so there are no regional mobile numbers whereas I think there is in the states and some other countries. Does anyone have experience of this in UK?

[BedeFahey]

No. There's no difference between a mobile number and a landline number. So long as the mobile number has a local area code.

As Anita said, just remember to be consistent.

[Anita_Clark]

Just be consistent and list the number you use most often.  For me that is my mobile number.

[SanketPatel]

Yes Having a regional landline/fixed telephone number is Good signal for local SEO. And putting mobile number will not going to hurt your SEO. Here is the awesome post on Citation ( your problem

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/you-asked-i-answered-qa-from-you-probably-think-this-citation-source-is-about-you-dont-you

Hope this help you out...