Ranking stuck

[Webzenz]

Hello, I have a client with whom we are doing all the "right" things. We have a blog we add relevant content to once a week, we post on facebook, google+, twitter. We have stumbleupon and tumblr links. We have nice high pr links from local non-profits whom we sponsor for charity events. We are in the local citation sites and have 5 real reviews (working on more) But we are stuck anywhere from page 4 to page 2 for most of our keywords, which are all insurance related in the Gainesville area. I would love to hear some fresh ideas! http://dukeinsuranceagency.com , thanks!!

[Dr-Pete]

I suspect this isn't so much a general SEO problem as a local SEO problem. Those two worlds have really diverged a lot these days. Generally, you're ranking well for brand terms (you even have expanded site-links) and you come up first in the local 7-pack for "insurance newberry florida".

I suspect the problem is related to Gainesville, and that your local cues aren't very strong. The location (not being in Gainesville) is a stumbling block, and there's no easy answer for that. There are other cues you can tap into, though - the big one is reviews. Reviews still have a big impact on local rankings, and legitimate reviews can go a long way (don't spam them).

David Mihm's piece on Local Ranking Factors is still the go-to, and it shows just how complex this has gotten:

http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

The main thing is that on-page factors (like Gainesville-related keywords) will only take you so far these days. Google is going to treat any "Gainesville"+"insurance" query as having local intent.