How does google choose the local searches?
-
In a larger city (london for example) when there are dozens of one specific industry, how does Google choose who to show in their local results?
For example if I type "solicitor london" it shows me 7 local results, but I know there are far more than 7 solicitors in London. Do they change as frequently as the rest of the serps or is there something you can do to ensure you get in that local search?
Added to this, does being part of a chain/franchise make a difference?
Help/thoughts/advice would be appreciated.
-
Super, Gordon! So glad my reply was helpful and happy reading!
-
Thanks Miriam, that's given me plenty to go on!
-
Hi Gordon,
Good question! Just like in organic search, there are several hundred factors that go into determining Google's local rankings. No one but a few people at Google actually know what these factors are, but Local SEOs have been able to pin some of the most evident factors down.
Since 2008, David Mihm has held an annual industry survey to determine expert opinion on what the top local ranking factors are. Here is the 2013 edition of this survey:
moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
If you're new to Local and are struggling to understand the nuances of the factors, this Moz post will give you a visual walk-through of the top 20 local search ranking factors:
http://moz.com/blog/top-20-local-search-ranking-factors-an-illustrated-guide
Recently, Moz has launched some exciting new tools in the localsphere, along with a substantial free education resource. You can really jumpstart your own education if you visit the Moz Local Learning Center at:
For more free educational resources for beginning Local SEOs, check out:
http://moz.com/blog/free-local-seo-education-for-businesses-on-a-shoestring-budget
With this education in hand, you will begin to understand how to promote a local business so that it can compete with its local competitors for inclusion in Google's all-important local pack results.
I sincerely hope these resources will get you off to a super start!
-
As Gary said there are many factors included in local search such as the optimization of that page, natural ranking, local citations, etc. If you want to see how you are doing, click the "Map results for solicitor london" link under the 7 pack and go to "list all results." This should be your rankings for local.
-
Ranking in local results has many factors.
The first thing you need to know is that the results are a mixture of natural rankings and local
Here is one way to see where sites rank naturally without the local listings
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=solicitor+london&num=10&start=1 This link will exclude the very first result (whoever ranks #1), I have not found another way to do this.Once you have determined who ranks naturally and who ranks for local, you can start to figure out what is going on.
It all comes down to optimization of your local page and citations from various places and a trust level from your domain including quality score.There are some great people in here that can explain in depth about how to optimize your local business page so that you get a top 7 position
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google Places Competitor Category Ranks (Should we copy them?)
Competitors use "Interior designer" as primary category in Google My Business, they rank well in Google Places, across the phrases we target. Currently we use the same category, but "Office refurbishment service" would seem to be more relevant to us. Should we move to "Office refurbishment service" as the Primary category in Google My Business? If we do move would we need to change our citations? And for other keywords should we be influenced and copy the categories used by our competitors?
Local Listings | | GrouchyKids1 -
Two Google My Business accounts for two companies at same address
I have a client (flat roofing) with two registered businesses both of which are based from the same address, upon trying to create a new GMB account for the second business, it was immediately suspended by Google. So somewhat unsurprisingly one address one business, but is there a way around this?
Local Listings | | Donsimong0 -
2 Businesses, Same Location, Different Google My Business Accounts?
This is not my area of expertise, but I have a customer with a unique problem. They are primarily an agency that assists student-athletes nationwide with the college recruiting process. They also have a non-profit organization that runs soccer camps for local kids only. The soccer camp would of course benefit from having it's own GMB page, but they've been told by Google that they can't use the same address as their recruiting business. They are in the same office and moving/adding an office isn't an option at this time. Does anyone have any ideas on how to overcome this issue without risking penalty from Google? Should they change their business name to combine both and add categories for their non-profit? They're such disparate businesses that I'm reluctant to have them do this, but is that the best/only option? Thanks all!
Local Listings | | camarin_w1 -
Javacript & Schematic Markup for Local SEO
I am trying to apply schematic markup for a client who is using javascript for their store hours and maps. Will Google be able to comprehend the data in the Javascript file if I set up a schematic property for this? I wanted to use this specific property http://schema.org/openingHours. Our client is also importing reviews from a third party source. Would it be possible to apply schematic markup to a 3rd party source? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
Local Listings | | RosemaryB0 -
1800 number for google local
Hi A client with a local business has a 1800 number on their google plus page and most citations. How important is it to use the local number and not a 1800 one for google local? Should we change the phone number to the local number and update all listings? Or should we just continue with the 1800 number and stay consistent? I have added the local number as a second number on the google plus page.
Local Listings | | henya1 -
How to appear on Google Maps
We have a Google+ Local page, however, we are not appearing at all in Google Maps when searched for relevant keywords, such as Tax Accountant Dandenong (for google.com.au). What can we do to make sure that our business appears on Google Maps when relevant keyword phrases are searched?
Local Listings | | Gavo0 -
Google Places for Business Image URL Suggestions
Hi All, Currently am grandfathered on the old Bulk Upload version of Google Places for Business. I am being told that the ability to upload images using their upload tool will not be available any longer. Therefore, I am being forced to house the images for each of my 900+ locations on an outside server and then reference the web url location for each image for each location. I can handle creating the spreadsheet for this, but my question is, does anyone know of a good place to store images in folders that will create clean urls? Example, I have location 1. I have a folder on my hard drive called location 1 that has 10 unique image .jpg files in that folder. I want to be able to upload that folder to an image host/server and have the url come out something like, www.example.com/pics/location1/image1.jpg I have tried multiple online storage options so far, such as dropbox, shutterfly, and some one offs, but have not found anything that can do what I need. I don't have the ability to buy a new hosting account with FTP to create my own image storage library, so must be a free solution. Greatly appreciate any help anyone can offer
Local Listings | | dsinger0 -
Google won't index my site?
Hi, I've just signed up and am new to SEO. I placed my site live around mid December 2013. Initially I got 2 pages indexed but now not even they show up for site:www.traditional-cleaning.co.uk. According the Moz analytics I have 3 pages with duplicate content which are: http://traditional-cleaning.co.uk/http://traditional-cleaning.co.uk/index.htmhttp://traditional-cleaning.co.ukProblem is I have no idea how to fix this, don't know whether Google isn't indexing my site because of this and generally am a bit stuck! Can anyone have a quick look at my site and give me a push in the right direction?
Local Listings | | EdwardoUK0