Looking for local SEO ranking factors?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a key criterion to succeed in business through a dominating online presence. Local SEO is the strategy/practice of optimizing the presence locally to engage local customers.
It’s particularly beneficial for small to medium startups with offers suitable/targeted for the locals. Even businesses with a locally available physical storefront can highly benefit from a better local SEO ranking.
What Makes Local SEO Ranking So Important?
Clicking on the ‘Open Now Near Me’ results from SERPs grew over 400% globally during the pandemic. Consumers are not only looking for online purchases but also trying to find locally available options.
Since internet users are increasingly checking into local storefronts, businesses have to become visible. That too, in a way that local users/visitors/customers can find your services/products in the first place.
Imagine someone from your locals opting for your competitor or distant alternative. That too, happens with a few clicks. Just because your services/products are either unavailable or not on the top of SERP.
So, becoming visible is as important as being available. There are many factors involved in pushing your local SEO ranking in 2024. Let’s have a look at the topmost factors to consider for local SEO optimization.
01. Google My Business (GMB) Listing
Setting/Claiming your GMB profile has been a simple yet fruitful strategy to push your local SEO ranking. It acts more like a digital storefront on Google Maps associated with local SERPs. Customers tend to keep GMB in mind to a greater extent while purchasing products/services.
Don’t forget to verify your GMB profiles while filling out all the information, including relevant keywords. Verification is mandatory since Google must know whether you, in fact, are the rightful owner. Inserting the address, contact, time, pictures, and other descriptions is a must.
No need to worry about any charges as Google My Business is entirely free and rather straightforward. Google puts your location through Maps right at the top of SERP. Thus, your business/store technically ranks 0 above all, allowing customers to notice you in the first place.
02. Positive Online Reviews
Customer reviews have long been a crucial segment of commercial success, especially for online ones. Many different surveys took place from time to time, only to reveal the significance of online reviews. Nearly all visitors/viewers take these reviews as trustworthy personal recommendations.
You better claim your startup/business/store in leading online reviewing platforms. Some noteworthy sites are Google My Business Reviews, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon, Zillow, etc. It’s necessary to prioritize the potential business category since different sites catch up with distinctive audiences.
For example: TripAdvisor looks good for restaurants whereas Zillow seems good for housing. Increasing the reviews (number as well as rating) is the next step. You must remain respectful and responsive to online reviews, particularly the negative ones as customers often look at those for ideas.
03. NAP Consistency
Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP) may seem like a no-brainer but it still remains a crucial element. Online citations of your business must come consistent regarding this information. Basically, anywhere that mentions your website requires your data to remain constant.
Leading data aggregators like Data Axle, Foursquare, CitySearch, Neustar Localeze, etc. to spread or cite your NAP. They act more like a distributor of your business to hundreds/thousands of online directories. Local search engines often use these citations as leads for validation.
Reaffirming accuracy of your online information across all directories/listings can connect more visitors. Any misinformation or error can make potential viewers turn away immediately. Building and optimizing local citation opportunities is essential to boost local SEO rankings.
04. Local Keywords
Conducting a detailed keyword search provides great insight into relevant, top, and relatable searches. Keywords are the phrase visitors/customers/users will type in the search box. Don’t forget your location and nearby competitors to carry out these terms’ strategic placement.
Long-tail keywords in meta and title can drive more traffic without costing much time, effort, or money. However, short-tail keywords are mostly generic without specifying the customer intent. It’s better to put the short-tail ones embedded in the long-tail keyword to cover both.
Google/Yelp Suggest, Google Keyword Planner, Local Voice Search, etc. are the standard methods to find your keywords. Overusing keyword(s) causes keyword stuffing, leading to Google penalty at some point. These phrases/word strings should appear naturally without disruption.
05. Engagement Metrics
Measuring the user interaction with your website from various aspects is important to assess your SEO performance. Different quantitative parameters to measure the visitor interaction with the site/app are called engagement metrics. It reveals the site user’s interest, behavior, experience.
The key SEO engagement metrics are –
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of visitors to click on the SERP link.
- Bounce Rate: Percentage of users to view a page without further interaction.
- Dwell Time: Time spent by a customer on a single webpage before returning.
- Pages Per Session: Number of webpages viewed by a user on each visit.
- Average Session Duration: Average time a user spends on a website.
- Scroll Depth: How long a user scrolls down a webpage before leaving.
- Conversion Rate: Percentage of viewers to make desired actions.
- Social Shares/Comments: Rates of shares/comments on social media platforms.
- Returning Visitors: Visitors to return to the website (or a webpage).
- Exit Rate: Percentage of users to leave on a specific webpage.
Bouncing and exit rates should be minimal, a higher value often indicates issues with contents, action, and/or experience. Higher values for other metrics are desirable to rank better in local SEO.
Google Analytics, SimilarWeb, KissMetrics, Hotjar, and Moz Local are the top tools/techs you should try. They are the leading website/app analyzing toolkits to help with your online success through SEO.
Wrapping Up
Occupying the top section of SERPs with your Google Maps location is the key point of a successful local SEO boost. Ranking higher isn’t easy, especially when your business has competitors in the locality. Even when there’s no mentionable alternatives, you can’t ignore the fact of customer engagement.
That’s why ranking high in local SEO concerns productive marketers to spread/expand the overall reach. All the factors explained above are related to one another, requiring you to set a balanced approach. And the best part of using local SEO optimization lies in its cost-efficiency as well as simplicity.
Now you know the local SEO ranking factors, Contact Tectera a SEO company in Sri Lanka to improve local SEO ranking.
