It's that time of year again, when the SEO experts at Moz publish what has become the most authoritative report on the state of local search ranking factors for each year. The most up-to-date version came out in mid-October 2014, and reveals several interesting insights you'll want to know as you begin the new year. Moz surveys experts in the local search field and produces a report that details what they suspect Google is using to rank local pages.
Sometimes it can be difficult to wade through the SEO-speak, so in a nutshell, here are our takeaways from the latest report, issued October 13, 2014.
Top local search ranking factors 2014
- User Behavior on the site - What your users does once they arrive on your site appears to have a big influence in your ranking. Things like clickthroughs, getting directions, interactions with forms, etc. are receiving far greater attention from the algorithm.
- Proximity to the searcher - Google's algorithm is becoming more adept at GEOI locating your user, and sending them to appropriate results. They are even being able to detect desktop locations more effectively, a big change form even last year.
- Your domain's authority - This is rising fast. If you are a brand and are engaged in building authority and presence in the search engines, more and more Google is deciphering this and helping your pages to rank in front of the more spammy results.
- Citations still work - Citations are still a big part of the plan, and even unlinked citations from an authority site are appearing to be very useful and advantageous. Still strive to acquire more and better citations as part of ranking well locally.
- Your on-page SEO is the largest single factor - Still the largest single factor in ranking well locally is your on-page SEO. Make sure your NAP data, title keywords, GEO locators, and local engagement are up to speed to help you get great results in local rankings.
I would certainly encourage you to read the full report, which can be accessed through this page.
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