Google Local SEO Lessons

Easy Steps to ranking #1 in Google Local.

Posted by Ronald Eddy on Friday, April 20, 2012

Getting Your Business on Google Maps

If you’re a local business and are looking to drive local customers to your business site, a great place to start is Google places and Google maps. According to a new study from Bizible there are a few easy things you can do to improve your SEO and move up in the Google local rankings.

Two Parts to a Local Search Query:

  1. The search city - “Portland” when searching for “Portland pizza.”

  2. The search category - “pizza” when searching for “Portland pizza.” We also generated a list of synonyms for the search category

Integrated Search Results Factors:

  1. Having the primary category match a broader category of the search category was associated with a 1.42 improvement in rank. For example, primary category is set to “restaurant” and the search category was “pizza.”

  2. Having the search category or a synonym in the business name was associated with a 0.64 improvement in rank.

  3. Having the search category or a synonym in “at a glance” was associated with a 0.36 improvement in rank.

  4. Having five or more Google reviews was associated with a 0.31 improvement in rank.(more than 5 does little to improve your rank)

  5. Having photos (at least 1) was associated with a 0.25 improvement in rank.

The average ranking improvement for listing that implement these suggestions improved by about three positions. That is significant when you realize that on average there are only 5 integrated results listed for a search.

Pure Local Search Results Factors:

  1. Having five or more Google reviews was associated with a 1.47 improvement in rank.

  2. Having the search city in “at a glance” was associated with a 1.42 improvement in rank.

  3. Having the search category or a synonym in in review content was associated with a 0.97 improvement in rank.

  4. Having the search category or a synonym in the business description was associated with a 0.85 improvement in rank.

  5. Having the search category or a synonym in “at a glance” was associated with a 0.85 improvement in rank.

  6. Having the primary category match the search category was associated with a 0.79 improvement in rank.

  7. Having the search category or a synonym in in the business name was associated with a 0.75 improvement in rank.

  8. Having a secondary business category that was a broader category than the search category was associated with a 0.68 improvement in rank. i.e. secondary category is “restaurant” when searching for “Portland pizza.”

  9. Having at least one photo was associated with a 0.66 improvement in rank.

  10. Owner verified was associated with a 0.52 improvement in rank.

Listings using these factors on average saw a ranking improvement of 9 positions.

Search Engine Optimization Consulting

As you can see there are a few things to do to make a big difference in the SEO of your business listing. We at Unseen Revolution are search engine optimization specialists and can help you improve search engine ranking, list on Google Places for business, or list your business on Google maps.

The full report can be reviewed by visiting bizible.com


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