After taking a year off in 2016, Moz is back with its 2017 survey of local search ranking factors. The survey is based on the aggregated opinions of dozens of local search experts, who have been asked to provide their opinions on this year’s top ranking factors on local search.
Without further adieu, let’s dive right in. The specific ranking factors are broken down by rankings in Google’s local pack, and rankings in Google’s organic local search results. It feels like more emphasis is placed on the local pack ranking factors, which could be due to the fact that the local pack appears before organic search results snippets.
In the full survey you can see all of the top 50 ranking factors for each section. In this article I will narrow down just the top 10.
Top 10 Local Pack Finder Factors
- Proximity of Address to the Point of Search (Searcher-Business Distance)
- Physical Address in City of Search
- Proper GMB Category Associations
- Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to Domain
- Consistency of Citations on the Primary Data Sources
- Domain Authority of Website
- Product/Service Keyword in GMB Business Title
- Quality/Authority of Structured Citations
- Consistency of Citations on Tier 1 Citation Sources
- Click-Through Rate from Search Results
Top 50 Local Organic Factors
- Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to Domain
- Domain Authority of Website
- Diversity of Inbound Links to Domain
- Topical (Product/Service) Keyword Relevance of Domain Content
- Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain
- Quantity of Inbound Links to Domain from Locally Relevant Domains
- Click-Through Rate from Search Results
- Geographic (City/Neighborhood) Keyword Relevance of Domain Content
- Product/Service Keywords in Anchor Text of Inbound Links to Domain
- Mobile-Friendly/Responsive Website
Additional Information
In addition, the survey also rounds up the opinions of local search experts regarding what they’re focusing on more since the possum update, what they’re focusing on less since the possum update, and what they believe are the top negative local ranking factors.
The survey concludes with individual SEOs providing insight into what they’re seeing affecting rankings so far this year. The entire piece is valuable reading for anyone looking to keep their local SEO skills sharp and up-to-date.
