Search Engine Marketers Weigh In On Local Search Ranking Variables

Jun 17, 2008 at 4:22pm ET by Greg Sterling

SEO practitioner David Mihm conducted a survey of local search marketing professionals about which variables they believe most heavily influence local rankings and results. It’s a great resource for those interested in local SEO and related issues. Rather than a simple list, it’s an open discussion of the criteria and considerations that appear to boost or harm local rankings.

As Mihm describes the project:

I invited 20 experts active in the Local Search Marketing community to participate in this study, with the goal of identifying the factors that would be most helpful for ranking well in the Google and Yahoo Local Search algorithms, as well as techniques to be avoided.

Accordingly, there are 41 positive considerations and six negative factors. Among the “significant positive factors” influencing local rankings, the survey results reflect the following:

1. Local Business Listing (LBL) address in city being searched (4.13) 2. Proper categorization of LBL (4.00) 3. Product / service keyword in LBL title (3.78) 4. Proximity of business address to city centroid (3.59) 5. Validation of business information with third-party providers (3.57)

There are also debated issues and factors. Overall, it’s a terrific discussion for practitioners and unique in its comprehensiveness.

This kind of tactical, granular discussion will be at the center of the presentations and panels at SMX Local-Mobile, July 24-25 in San Francisco.

Postscript: David Mihm will be at the conference presenting these findings on day 1.

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, and writes a personal blog Screenwerk, examining the broader world of media and advertising. He also posts at a Local Mobile Search, which is focused on the mobile Internet.

See more articles by Greg Sterling >

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