Date : November 6, 2020
What Factors Affect Local Google Rankings? | Vicinus
To rank in Google, your business must optimise a combination of different local SEO factors. This is because Google’s local algorithm relies on a variety of local search ranking factors. However, as a result of this, it can sometimes be quite difficult to understand which areas of local SEO ranking for you to focus on in order to maximise your business in Google. If your local SEO is optimised, your business will be more likely to appear in the first three businesses in the local pack ‘near me’ searches as well as higher in localised organic search rankings too.
What are the Top Local Search Ranking Factors?
| Local Pack | Local Organic Searches |
| Google My Business (33%) | On Page (32%) |
| Reviews (16%) | Links (31%) |
| On Page (15%) | Behavioural (10%) |
| Links (15%) | Personalisation (7%) |
| Behavioural (8%) | Google My Business (7%) |
| Citations (7%) | Citations (6%) |
| Personalisation (6%) | Reviews (6%) |
How Important is GMB in Local Google Rankings?
The importance of Google My Business has grown exponentially over the past few years. From 2017, local pack rankings are taking up more space when it comes to local optimisation in comparison to counterparts such as links, citations and behaviours. However, it’s still worth noting that combining all of these factors into your local search optimisation strategy is an effective way of boosting your local rankings in Google.
Below is a table showing the significance of GMB over the past few years:
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Local Pack | 23% | 20% | 22% | 19% | 25% | 33% |
| Local Organic Search Results | 10% | 10% | 8% | 7% | 9% | 7% |
