Factors Used by Google to Determine Local Rankings

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Factors Used by Google to Determine Local Rankings

Google allows people to search for businesses within a specific locality, town or city. In fact, Google released its Pigeon algorithm to make it easier for people to get hold of search results that are more relevant to their area.

This means that you have to get your website displayed prominently in the search results if you want people to know that your business is available at their location. Local SEO is fast becoming a more integral part of a website. You can take a look at the factors given below. These factors are used by Google to help users get relevant search results when looking for local businesses.

Location in the Title of the Landing Page

Among all the factors that affect the ranking of your website in local search results, this the most important. You must denote the location of your business in the title tag of the landing page. You need to mention the city as well as the state in the title tag

Domain Authority

This is important for all websites. If the domain authority of your website is higher, then you are going to get a higher ranking. The domain authority of any website will be dependent on a variety of metrics.

Page Authority for Each URL

The page authority is based on the rankings of a particular URL in the search rankings. You should pay attention to this particular metric as it is quite useful. It can help you when you are trying to target a particular keyword.

Quality of Links

Google will consider the quality of links that are inbound to the domain you are using. The authority of these links will also be considered. You should try to get links from websites that are authorities in their niches. By getting links from these websites, you can improve the authority of your own. This in turn will increase the search result ranks.

Physical Location

You need to accurately describe the physical location of your business. Your location will be a major factor in the ranking of your website. If a user searches within your locality, your website will get a higher rank. On the other hand, the rank will be lower if the users are searching for businesses in the next locality.

Mentions of Products in URL

You should create pages for each product or service that your business offers. Ensure that the URL of a page should contain the name of the product or service. This will make it easier to get a good rank.

Meta Descriptions

Describe your business in short inside the meta-descriptions. The descriptions should be concise but enticing enough to make the users click on the links. The same is applicable for the title tag. At the same time, it will improve the click through rate for your website.

There are many other factors which come into play when you are trying to get a good rank in the search results. The ones mentioned here, are the most important ones that you should consider.