Let’s take it from the people that work at Google – their own philosophy when addressing the rankings on Google for local results are based upon three primary factors – relevance, distance and prominence. They use these factors to make sure each site gets a fair ranking for the users that browse for stuff on the most popular search engine on the planet. What do these three factors mean? Well, let’s take a closer look.
Get A Website To Rank For Google Local
First off, relevance (as the word suggests) is how well a local listing matches what a user is looking (searching) for. In order to be relevant in local terms you ought to have detailed business information which will help with easily identifying your business and matching it up with relevant search results.
Second, distance is just as important – in order to be featured prominently on a search result list you have to have a clear Google maps presence with calculated distance based on what Google has in store about your location (in correlation to other landmarks in your area).
Last but not least, prominence is what Google considers your business in terms of importance. Think of this is the “word of mouth” in search terms and this is a very good example as to how to think in terms of expansion and availability on the web. How much information is being shared about your website / business, in how many links you appear, or how many sites link up to your own. This is the most difficult yet “game changing” factor which will help you get a better standing in terms of local search results so you have to keep an open mind and constantly updated your connections and expand the network in order to appear more prominent.
These are the general rule of thumbs however so let’s dive into some specifics. Before you begin your online quest for a better standing in local search results on Google, start from the beginning – make sure that all your listing information is correct. Then, try to increase your presence by adding citations and inbound links from some of the major data providers.
Once you have everything set up, you ought to add proper category associations as well as fill out your business address on the contact page. To always keep things in perspective and keep your website appearing regularly in the appropriate search results you must also utilize SEO techniques and embrace social media in order to boost your standings. Search Engine Optimization is key since the use of keywords and phrases that are most relevant to your own website can turn the tide and leads to users find your site more easily. Lastly, depending on what you plan to do with your website (or are already doing it) you need to understand that content is king. Without great content people won’t link to your site, you won’t be mentioned anywhere and in the end the search for your website will become a closed circuit. You can check for more high quality content that drives more traffic at this South African site.
