Local ranking factors primarily focus on how Google Maps listings appear on the local search engine results page (SERP). There are potentially hundreds of individual factors influencing results and search engine algorithms are continually being updated.
The Local Search Ranking Factors annual report is considered to be a go-to resource for understanding how to rank in Google’s local search results.
According to the latest report, local ranking factors are organized into the following groups:
Google Business Profile signals
Location proximity, categories, keywords in business name, etc.
Reviews
First and third-party reviews, quantity of reviews, recency of reviews, star ratings, etc.
Citations
Location information, NAP consistency, quantity of citations, etc.
On-page SEO
Presence of NAP, keywords in title tags, domain authority, etc.
Off-page SEO
Inbound anchor text, domain authority of links, quantity of inbound links, etc.
Behavioural signals
Click-through rate, mobile clicks to call, Google Business Profile interactions, etc.
Personalization
User search history, search location, mobile device location, etc.
