If a recent study carried out by Local SEO Guide is to be believed, then there’ll be novel factors or aspects that’ll required to be factored in if you wish your site to secure a high enough rank on the GMB (Google My Business) SERPs. The research was conducted in collaboration with Irvine’s Center for Statistical Consulting under University of California. The objective behind carrying out the study or research was to find practical answers to a query that had to do with planning the modus operandi for devising the local SEO promotional strategy.
The research threw up sufficient data that corroborated the resemblance of SEO factors impinging on GMB pages which secured high ranks whenever Google went in for a search engine optimization drive. This blog dwells on the study takeaways that highlight the most influential SEO factors which will play a key role in determining your site’s local search engine optimization ranking. The findings from the study pinpointed on the following facets that are most likely to have the maximum impact on search results.
- Links
One of the findings of the study concluded that inbound and outbound links will continue to make a substantial competitive difference even in the niche or exclusive domain of GMB rankings. The local SEO landscape observed from the perspective of link building had always been in a state of flux and with Google, the world’s most popular search engine, occasionally restructuring its search algorithms, the SEO factors or standards are being redefined more often.
Amidst such a scenario, the significance of creating quality links has become more imperative. Majority of the SEO specialists agree that building links, and quality ones at that, is one of the most challenging tasks. Therefore, it doesn’t need to be emphasized that becoming deft in link-building can go a long way in keeping you ahead of competition and your competitors. Google exploits links for two definite objectives-to track newly launched websites and to figure out the rank that the search engine can accord to the webpage. So, whilst making a decision, not only the content in your site’s web pages are screened but the quality and quantity of links of external sources (read websites) directing to such pages are reviewed as well. Though you or your SEO strategist might never be able to ferret out the algorithm updates that the search engine takes advantage of in order to rank sites, you’d stand yourself in good stead if you realize that link-building continues to be a major determinant of that algorithmic mix.
- GMB Signs and Signals
Signals, pointers or indicators inside the GMB page have qualified to be included amongst the prime ranking parameters. The images, non-biased reviews, and the page’s association or connection with a profile that is Owner Verified comprise the core signals. If your business’s name or domain includes a SEO keyword, then there is a high probability that your site will claim a better rank. Hence inserting a keyword in the business name of the GMB page is touted to be a major differentiating SEO factor in the local SEO scenario in 2017.
- Website Signals
The rank that the GMB page of your business will ultimately secure is surely going to be influenced by the conventional signals for organic SEO ranking of your e-commerce site. In this context, the volume of content as well as the keyword density also seemed to make an impact.
The Factors that Won’t Make a Significant Difference
Citation consistency and Geo text where you insert the city’s name and the state in title tag won’t influence GMB pages’ ranking status as much as the GMB signals or links.