How to Outrank 99% of Local Businesses on Google (SEO Tier List)

How to Outrank 99% of Local Businesses on Google (SEO Tier List)

Ranking Factors in Local SEO

In this section, the speaker discusses the key ranking factors in local SEO and their impact on Google Map Pack rankings.

Keywords in Business Name

  • Having keywords in your business name can significantly impact your ranking.
  • This factor is important but may require a legal name change for full optimization.

Keywords in Landing Page Title

  • Including keywords in your landing page title boosts ranking power.
  • Adding keywords after your business name is a must-do for better visibility.

Positive Google Reviews

  • Quality of star ratings influences rankings more than review quantity.
  • Encouraging five-star reviews enhances both credibility and search ranking.

Quantity of Reviews with Text

  • Balancing quality and quantity of reviews is crucial for SEO.
  • Aim for high star ratings and numerous reviews to improve visibility.

Physical Location Proximity

  • The proximity of your address to the city center affects rankings.

How to Improve Local SEO Ranking

In this section, the speaker discusses various factors that influence local SEO ranking and provides insights on how businesses can enhance their online visibility.

Factors Influencing Local SEO Ranking

  • Setting up a service area listing for cities, zip codes, or states does not directly impact ranking but informs clients of service availability.
  • Physical location in the city being targeted influences rankings; moving to the desired city or focusing efforts on current location can affect results.
  • Incorporating keywords in landing page headings, especially in H1 and H2 headers, is valuable for ranking power.

Enhancing Google Business Profile

  • Completing and verifying a Google business profile extensively boosts online presence and should be a high priority task.
  • Including relevant keywords in the business profile description enhances business information but does not impact rankings significantly.

Importance of Citations and City Name Inclusion

  • Consistent citations across online platforms are less crucial now but still beneficial for visibility; prioritize when time allows.
  • Including the target city name naturally throughout website content positively impacts local SEO efforts with minimal effort.

Backlinks Strategy and Internal Linking

  • Backlinks from relevant websites remain essential for ranking but are challenging to acquire; prioritize location relevance over industry relevance.

Landing Page Optimization

In this section, the importance of optimizing the landing page that a business profile links to is discussed. Emphasis is placed on linking to the homepage while also diversifying the linked pages.

Importance of Linking Strategies

  • Linking to the landing page (homepage) is crucial for a business profile.
  • Diversify linked pages but prioritize linking to the homepage slightly more than others.

Geotagging Images and Its Impact

The discussion revolves around geotagging images on websites or business profiles and its historical significance in SEO strategies.

Geotagging Images

  • Geotagging involves adding invisible code to photos indicating their location.
  • Historically considered beneficial for SEO ranking but has lost its effectiveness over time.

Google Business Profile Categories

Exploring Google Business Profile categories and their role in enhancing online visibility and search ranking.

Primary and Additional Categories

  • Google offers over 4,000 business categories for selection.
  • Choose primary category closest to your business and relevant search terms.

Maximizing Additional Categories

Maximizing additional Google Business Profile categories for enhanced ranking power and visibility in searches.

Selecting Relevant Categories

  • Maximize additional categories related to your business without stretching relevance.
  • Avoid confusing Google by selecting irrelevant categories that may harm your ranking.

Importance of Ranking Factors

Highlighting the critical role of primary and additional Google Business Profile categories in improving map rankings and online visibility.

Key Ranking Factors

  • Primary category selection crucial for aligning with search intent.
  • Maximizing additional categories enhances ranking power significantly.

Staying Ahead in Online Visibility

Addressing the evolving landscape of online visibility, emphasizing the need to adapt strategies for improved map rankings and organic search results.

Adapting to Changes

  • Understanding shifts in online visibility dynamics is essential for staying competitive.
Channel: Wes McDowell
Video description

You’ve done everything right, but you still aren’t showing up where you want to be in the Google map pack. Local competitors who shouldn’t be outranking you ARE. And every day you’re not showing up, you’re losing out on a lot of money. In this video, I’m talking about the biggest local SEO ranking factors that you should be focusing on most, including what’s a waste of time…and the #1 thing you can do to land at the top of the map - even if you were to ignore everything else. 🎬 Register for the FREE On-demand video masterclass training, "The Automated Clients-on-Demand Website Blueprint for Service Businesses" Just go to: https://wesmcdowell.com/utm/website-2024 🤑 Need Website Hosting? Use my affiliate link to get the best current deal: https://wesmcdowell.com/hostinger