The moz.com Local Search Ranking Factor Survey

Moz.com, announced their annual local search ranking factor survey this summer. In a moz blog post, David Mihm provided a preliminary summary of the survey in a pie chart (not shown.) http://moz.com/blog/local-search-ranking-factors-2013, August 7th, 2013.

The Over –Arching Results Are Summarized As Follows:

~67%
(Each of the first 4 factors are weighted equally at ~16.7%)

Place Page Signals *
Categories that relate to the search term, keyword in the business name, proximity to the search locale.
External Local Signals *
Consistency of the name, address and phone number (NAP) in IYP aggregator listings (e.g., YP, SuperPages, Yelp, CitySearch, InsiderPages etc.,)
On Page Signals *
The presence of NAP, Keywords in Titles, Domain Authority etc.,
Link Signals *
The relevance of anchor text in in inbound links (IBLs,) Linking domain authority.

~33%
(Each of the last 4 factors are weighted equally at ~6.7%, except “Reviews” at ~13%)

Review Signals *
The quantity of local reviews, the review velocity (i.e., rate of reviews over time,) review diversity etc.,
Social Signals *
This includes Google+ authority, Facebook likes and Twitter followers etc.,
Behavioral/ Mobile *
Click through rates, mobile clicks, offers etc.
Personalization *
User Search settings, search session signals, etc.

Domain Name Strategies

In the same survey, moz.org lists geographical names in the domain name of a websites, as only the twenty eighth most important ranking factor in local search. They track PMD (partial match domain,) and EMD (exact match domain,) as decreasing in influence for the top ten rankings for any given search, over the last 3 months.

At least one SEO pundit has challenged the moz metric, for competitive local search verticals. In July, John O’Conner conducted a study of the top ten rankings for * city geo + legal specialty + lawyer * search queries across a number of cities. He reports nearly 42% of the top ten SERPs contained PMDs or EMDs.

It is perhaps difficult to discern correlation and causation in this case. On one hand, moz is a global authority on SEO, and its data pronouncements may in part be contributing to the trend over time, as SEOs worldwide adopt the trend away from using keywords in the domain name, based on this valued oracle’s pronouncements.

On the other hand, it is plausible that what Mr. O’Conner may be seeing, is the efforts of SEOs in a highly competitive search marketing vertical, utilizing every historically accepted advantage in local search. Moreover, his study makes the case that SEO tactics evidenced by moz PA, DA, and linking domains for SERPs with PMDs or EMD, roughly correlates with the success of keyword containing domain names, without appropriate attention to domain legacy and other important optimization factors.

The fact remains, that unless Google announces that it is suppressing rankings for sites with keywords in their domain names, (other than the generally accepted suppression of domains with keywords linked by two or more hyphens, when coupled with additional over optimization factors,) SEOs are likely to utilize every potential advantage to achieve rankings.

Such a move would present a problem for Google for at least two reasons. Some keyword phrases are also brand names, and the use of city geo terms in domain names, often aids in quickly determining relevance to the locale in the search query. The same is true of keywords that functionally describe the product, or service niche. Blueprint works hard to provide their clients with every possible advantage towards competing in their online markets, based on their individual needs and by taking all of the local search factors into account.

Meta Tag and Page Optimization

Adept use of locale related keyword terms in title and description meta tags, as well as headings and body text remains indispensable in influencing search results. An interesting result in the moz 2013 survey, is that SEOs ranked keywords in body text as more influential than headings. NAP (name address, and phone number) in meta tags and on the page is also seen as an important optimization factor.

Google+ and Google Places Listings

This year Google has merged Google Places pages into Google+ Local pages. This means local search rankings are aided by an optimized presence in Google+. One aspect of local search that is important to note is the centric nature of Google Map Listings. In the image below there are two maps.

The map on the left represents Office locations for Healthcare professionals for Google+ Map listings taken from a blended search results page. The search is for a specific field of healthcare professionals in Atlanta. Notice how tightly clustered they are. This means that Google will favor locations closer to the center of Atlanta that are Google+ participants for this type of listing.

The map on the right represents the office locations of Healthcare professionals that were found at the top ten organic search engine results for the same search. Notice that the locations are spread over a wider area. This means that centricity of location is not the only factor in determining what results will be seen.

Local Citations and Natural Link Building

Citations in local online newspapers, “Best of… ” reviews, online professional associations etc., will contribute to authority scoring by Google for local search rankings. Whether or not there are back links to your site, the reputation and authority will accrue.

Rand Fishkin of moz has hypothesized that Co-citation and Co-occurrence are important factor in Google’s search algorithm, citing a search result in which ThomasNet ranks number 3 for a search for “manufacturing directory.” This occurred without the presence of the search query keyword terms on the search result page. Instead, Google determined the relevance and authority for ThomasNet from all that it knows about “manufacturing directories” from snippets across all relevant pages in its index.

Mobile Optimization (Responsive Search Design)

Responsive design for mobile search is being pushed by Google, so that the mobile search experience is the best it can be. m.domain.com clones of traditional website are proliferating on the internet. Download speed, customization of content for smaller displays, and on-page apps that interact with the phone when clicked, are among the changes being made to optimize mobile search. Blueprint is a leader in cutting edge responsive design and mobile optimization. The results our designers and developers are accomplishing for our clients is nothing short of astonishing.

Social Media Signals

moz’s 2013 local search survey cites Social Media signals and personalization (User Search settings, search session signals, etc.,) as the last but certainly not least over-arching factors affecting local search engine search results. Social Media is maturing as a marketing tool. Google also weighs it importance as a means of news, information and communications into its local search results. This includes Google+ authority, Facebook likes and Twitter followers etc., assocaited with your website.

Personalization

Finally, Personalization is weighed as a factor when Google determines the results it displays for your search query. Important factors include the geographical search setting on your browser. In fact if you install a “click stream” tracking extension on your browser, you can see a display of Google+1 , Google Adsense, Google Adwords for example tracking your search session, if you are involved with any of these activities. The totality of your search session, is no doubt influencing the results Google will return to your next search query.

By: Jim Haugh