Best Tips to Get In the Local Pack

[BlueCorona]

Apart from making sure your business information is 100% accurate, etc., what are your best tips to get a company ranking in the local pack? Do they need to rank well organically to be considered for the local pack or is it solely based on the consistency of their GMB page?

[Ria_]

There are many factors to it, but I've personally found the main influencers to be:

• citations, citations, citations.... consistent across all local directories
• reviews... I find sometimes that a client won't be ranking in the local pack, and then they get a couple of reviews on Google and are included.
• good presence or mentions on local websites (local news, local blogs, local businesses, etc)
• PROXIMITY! Local pack is all about proximity these days. Not something that can be easily helped, but it's good to bear in mind.

[MiriamEllis]

Nice tips, Ria. I'll add some more!

[MiriamEllis]

Hey There!

In addition to Ria's smart tips, I would focus on links when you need to move the needle. Earning/building links on authoritative local and industry websites would be key here. This is one of the only things, honestly, that can make a serious difference when you are in a super competitive geo-industry market (like a personal injury attorney in LA!).

And I want to emphasize content publication - your ultimate goal is to become Google's idea of being THE authority on your topic, whether that's auto glass repair, organic groceries or yoga. You can become THE authority to Google by becoming THE authority to local consumers - the site they turn to for specific topical information, and that they link to, share, review, etc.

There are believed to be several hundred factors that Google takes into account in determining local pack rankings, so, understandably, it's a pretty nuanced environment. A bakery in rural California is going to be able to rank well with very minimal effort, but their location in San Francisco is going to have more of an uphill battle, simply due to the strength and breadth of their local competition.

Something to keep on your radar: the annual Local Search Ranking Factors 2017 study will be being released here on Moz soon. This polls the opinions of some of the top Local SEOs in the world, and you will be able to gain expert insight into what really brainy folks feel is impacting rank most heavily today, both in the local and local-organic results. So, stay tuned for that as it's coming soon!

[BlueCorona]

Thanks, Ria! These are extremely helpful.

It's crazy how much of a change we've seen with proximity impacting the local pack—but it makes sense and definitely provides the user better options! It is just a hard pill to swallow at times.

Thanks again!

[BlueCorona]

Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough response, Miriam! I really appreciate it.

I am looking forward to seeing the annual Local Search Ranking Factors 2017 study once that is released—I will keep an eye out for it!

Thanks again!