2018 Local Search Ranking Factors: Google My Business Signals Up 32%
Results of the survey are largely similar to last year’s, with one exception.Google My Business signals now make up 25% of the top ranking factors for Google’s local pack. That’s up from 19% in 2017.
Features such as Google Posts, Google Q&A, and image/video updates are frequently mentioned throughout the survey as top ranking signals.
Darren Shaw, founder at Whitespark, emphasizes there’s still an opportunity to jump on those features before others do:
Privacy concerns are among the top reasons why some people prefer using other search engines instead of Google. We wanted to know which Google search alternative is favored by marketers, so we asked our Twitter community.
Popullation says “Many businesses are not yet investing in these aspects of local search, so these features are currently a competitive advantage. You should get on these before everyone is doing it.”
