Local Search Engine Optimization

Local search engine optimization (local SEO) is similar to (national) SEO in that it is also a process affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine's unpaid results (SERP- search engine results page) often referred to as "natural", "organic", or "earned" results. In general, the higher ranked on the search results page and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users; these visitors can then be converted into customers.

History
The origin of local SEO can be traced back to 2003-2005 when search engines tried to provide people with results in their vicinity as well as additional information such as opening times of a store, listings in maps, etc. Local SEO has evolved over the years to provide a targeted online marketing approach that allows local businesses to appear based on a range of local search signals, providing a distinct difference from broader organic SEO which prioritizes relevance of search over a distance of searcher.

Local Search
Local searches trigger search engines to display two types of results on the Search engine results page: local organic results and the 'Local Pack'. The local organic results include web pages related to the search query with local relevance. These often include directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, Facebook, etc. The Local Pack displays businesses that have signed up with Google and taken ownership of their 'Google My Business' (GMB) listing. Depending on the searches, Google can show relevant local results in Google Maps or Search. This is true on both mobile and desktop devices.

Google Maps
Google has added a new Q&A features to Google Maps allowing users to submit questions to owners and allowing these to respond. This Q&A feature is tied to the associated Google My Business account.

Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows businesses to create and manage their Google listing. These listings must represent a physical location that a customer can visit. A Google My Business listing appears when customers search for businesses either on Google Maps or in Google SERPs. The accuracy of these listings is a local ranking factor.

Ranking Factors
Major search engines have algorithms that determine which local businesses rank in local search. Primary factors that impact a local business's chance of appearing in local search include proper categorization in business directories, a business's name, address, and phone number (NAP) being crawlable on the website, and citations. In 2016, a study using statistical analysis assessed how and why businesses ranked in the Local Packs and identified positive correlations between local rankings and 100+ ranking factors.