Not bad!. Here are several considerations when prioritizing your keywords for content mapping. Tip number one, A/B testing or simply testing. Moz API Power your SEO with our. Predictably, both rankings and traffic declined significantly. Because there's such a big disparity here, both of them have a handy 10 point scale, as illustrated below. Local SEO / Search Engine Optimization. Diversity of inbound links as a ranking factor in pack results moved up 22 spots from last year, and even in competitive markets, it rose 10 spots to #14. 1. Google Ads is very competitive and Google uses an auction system to decide which ads to show. 5. Their answers provide insight into the inner workings of the search marketing both now and in the future. You must continuously work on having a great backlink profile in order to compete. Falls below the expected CTR for a given position by 6 percent, then you're likely to appear in position 10. You know, give a percentage that you would assign if you were giving an overall assessment of the importance of this factor in Google's ranking algorithm. 3% of URLs by that metric, we can compare what ranking difference is associated with being in the top 36. There's a new ranking factor in town: Core Web Vitals. The survey is based on the aggregated opinions of dozens of local search. Individually owner-verified local Plus page. 1. Moz Academy’s Local SEO Certification (Paid - $395, 5 hours and 45 minutes) Invest in this paid on-demand video course and you’ll access nearly six hours of formal but fun training in how to do local SEO. A lot of this lesson refers to our Local Ranking Factors. The age-old saying, “Content is King,” means more than it ever has. Another crucial ranking factor for Google is how well your content matches a user’s search intent. Overlap and similarities. Google wants to provide the best possible answer to your query. & CTO of WordStream, the World's leading provider of PPC marketing software, including the AdWords Grader and the 20 Minute PPC Work Week. On-Page Signals came in a close second at 26. Your All-In-One Suite of SEO Tools. Back in the day, MOZ investigated the most critical factors necessary for local rankings for the second time. Part 1: On-page factors. This study is based on the first 20 organic results for every MozCast keyword (10,000 keywords), on both desktop and mobile, from a suburban location in the USA. Domain Analysis Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more. Backlinks are important for any business’s local SEO strategy. In this article I'm going to address the current state of local SEO in 2016, review some findings from a new data-driven local SEO study, and provide you with some actionable tips to win the local SEO game. 1:25. The following data represents the opinions of our respondents of the various. Pete explores the trends, major hold-outs, and what to expect in the near future. Personalization refers to how well your business, content, and site are maximized for a targeted audience. So that's basically the makeup of the local search algorithm today, based on the opinions of the people that participated in the survey. The Most Important Ranking Factor: GMB Features. Let’s set you up for success with seven local SEO precepts for the year ahead, some expert commentary, and many signs of good things to come! 1. The survey asked respondents to rate many different factors on a scale of 1-10 according to how important they thought they were in Google's ranking algorithm. 1370. Pigeon was designed to tie Google’s local search algorithm closer to their web algorithm and to improve ranking parameters based on distance and location. STAT SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts. 4. Several years ago, my company invented The Mosquito device which emits high frequency sound to disperse groups of troublesome kids. #4 Reviews. In 2017, when I wrote the original version of this post, contributors to the Local Search Ranking Factors survey placed Google star ratings down at #24 in terms of local rankings influence. These guidelines are a document that Google has provided to this whole army of quality raters. For the fourth year running, Stone Temple (now a part of Perficient Digital) conducted a study on how much links matter as a ranking factor. Let’s dive right into the most interesting new things we’ve seen in the first three months of 2023! A new local search ranking factor!Every two years, Moz surveys over 100 top industry professionals to compile our biennial Search Engine Ranking Factors. Improve your customer experience and boost rankings. This week for Whiteboard Friday we are taking a look at how to get a video to rank on YouTube. 0 – Moz. The impact of Google My Business on local search rankings has seen significant growth in 2018, according to Moz’ 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors survey. 2 depicts the spearman correlation coefficient of all the critical factors to SE rankings, including social media-based factors, based on data from analyses performed by Moz, 8 Searchmetrics 9 and The Open Algorithm. When we asked a few hundred people to pick which of two pages would rank better for a range of keywords, the average accuracy on UK SERPs was 46%. Matt Peters, new data partners, and over 150 search. 2. User Satisfaction ("Last Click"): the holy grail of SEO, and, ultimately, the experience Google strives to deliver in its search results. Today I am going to share some of what I found. In addition, I am going to compare it against raw ranking data pulled by my company, Stone Temple Consulting (STC). Download the report for further analysis and view the numbers in the light of how Google might adjust proximity based on new factors like. Moz is a renowned name in the search engine industry. 14. David co-founded GetListed. Keyword Explorer Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1. #4 Reviews. 9)A study by Brian Dean’s Backlinko that looked at over 11 million search results to come to 11 conclusions about ranking factors. It was 600000 last month it got increased to 1000000 by. Unfortunately, you can’t optimize your website using the set. 1. Local Search Ranking Factors 2018: Local Today, Key Takeaways, and the Future - Whiteboard Friday; 9. Next the new Domain Authority incorporates spam detection. This study is based on the first 20 organic results for every MozCast keyword (10,000 keywords), on both desktop and mobile, from a suburban location in the USA. Google, like regular people, uses reviews as signals of trust. 35 to -0. An exclusive interview with Moz Local details improvements that are coming in June 2019. In this course, you’ll dive into the pillars of local search - proximity, relevance, and prominence - and learn about local search ranking factors. Sarah is CEO of Moz and has been at the company since joining as the eighth employee in 2007. Then there's a second school of thought, almost equal to the first school of thought, that says Google's. 307 are both very strong correlation scores in an environment as complex as organic search. The Moz Local toolset includes a robust business and review management platform. The Local SEO Cheatsheet [Free PDF Download] : Download your free 5 page Local SEO Cheat Sheet. Authority of Linking Domain: The referring domain’s authority may play an independent role in a link’s value. 5) The value for each term is the weight that it gets in your query. ) make up 25. Therefore, the ranking model in this article is focused primarily on keyword relevance. com (US). This year's Local Advanced Ranking Factors identified 83 foundational ranking factors. Moz Links API. This year, Moz surveyed over 150 leading search marketers who provided expert opinions on over 90 ranking factors. It’s a score from 1 – 100, with 100 being the strongest and 1 being the weakest level of authority. The location being tracked will also be displayed in your rankings reports as well as on the keyword analysis page: The local rankings feature allows you to enter your desired tracking. The survey known as Local Search Ranking Factors has been an industry favorite since its inception in 2008. Sarah is CEO of Moz and has been at the company since joining as the eighth employee in 2007. 5. 8 Local SEO Search Factors. Moz started as an SEO consulting company in 2004 and now helps local businesses with citation consistently with Moz Local. Google is the dominant player in mobile. Our goal is to make Moz Local the most efficient option for location management, with an easy-to-use interface and an affordable price point. 9) Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community (3. These features are creating shifts in the importance of factors that are driving local search today. Relevance. Despite its success, seven years is a long time in SEO. Mostly Forums, Blogs, or Product Review websites. Content freshness is one of the most important SEO ranking factors. Include testimonials on your website. It defines the type of content that should be updated frequently. 1 search engine-ranking factor today, assuming a site’s content is. “All the fancy footwork in the world won’t get you anywhere. Google has been creeping closer to going fully mobile-first for years. His annual Local Search Ranking Factors project is among. S. Tonight I will be mostly reading. We have been doing some research into how to rank in Google mobile web search. Mobile-Friendly As A Google Ranking. 94%. Read along to learn more. This space will become more and more competitive. Google has the unique QDF (query deserves freshness) algorithm. You'll notice the Y-axis is showing a hypothetical Link Juice metric on a. The number of Google+ circles an author is in. Yet, the first time a Google representative said online that links were a ranking factor was in 2016. Let’s take a look at some of the most important Google ranking factors so you can learn how to increase your SEO ranking on Google. She’s helped grow the company from a few hundred customers to now more than 37,000. I believe the future of search can be categorized by what I will call The Six V's: value, validity, variety, vision, volume and visitors. 4 Review Signals. Rather, the Panda algorithm rewards. David co-founded GetListed. 25 billion+ keyword index. ) Websites that add new pages at a higher rate may earn a higher freshness score than sites that add content less frequently. Once you have your keyword list, the next step is actually implementing your targeted keywords into your site’s content. Taking maximum safety precautions, delivering at the curb or the front door, facilitating online purchasing, and experimenting with new ideas are all must-haves for 2021. Here are two Local SEO studies that did a great job of identifying the most important factors for search engines. Finally, you’ll be set up for success with a local SEO framework that you can apply to future local SEO plans, clients, and locations! Define local SEO, and determine if a business is eligible. Top 200 Most Statistically Significant Factors for Ranking on Google. Although the term Amsterdam was given a score of -0. In the example in Figure 2 above, there are four advertisers competing for an auction with Ad Ranks of 24, 20, 12, 8. More data is certainly needed in order to answer your question in a more specific way. One of the best paths to building a sterling local business reputation is to run. ”. The author's views are entirely their own (excluding the unlikely event of hypnosis) and may not always reflect the views of Moz. 1. 3. 2. We designed Moz Local to be the most efficient option for location management, with an easy-to-use interface and an affordable price point. 2005 -. Another crucial ranking factor for Google is how well your content matches a user’s search intent. 3. This one is relatively easy to prove. 328 and 0. In this brand new Whiteboard Friday, Russ Jones discusses the theory behind those ranking factors, and gives us some improved definitions and vocabulary to use when discussing them. Moz Pro. Link building will become more deeply integrated into Local SEO Local Search Ranking Factors 2018 cited links as the 6th most influential local pack factor. Quantity of citations from locally relevant domains 15. Anecdotally, we've heard reports of traffic increasing up to 10% after inclusion. That’s a very hard question to answer with a high degree of certainty. 91. Local SEO | Marketing Industry. If there’s another website that you just can’t seem to outrank, their stronger link profile is. But often times it will also rank for other keywords. Moz Local Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management. According to the study, the following ranking factors are relevant:. It’s a third-party SEO metric first developed by Moz that represents how likely a domain is to appear in the SERPs over its competitors. To determine which number corresponds to which category, navigate to the category on Amazon and find the number Amazon uses in the node parameter in the URL. Mobile-First Optimization. Medium ($179/month) — 1500 trackable keywords across 10 projects. Aggregated expert opinions on the importance of factors individually and ranking influencers overall (as with 2009's version) Correlation numbers for the factors (on as close to a 1:1 basis comparing data against the question asked to those surveyed)Absolutely perplexed on the ranking factors for Google Maps (hence also the 3-pack in normal search results). Mobile-First Optimization. Moz Local Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management. Compare US mobile and desktop down to the national and local levels. The way your page is optimized has a huge impact on its ability to rank. Of the 20 factors in which one of the three competitors scored a clear win, Tansy won 17, Lovage won 2, and Rosemary won 2. According to Whitespark (2020), who also surveyed a group of SEO experts to find out which ranking factors contributed the most to local SEO, off-page accounted for over 50% of total rankings too. This factor has been climbing from position #8 in 2014, to position #4 in 2015, to claim the #1 spot in 2017. Citation signals are one of the top local ranking factors. These indicate to search engines that your page is meeting customer needs, which. Spearman’s rank correlation is used, as we’re comparing ranked variables (organic ranking) with logarithmic (ish) metrics like DA, and variables with extreme high-end values (like. That was the biggest piece of the pie. This factor has been climbing from position #8 in 2014, to position #4 in 2015, to claim the #1 spot in 2017. Reviews Are 8. Reputation, and the awareness of its role, will be very big in 2019. Say that you have ~20 pages on your site with 400 words each on average, you’re looking at ~£100 ($130) for the lot. You can optimize for these signals, and you might say, "Hey, I know that, in my world, these signals are much more. Since citations are 11% of local SEO, this step will help you create and fix your top 15 citations. The following are the top on-page ranking factors that can affect your website's search visibility: title tags, meta descriptions, on-page content, internal. 5. Primary Google Business Profile category. #1 On-Page SEO. Do a search for almost any local business and you’ll see Yelp on page one. While Moz. Quantity of third-party traditional reviews 20. 4% Of Local Search Ranking Factors. I admit that I did not know how the myth of "200 Google Ranking Factors" was created, but a good SEO pal of mine, Giorgio Taverniti, revealed it to me. However, engagement was the highest-ranking social factor, according to Moz respondents, who only gave it a score of 3. If there’s another website that you just can’t seem to outrank, their stronger link profile is. This year has seen the most explosive growth in GMB specific factors in the history of the survey. A/B testing. Nov 20, 2023, 01:15pm EST. I'm going to start with some on-page topics. This allows you to monitor results and see what’s working, make quick SEO edits to what isn’t, and ensure you meet all of the Moz local SEO guidelines, including the Moz SEO factors. At that next meeting in which you are training staff who directly interact with your. But when we pull out, when we go broad, I think that just a few items, in fact just the nine we've got here can basically take you through the majority of what's required to rank in the year ahead. Whether it’s a blog post, infographic, video, in-depth guide, interactive tool, or something else, content truly rules everything around us online. Call (214) 310-1356 to get started. 4 percent of global traffic. For example, take a local keyword like “gluten free pizza brooklyn”. Call (214) 310-1356 to get started. See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs. Theory #1: Snippets aren't featured based on organic search ranking factors alone. Colan is. What it doesn't do, though, is it does not say there is a specific way to do SEO for RankBrain itself. Recent research from BrightLocal has revealed that the average local business ranking 1-3 in Google Local has an average of 85 local SEO citations, and that there is a correlation between higher numbers of citations and higher rankings in Google Local. Reciprocal connections to other high Author Rank authors. Explore Moz Pro, Moz Local, and STAT and get started today! Compare Moz SEO products to find the solution that fits your website or business. More referrer data. Here’s what a page optimized for on-page SEO looks like: Learn more in our Complete. Moz has codified this into metrics called page authority and domain authority scores, both ranked from 0 to 100, which tell you how likely a particular page or domain is to rank in organic search results. Expected in 2021, this Google-announced algorithm change has a few details you should be aware of. Make sure you’re tracking rankings from multiple zip/postal codes. He has created and promoted search-friendly websites for clients of all sizes since the early 2000’s. Content can vary — it could be a webpage, an image, a video, a PDF,. Moz Local Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management. The new query is as follows: croquets (2) and (1) bitterballen (1) cafe (0. STAT SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts. A variety of negative outcomes can arise from the presence of duplicate listings, detracting from your local business' ability to rank well and win customers. 87. 3% for Speed Index. The survey asked respondents to rate many different factors on a scale of 1-10 according to how important they thought they were in Google's ranking algorithm. It enhances the perception of your site's expertise, trustworthiness, and relevance, helping you. David Mihm from Moz said the biggest takeaways he noticed were: (1) Behavioral signals such as click […] Barry Schwartz on October 14, 2014 at 8:45 am | Reading time: 1 minuteModel factors: Domain authority doesn’t just look at link counts, Moz added Spam Score and complex distributions of links based on quality and traffic, along with a bevy of other factors. Tip number one, A/B testing or simply testing. #7 Search Personalization. “The core essentials in 2021 will remain about the same — every SEO needs to understand the fundamentals of crawling vs. According to the MozCast Feature Graph, 6% of Google search results contain In-depth articles. SEO practitioners optimize websites, web pages and content for the purposes of ranking higher in search engines, like Google. It’s not 160 characters or whatever– 100, 200, 20, or whatever. Build some links. According to a new study, when both brand- and location-specific pages exist, 85% of all consumer engagement takes place on the local pages (e. Proximity of Address to the Point of Search Sometimes referred to as the user-as-centroid phenomenon, this element has hit the #1 spot for the first time ever in. The result was that we have always ranked at position 1 or. 3 percent) I often tell clients who are new to SEO that we can simplify SEO down to two key areas: relevance and authority. Moz Local. Domain Registration - DomainTools. 🕵️ But do you know that optimizing for local search ranking factors…Here’s how to fight well: 1. 20. The first time Google declared it was using 200 ranking factors was in its Press Day on May 10th, 2006 (you may also want to read the live blog Matt Cutts did, as. For most of these companies, understanding that there are 200+ ranking factors does more harm than good. Nov 20, 2023, 01:15pm EST. Thank you for being a reader. The latter listed social signals as a ranking factor, an assertion that inspired a debate in our article’s comments. The origin of the myth. Now the quality raters do not have the power to put a penalty on your. Create a target list of image SEO opportunities to pursue. Easy and intuitive user interface makes ramping up painless. (Or not) Move on to the next project. On-page relevance is pretty easy to understand on a basic level. So much has happened, and on the strength of the warm reception this nascent local search quarterly review received in 2022, I’m going to continue the series this year. Takeaways. SEO stands for search engine optimization. Fig. As “passing” the three thresholds for CWV represents being in the top 36. On the heels of its Local Ranking Factors survey, Moz has released a “State of Local SEO” report. Local Search Ranking Factors: Explore all the signals Google uses to rank local businesses. We present the average score across all responses. (Search. So let's dive into that. Index. Local SEO and mobile go hand in hand because more and more people are using their mobile devices to search for local businesses on the go. com breaks down Google local ranking factors to a granular level, we like to classify them into three main categories. were considered. • Old domains may positively correlate to better rankings due to other. Name your new listing and start adding all of your important business information. This includes building backlinks, acquiring citations and social mentions, and fostering partnerships with authoritative websites. Use schema on your site. GMB-specific features like Google Posts, Google Q&A, and image/video uploads are. com (US). Why Moz Local Is a Must. I always thought that classic on- and off-page SEO was one of those three factors. Off-page SEO is a strategy that involves actions taken outside of your website to improve your search engine rankings. . To get into the local pack, you need to know what to focus on. 3. So in this school or camp, where things are directly measurable and impactful, Google E-A-T is not a ranking factor. The results of the 2015 Local Search Ranking Factors Survey have been released and, as per usual, change is the only constant for our ever-evolving digital industry. 5) Anchor Text of Inbound Link (4. At Stone Temple Consulting (STC) we deal with many different types of organizations, including some of the world's largest companies, and some of the highest-traffic websites in the world. Knowing about the Local SEO Ranking Factors is extremely important so that you can influence these factors to work in your favor. To this end, we used the suggested queries from all 22 top-level categories in the Google Adwords tool. Let's talk about the art of figuring out your competition using Google Maps. Based on these factors, Moz issues a score from 1-100. Below we recap the top 10 local SEO ranking factors that have been identified by David Mihm, a local SEO analyst and now-employee of the Moz crew. Ranking Factors 2023: Systems, Signals, and Page Experience. They're usually called something like ranking factors or ranking elements study or the 2017 ranking factors, and a number of companies put them out. Local ranking factors; Tool & software usage; Gaps in the marketplace; High ROI strategies and tactics; Get the full report! A window in time on local business marketing. List the types of search intent & how they relate to local SEO. It enhances the perception of your site's expertise, trustworthiness, and relevance, helping you. Now that you know how your target market is searching, it’s time to dive into on-page SEO, the practice of crafting web pages that answer searcher’s. Moving on, make site search simple and obvious. Local SEO. We have review factors at 15%, links at 16%, on-page factors at 14%, behavioral at 10%, citations at 11%, personalization and social at 6% and 3%. Falls below the expected CTR for a given position by 6 percent, then you're likely to appear in position 10. 10 It is important to mention that the three-way classification of the values of the spearman correlation into small (r s. By Miriam Ellis, Local Search Marketer at Moz, 1st Nov 2023. Before improving your SEO ranking, you’ll need to know your starting point. Structured Data is present. For. Hi, Question from a newbie. Both types are included in the top SEO ranking factors. org, which he sold to Moz in November 2012. 11. SEO practitioners optimize websites, web pages and content for the purposes of ranking higher in search engines, like Google. 5 = -0. g. On-page SEO tips for 2022. SEO Basics Part 3: On-page optimization. 5), and Google My Business (7. MOZ study shows that TDLs plays an extra role that influences the native OR LOCAL search visibility which ultimately increases DA. The presence or absence of business information is one of the most crucial local SEO ranking factors. He is a contributor to Moz’s famous Local Search Ranking Factors survey and is a former Google MapMaker Regional Lead. Moz page authority is a score that predicts how well a website page ranks on search engine result pages (SERP). Check out these quick and simple ways to get backlinks from high authority sites. Hey there, Moz fans, I'm Darren Shaw from Whitespark, and I'm here today to talk to you about why you need to find all of your NAP variations before building local citations. STAT. A lower score means a weaker website that will have trouble ranking for competitive keywords. Moz Links API Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links. Robots. Optimizing your web presence for personalization means creating relevant content for the demographic. Claim Google My Business Profile (and optimize). David co-founded GetListed. #6 Behavioral Signals. Years ago, Moz started to do this work with correlation stuff,. Every two years, Moz surveys the brightest minds in SEO and search marketing with a comprehensive set of questions meant to gauge the current workings of Google's search algorithm. Historically, the Whitespark local search ranking survey asked participants to select their top 20 local SEO factors. Statisticians typically talk in 95% or 99% confidence ranges (though note that a 95% confidence interval is still wrong one time in 20). To outrank your competitors, the Local SEO focus on listing your Google My Business. See why 10,000+ customers choose Moz Local for their location management needs. Search intent is simply a term that describes what the user is trying to accomplish with a search. Start by creating a list of all the known citations for your business. It also offers a free tool to check reviews of Google Business at a glance. Each month YouTube receives over 800 million unique visitors who watch more than 3. The. This alone can SIGNIFICANTLY improve rankings and I highly recommended spending an hour gathering logins and doing this. If you are the first website in the organic section of the SERP (don‟t be confused by the paid ads at the very top), then your rank is 1. According to Google, 20% of all Google searches done on mobile are now voice searches. 01% in 2017 to 25. It's also important to note that on this chart some lines dip below 0 on the "mean derivative of uber" y-axis in the 20-25 ranking position range. First we're going to divide the overall relevance (200) of a page (100) to a particular keyword into two subsets: on-page relevance (210), and off-page relevance (220). Using Moz’s ranking data on over 200,000 domains, combined with multiple SimilarWeb data points—including traffic, page views, bounce rate, time on site, and rank—the Search Ranking Factors study was able to measure how. g. indexing and the technical basics that have to be met before a site can rank,” says Moz Search Scientist, Dr. 016268 0. This year, we've continued that tradition and added a whole new element of research, comparing the aggregated opinions of 132 SEOs around the world with. Citations are one of the primary Local SEO ranking factors. 2015 Ranking Factors Expert Survey. The following data represents the opinions of our respondents of the various. Then Search Engine Land did a comprehensive breakdown of Moz’s rankings, which has helped us put together our own summary below. Since 2005, SEOmoz has released a new version of the Search Ranking Factors survey every two years, a piece of content that many in the SEO world have used and referenced. The rank tracking capabilities of Moz Pro are as follows: Standard ($99/month) — 300 keywords, which you can add to 3 projects. Thanks!Regarding each of the ranking factors you have mentioned: Age of Domain - The age of the domain is not a ranking factor per se. For 49%, Facebook is in first place, followed by Yelp (46%), TripAdvisor (28%) and Nextdoor (20%). The essential SEO toolset: keyword research, link building, site audits, page optimization, rank tracking, reporting, and more. 7 seconds it is faster than approximately 75% of the web. Here's how it looks in Moz Analytics: A keyword with a location specified counts against your keyword limit in Moz Analytics just like any other keyword. On an individual account level, I've seen server security optimization improve page performance for multiple clients. Here’s my shortlist of factors that Google is likely to use in their calculation: The average PageRank of an author’s content. SEO is a set of practices designed to improve the appearance, positioning, and usefulness of multiple types of content in the organic search results. The number and authority of. There’s even more that good local brands can do. Matt Peters and the Moz Data Science Team measured the correlation between Google +1s and higher rankings. Here are some general local SEO ranking factors: Google Business Profile (GMB) for business owners. 24. The 2021 Local Search Ranking factors are in! Here’s what you need to know to help local businesses. ) Those of you who attended MozCon a couple weeks ago got a sneak preview of these results, but I'm guessing that few of you had a chance to fully digest them in the 14. Proper category associations Proper category associations are important enough to be ranked #1 in the survey. 1. Related: Google Ranking Factors. Moving can be challenging for your Google ranking, so I'd suggest reading the Moz Local Search Ranking Factors if you have not yet and be ready to start working to increase some of those ranking signals after you move. To determine which number corresponds to which category, navigate to the category on Amazon and find the number Amazon uses in the node parameter in the URL. Metric #1: SERP CTR After analyzing dozens of queries that my colleagues and I searched for, I am going to make a bold statement: "Proximity to searcher is the new #1 ranking factor in local search results today. SubdomainThe study on local SEO ranking factors showed that Link Signals were the most important overall ranking factor at 27. The origin of the myth. 2016-08-16. They deceive the searcher and the buying public and they. of links is now a critical part of the ranking equation, and when seen in great quantity, it can overshadow many other ranking factors - you can see plenty of web pages that are weaker in all the other three factors I describe here ranking primarily.