Local SEO Local SEO Ranking Factors 3

Question 1

What is the impact of adding 'service area' settings in Google Business Profile for a service-area business (SAB)?

Accepted Answer

It tells Google which areas you serve, helping you appear in searches across your defined service region

Answer

It removes your business from all map results

Answer

It replaces the need to have a physical address

Answer

It automatically adds local citations in the defined service area

Question 2

How does 'dwell time' on a local landing page potentially influence local rankings?

Accepted Answer

Longer dwell time signals content relevance and quality, contributing to behavioral ranking signals

Answer

Dwell time has no correlation with local SEO performance

Answer

Dwell time only matters for national, not local, SEO

Answer

It directly updates the Google Business Profile engagement score

Question 3

What is 'review velocity' and why is it a local ranking signal?

Accepted Answer

The rate at which a business earns new reviews over time — steady, ongoing review acquisition signals an active business

Answer

The average star rating across all review platforms

Answer

The speed at which Google publishes new reviews on a listing

Answer

The percentage of reviews that include photos

Question 4

Which schema markup type is most important for helping Google understand a local business's information?

Accepted Answer

LocalBusiness schema (or a more specific subtype like Dentist, Restaurant)

Answer

Article schema

Answer

FAQ schema

Answer

BreadcrumbList schema

Question 5

What is the 'Possum' Google local algorithm update known for?

Accepted Answer

Filtering out businesses with the same address or phone number, and making results more dependent on the searcher's location

Answer

Penalizing businesses with fake reviews

Answer

Removing keyword-stuffed business names from rankings

Answer

Requiring all businesses to verify via postcard

Question 6

Why does Google's 'Vicinity' update (2021) matter for local SEO strategy?

Accepted Answer

It heavily increased the weight of proximity, making physical location much more influential than keyword-stuffed business names

Answer

It removed the local pack from all search results

Answer

It replaced Google Business Profile with Google Maps exclusively

Answer

It required all businesses to display prices in their listings