Local SEO Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Local SEO facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which of the following is NOT a positive local search ranking factor? * → Having a physical address in the city where you are looking.
2. The _____ upgrade, which took place in August 2018 and significantly impacted sites in the ____ vertical, was a change to the Google core algorithm. → Medic/health & wellness
3. What is a working description of the kinds of reviews one would read on a review website like AirBnB, Yelp, Amazon, or Google? → Reviews are often a mix between real or fake reviews.
4. Which of the following statements about duplicate Google local business listings is incorrect? * → Google's guidelines no longer prohibit duplicate listings.
5. Blog/forum remarks, external links from other websites, social media, and press releases. → off-page factor examples
6. What is the most important factor for ranking in Google's Local Pack? → Relevance to the search query, proximity to the searcher, and prominence of the business
7. Does adding photos to your website impact the ranking of your Google listing? → Yes
8. What is paper trading? → Practicing trading with simulated money to test strategies without financial risk
9. What is a 'geo-grid' rank tracker used for in local SEO? → Visualizing local search rankings across multiple locations in a grid overlay
10. In Google Business Profile Insights, what does a 'Direction Request' metric indicate? → A customer clicked to get driving directions to your business
11. What is a local landing page? → A webpage optimized for a specific geographic location to capture local search traffic
12. What shade of pink does Google's test heart look like in the SERPs for companies that have the "Identifies as Women-Owned" attribute? → Purple
13. Can generate more awareness of your site and its content, leading to more backlinks as well from how easy it is for users to share site content. → social sharing buttons
14. Why is NAP consistency critical for local SEO? → Inconsistent NAP confuses search engines and can hurt local rankings
15. This does not fall under the new Google Core Web Vitals: → Site speed
16. What does the 'W' stand for when it is added to the acronym NAP? * → Website
17. True or false: Minifying your CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files can increase your load time. → FALSE
18. Which of the following techniques for website optimization would you advise clients to avoid? * → Placing numerous call tracking numbers in crawlable text on various website pages.
19. Which of these considerations is crucial when evaluating the effectiveness of a new link? → It can take time for a new, valuable link to trigger an increase in SERP rank
20. True or false: Using exact match keywords is preferable to using partial match keywords. → FALSE
21. What is a 'data aggregator' in the context of local SEO citations? → A company that distributes business data to hundreds of directories simultaneously
22. 301 redirects send along link equity, correct or incorrect. → TRUE
23. Google will fill up your opening date from other sources if you don't provide it in GBP. → TRUE
24. RankBrain is a component of Google’s core algorithm which uses this to determine the most relevant results to search engine queries. → Machine learning
25. True or false: Installing Google Analytics has a direct impact on your Google rankings. → FALSE
26. Which of the following business models are unlikely to qualify for a Google+ Local page? → A virtual e-commerce company
27. True or false: Including search intent in reporting aids in comprehension of users' actions and reasoning. → True
28. What is 'prominence' in the context of Google's three local ranking factors? → How well-known a business is based on links, reviews, and online mentions
29. Yelp encourages company owners to actively solicit customer reviews. → False
30. Which user role for Google Business Profile was discontinued in 2025? → Site Manager