Local SEO Ranking Factors Flashcards
6 cards from real Local SEO practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Local SEO Ranking Factors flashcards as text
What is the impact of adding 'service area' settings in Google Business Profile for a service-area business (SAB)?
Answer: It tells Google which areas you serve, helping you appear in searches across your defined service region
Setting a service area in GBP tells Google the geographic regions you serve, enabling your business to appear in local searches across that area even without a storefront.
How does 'dwell time' on a local landing page potentially influence local rankings?
Answer: Longer dwell time signals content relevance and quality, contributing to behavioral ranking signals
Longer dwell time on local landing pages signals to Google that the content is relevant and valuable, which contributes positively to behavioral ranking signals.
What is 'review velocity' and why is it a local ranking signal?
Answer: The rate at which a business earns new reviews over time — steady, ongoing review acquisition signals an active business
Review velocity — consistently earning new reviews over time — signals that a business is active and trustworthy, which positively influences local pack rankings.
Which schema markup type is most important for helping Google understand a local business's information?
Answer: LocalBusiness schema (or a more specific subtype like Dentist, Restaurant)
LocalBusiness schema (or its specific subtypes) directly communicates structured data about your business — name, address, phone, hours — to search engines.
What is the 'Possum' Google local algorithm update known for?
Answer: Filtering out businesses with the same address or phone number, and making results more dependent on the searcher's location
The Possum update caused Google to filter similar co-located businesses and made local results more heavily influenced by the physical location of the searcher.
Why does Google's 'Vicinity' update (2021) matter for local SEO strategy?
Answer: It heavily increased the weight of proximity, making physical location much more influential than keyword-stuffed business names
The Vicinity update increased the influence of physical proximity as a ranking signal, reducing the effectiveness of keyword-stuffed business names and emphasizing location relevance.