I’ll be honest — my first reaction to the data when it crossed my desk was,
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 4:09 am
Google review elements (count, sentiment, owner responses, etc.) as having a greater influence on local pack rankings than does user-to-business proximity. Now, let’s take a closer look at which participants ordered ranking influence in this way. GMB elements ranked #1 It’s fascinating to see that, on average, agency workers rated Google My Business elements as having the most influence on local pack rankings. These would be practitioners who are presumably working directly with local clients on a day-to-day basis and continuously studying local packs.
Google review elements ranked #2 Overall, Google review elements rank second, and within this statistic, it’s survey takers who market one small local business who rate the influence of reviews most highly, on average. These would presumably europe gambling data be independent business owners or their in-house marketing staff who are regularly eyeing the local packs to see what seems to move the needle. Proximity ranked #3 Overall, the proximity of the searcher to the place of business ranks third, and within this group, it’s agency workers who, on average, rate the influence of proximity most highly.
So, again, it’s this group of marketing professionals who are contributing to the depiction of proximity being of less influence than GMB factors. Three theories for making sense of the proximity shift I was startled enough by the data to begin considering how to account for it.
I came up with three different theories that helped make more sense of this to me, personally. 1. Could respondents just be wrong? Certainly, it’s fair to ask this.
“Wait...this can’t be right. How can proximity be in third place?” I thought about how the long-running Local Search Ranking Factors project, which is confined to local SEO experts, has been placing proximity first for several years, and how our survey group is inclusive of every type of job title involved in marketing local businesses. Owners, creative directors, writers, in-house and agency SEOs, and many other types of practitioners contribute to marketing local businesses and participate in our initiative.
Google review elements ranked #2 Overall, Google review elements rank second, and within this statistic, it’s survey takers who market one small local business who rate the influence of reviews most highly, on average. These would presumably europe gambling data be independent business owners or their in-house marketing staff who are regularly eyeing the local packs to see what seems to move the needle. Proximity ranked #3 Overall, the proximity of the searcher to the place of business ranks third, and within this group, it’s agency workers who, on average, rate the influence of proximity most highly.
So, again, it’s this group of marketing professionals who are contributing to the depiction of proximity being of less influence than GMB factors. Three theories for making sense of the proximity shift I was startled enough by the data to begin considering how to account for it.
I came up with three different theories that helped make more sense of this to me, personally. 1. Could respondents just be wrong? Certainly, it’s fair to ask this.
“Wait...this can’t be right. How can proximity be in third place?” I thought about how the long-running Local Search Ranking Factors project, which is confined to local SEO experts, has been placing proximity first for several years, and how our survey group is inclusive of every type of job title involved in marketing local businesses. Owners, creative directors, writers, in-house and agency SEOs, and many other types of practitioners contribute to marketing local businesses and participate in our initiative.