As the internet becomes more and more crowded, competition in recent years has seen a marked increase. Search engines have to continuously revamp their algorithms in order to prevent abuse of the system and naturally display the best and most relevant websites for each query at the top of rankings. As more and more businesses make their way onto the World Wide Web, it comes as no surprise that local search is a topic of increasing interest for many. How exactly, though, can a local business or brand ensure its dominance in key local search results? The answer is complicated, but the majority of the answer can be addressed through a few simple variables. Below, we will discuss the most important elements for achieving local search ranking authority.

Physical Address Listed

Whether it is pinging your blog to local search engine results or pushing a new product to a niche audience, there is a need to associate that brand and site with a given area. This can be done in large part by including your physical address both on your site and in all forms of external content that reference your brand. As search engines pick up this content via indexing, it will correlate your brand and web pages to the address in question, giving you a needed boost in overall local search results.

Authority of Domain

Domain authority is a relatively straightforward concept that is used to assess how well a given URL will perform in select search results, based primarily on keyword usage and similarity. Newer websites and those that have just been created will naturally enjoy lower domain authority, but purchased URLs and those in existence for some time will not suffer from this. Other factors play into domain authority as well, such as social signals and optimized content. One of the biggest reasons social media is now so popular among businesses is that it can be used to boost domain authority (and convey the physical address components mentioned above).

Independent Reviews

Another important area in which local search ranking authority can be built is by obtaining a variety of third-party reviews from sites such as Google Places, Yelp and others. What these reviews do is convey to search engines that your business or brand is in fact legitimate and has received natural, organic attention to justify its placement in local search. The information associated with reviews such as these (primarily location) further reinforce the inclusion of your website in select local search results.

Google Prominence

Do you currently have your brand or business listed on Google Places? Have you created a profile for your website on Google Plus? If you answered no to either (or both) of these questions, then you need to act immediately to boost your site’s exposure and authority. Local search results via Google are affected in large part by how much credibility you receive from other Google products – if you have a consistently used Google Plus profile and an active presence on Google Places, then you can expect a solid boost in traffic and thus, more people pinging your blog on a regular basis.