Participants in the survey were asked to identify the influence of ranking factors across localized, organic and pack results. Results were then tabulated via inverse scoring, where the number one ranked factor received the most “points” for that question, and the lowest-ranked factor received the least amount of points.

Behavioral Signals

More and more, behavioral signals are gaining importance. Mobile signals and behavioral signals make up almost 10 percent of the algorithm across localized and pack organic results. That figure is up 38 percent compared to last year. In localized organic results, click through rates were judged the number four factor. As a matter of fact, it was in the top 10 factors for search ranking. Experts have also noted that additional behavioral factors may be playing a role, including pogosticking and post-click time onsite.

Citations

Citations went from 15.5 percent to 13.6 percent as a ranking factor but are still crucial. For both pack results and in competitive markets, citation quality and consistency should be the focus. After you’ve read in between the lines, it’s easily seen that the quantity of citations is less important. And that’s apparent after many sites got hit by Panda releases for sparse content. For authority, it’s all about quality and consistency of citations.

Links

Compared to 2014, links were up 9 percent as a general ranking factor. The diversity and quality of links play a strong role in the ranking factors in the snack pack. In competitive markets, it rose 10 spots. In localized organic results, product and service keywords in anchor text, location keywords in anchor text and locally-relevant links all moved up a minimum of 10 spots in 2015.

Centroid in Proximity

In local SEO, proximity refers to the distance between the business location and the user’s location and the business location and the centroid. Centroid used to refer to the city centroid, but it now refers to the Google+ Local Centroid. It’s the center point of the seven pack listings that appear for localized queries. In 2015, the proximity to searchers moved up four spots in the pack-specific rankings. In competitive markets, it moved up 10 spots. Without a doubt, the location of a business matters but only with regard to where folks are physically conducting their searches.

As you can see, there’s a variety of factors that go into ranking high in the search engines for your local business. If you’re looking for a diversified strategy and a team who never sits still and is always researching the latest algorithm updates, then contact us for a free quote today!

Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly?

To determine if your website is mobile friendly, test it out on Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test page. Although this test isn’t without a few flaws, it’s an effective gauge to determine whether or not your website is in Google’s good graces. Another method to test your website’s mobile performance is to do a search for it on a mobile device. If the SERP entry has the mobile-friendly label, then you’re good to go.

Take it a step further and run your website through Google’s Mobile Usability Report. You can find it in Google Webmaster Tools or https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/. With this report, recommendations are given to ramp up mobile use.

Notable Changes in the New Algorithm

The new algorithm will be analyzing mobile compatibility on a page-by-page basis. Google will be taking a look at the mobile-optimized pages and promoting only those that are optimized. At the same time, Google won’t be penalizing the entire website if there are some pages that aren’t optimized. Be sure that your website is well-designed and responsive.

Another feature of the new update will be real time. That’s really good news. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly by the April 21^st launch, you can optimize it any day, and the bots will crawl the page for a new score of mobile-friendliness.

App indexing is also a new feature for sites with associated Android apps. Its purpose is to tighten the connection between mobile application and mobile search. To enhance app indexing, Google recommends the following:

• Verify the app’s official website on Google Play Console
• Add deep links to reach specific content in the app
• Check for errors in Webmaster Tools and fix them
• Provide deep links for each web page with corresponding deep links on the website or in the sitemaps

What You Need to Do to Brace for the New Changes

When Google gives the command, it’s wise to follow. If you don’t, you’ll be left in the remaining dust. You’re going to have to adapt to the new mobile-centric world of marketing. Be sure that your website is responsive and address any mobile usability problems with Google’s Webmaster Tools. And if you have an Android app with your website, make sure it is deeply linked and indexed quickly. Lastly, monitor your website’s metrics after the roll out of the new algorithm on April 21^st. Keep testing and adapt. And may the Google gods be with you.