A survey of local search engine optimization (SEO) experts reveals that claiming a local place page or local listing, followed by having a business address in the city of search are most influential in affecting a local search ranking in the major search engines, Google, Bing and Yahoo.

David Mihm surveyed a group of 32 local SEO experts on what they considered to be the factors that most influenced a local search ranking in Google, Bing and Yahoo, both positively and negatively.

Specifically, the local SEO experts were asked to rate 69 items in relation to their influence on rankings in the Google, Bing and Yahoo Local “Universal” search algorithms. The ratings extended from -5 (‘can hurt your ranking / lead to penalty’) to +5 (‘very important for ranking well’) with 0 in the middle (‘doesn’t impact a local search ranking one way or another’).

Based on David Mihm’s findings, here are the top 5 factors for positively affecting a local search engine ranking:

1. General Importance of Claiming Place Page / Local Listing (+4.40)
2. Business Address in City of Search (+4.16)
3. Associating Place Page with Proper Categories (+3.91)
4. Volume of Citations from Major Data Providers + IYP Portals (+3.53)
5. General Importance of Off-Page / Off-Listing Criteria (+3.35)

Here are the top 5 factors for negatively affecting a local search engine ranking:

1. Multiple Place Pages with Same Phone Number (-2.75)
2. Not Showing Address on Your Place Page (-2.48)
3. Multiple Place Pages with Same Address (-2.33)
4. Listing PO Box on Website without a Physical Address (-1.61)
5. Multiple Place Pages with Same Business Title (-1.35)

Here are the top 5 factors with the lowest impact (positive or negative) on a local search engine ranking:

1. Including Location Keywords in Place Page Categories (-0.14)
2. Defining a Service Area for Your Place Page (0.47)
3. Location(s) in Place Page Custom Fields (0.84)
4. Including Coupons with Your Place Page (0.87)
5. Choosing List of Areas Served for Your Place Page (1.00)

For more details about the survey methodology and how to interpret the results, be sure to check out the report in full.

Source: David Mihm, “Local Search Ranking Factors Volume 3,” June 7, 2010, DavidMihm.com

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