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amy1heartbeat · 4 years ago

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Proximity Third: A Deeper Dive into a Local Ranking Factors Surprise

Posted by MiriamEllis

Image credit: J.B. Hill

What’s the good of a survey if it doesn’t result in at least a few surprises?

I know my own eyebrows leapt skyward when the data first came in from the Moz State of the Local SEO Industry 2020 Survey and I saw that, in a break with tradition, participants had placed user-to-business proximity at a lowly third place in terms of influencing Google local pack rankings. Just a year ago, our respondents had voted it #1.

If you’re feeling startled, too, here’s our chance to take a more granular look at the data and see if we can offer some useful theories for proximity’s drop in perceived dominance.

First, a quick definition of user-to-business proximity

What do local SEOs mean when they speak of user-to-business proximity? Imagine an Internet searcher is standing in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, looking on their phone, laptop or other device for “pizza”. Local SEOs observe that it’s more typical for Google to show that person Pasquale’s Pizzeria, right next to the park, than to show them Yummy Pizza across town in the Glen Park neighborhood.

Make an identical query as you move around your city and you’re likely to see the local pack and mapped results change a little or a lot, depending on the competitiveness, density and diversity of local commerce in your town, relative to where you are standing when you search.

In 2014, the annual survey of world class local SEO experts known as the Local Search Ranking Factors survey rated proximity as having the 8th greatest influence on local pack rankings. By 2017 and in subsequent editions, proximity had hit #1. As mentioned, the 2019 Moz State of the Local SEO Industry report placed it first. But this year, something changed…

Proximity third: the data

Our large survey group of over 1,000 respondents ranked Google My Business elements (keywords in name, categories, etc.) and 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 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. I’ll be honest — my first reaction to the data when it crossed my desk was, “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. Could it be that respondents who don’t do day-to-day SEO work swayed this result?

But I stopped asking that question when I saw that it was, in fact, agency workers who had contributed most to this view of GMB factors outweighing proximity. Digital marketing brands offering local SEO as a service can’t be summarily written off as mistaken. So, next, I asked myself what these agency workers could be seeing that would make them rank proximity lower than two other factors.

2. Could "it depends" be making absolutes impossible?

Here’s the thing: sophisticated local SEO practitioners know that there actually is no absolute #1 local ranking factor. What shows up in a local pack depends hugely on Google’s understanding of intent and its varied treatment of different industries and keywords.

For example, Google can decide that for a query like “coffee near me”, the user wants the closest option, and will cluster results in a tight proximity to the searcher. Meanwhile, a customer in any location looking for “used car dealership” may see results skewed to a certain part of town where there’s an auto row filled with such businesses — a phenomenon long ago dubbed the “industry centroid” effect. But, for the user seeking something like “sports arena”, Google can believe there’s a willingness to drive further away and can make up a local pack of businesses all over a city, or even all over a state.

So, the truth is, dubbing any factor #1 is an oversimplification we put up with for the sake of giving some order to the chaos of Google results. Proximity may be the dominant influence for some queries, but definitely not for all of them.

Taking this into consideration, it could well be that our survey’s respondents who work at agencies are observing such a diversity of behavior from Google that they are losing confidence in pinning it all down to proximity as the leading factor. And this leads me to my third theory.

3. Could a desire for control be at play here?

Proximity can be problematic. In a separate question in our survey in which we asked whether Google’s emphasis on proximity was always generating high quality results, only 38.6% of respondents felt satisfied. Most of us are frequently encountering local pack results that may be closest, but not best. This can leave agencies and business owners feeling a bit dubious about Google and even a bit helpless about acting in an environment that often ranks mere nearness over quality.

Unless a business is willing to move to a different location which Google appears to be favoring for core search phrase targets, proximity isn’t really something you can optimize for. In this scenario, what is left to local business marketers that they can control?

Of course — it’s GMB factors and reviews. You can control what you name your business, what categories you choose, your use of Google posts and Q&A, your photos, videos, and description. You can control your review acquisition campaigns and your rate and quality of owner responses.

Seeing respondents weigh GMB elements above proximity made me wonder if the strong desire for being able to have some control over local pack outcomes might subconsciously cause subjects to give a slight bump to factors they can observably influence. I’m not a psychologist, but I know I’m always writing here at Moz about focusing on what you can control. It could be that this internal emphasis might cause me to give more importance to factors other than proximity. Just a theory, but one to consider, and I’d love to hear in the comments if you have different hypotheses!

Can we know the truth?

I was so intrigued by our survey’s results that I ran a very quick Twitter poll to take another snapshot of current sentiment about proximity. Most of my followers are interested in or involved with local SEO, so I was eager to see the outcome of this:

While a robust 66% placed proximity first, an interesting 34% didn’t. In other words, there just isn’t total agreement about this topic. Most revealingly, more than one respected SEO tweeted back at me, “It depends.”

This is why I believe that my second theory above is likely as close to the truth as we’re going to get. All surveys which aggregate anecdotal opinion must take into account the variety of respondents’ experiences. Consider:

If my agency specializes in working with convenience stores or coffee shops, proximity may well be ruling my workday because Google draws such a tight net around users for my target keywords.

If most of my clients operate tourist attractions or B2B brands, it could be that reviews or the names on Google Business profiles appear to shape my world much more than proximity does.

Or, I may have such a wide array of clients, each experiencing different Google behavior, that my overall confidence in putting proximity first has simply eroded the more I observe the variations in the results.

What we can say with certainty is that there has been a year-over-year shift in how participants in the Moz State of the Local SEO Industry 2020 survey rate the influence of proximity. They believe it’s less dominant than it was just a year ago. Knowing this may not change your local pack strategy, because as we’ve noted, you could never do much to influence proximity in the first place.

What takeaway can we glean, then, if there is no absolute #1 local ranking factor upon which all parties agree? I’d boil it down to this: our survey shows that participants are heavily focused on GMB factors and reviews. In your competitive landscape, awareness of these elements is lively, and your ability to compete means taking an active approach to managing what you can control.

Moz Local software offers one smart solution for taking maximum charge of your Google Business Profiles, and I’ll close here with my short list of links to assist you in marketing local businesses in Google’s competitive environment:

2020 Local SEO Success: How to Feed, Fight, and Flip Google

Simple Spam Fighting: The Easiest Local Rankings You’ll Ever Earn

I Want to Rank Beyond My Location: A Guide to How This Works

How to Find Your True Local Competitors

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Taking Full Control of Your Google Business Profiles

Curious about what other insights you’ll find in our survey? Download the full, free Moz State of the Local SEO Industry 2020 report.

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MiriamEllis

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tellerford13 · 7 years ago

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MO ASTOR- CHAPTER 30

We don’t own the bikes, brothers, or any “related” Sons of Anarchy, trust us, if we did we wouldn’t have the time to write. No money is being made from our stories. So, please don’t sue. It’d be a fruitless endeavor indeed. That being said, Harley, Journee, and any other newbies are ours, and we don’t share. :Whispers in creepy voice: “My precious.” The universe This reality is a mix of cannon, and our own ideas. We strive to keep the boys cannon, but since we will be shifting around some of the events, that will reflect in our writing and their personalities as well. It’s our goal to provide you with quality fiction, and solid, fleshed out OFC. We appreciate constructive criticism and love LOVE reviews, they are a writers life blood and definitely help encourage us and inspire us. We will be posting on our Tumblr where we’ll have fun pictures from time to time as well. http://tellerford13.tumblr.com We’ll also be taking requests for one shots, preferences or imagines for all things Sons at our other Tumblr, so check it out and send your thoughts!http://tellerford13oneshots.tumblr.com/ And just for fun, we’ve decided to start a Pinterest for the story! So if you want a glimpse at our girls and see into our world, check it out! https://www.pinterest.com/tellerford/

A/n: A reward for your patience and continued interest. #Surprisepost #roundrobin

Mo Astor 30

Journee

“Scottie treating you alright?”

I glance over at Lee and toss her a look that screams really?

I sigh. “He’s not a Star Trek character Daddy. You know his name the same as I do. It’s too late to get cold feet now with your blessing.” I tap the chest tattoo, and he scowls.

“Being married is making you lippy. Now answer the question baby girl.”

“Chibs is awesome, like always.”

He narrows his gaze, and I look him in the eyes. He’s always been paranoid. It comes with the territory of being an S.A, but he’s also been in this life long enough to know how quickly things can go south for old ladies.

“If that ever changes...”

“I’ll let you know after I split his fucking head open myself,” I say determined to never be in the same position I was with Kyle again.

“That’s my baby girl. Now about baby Teller,” he says turning his intense gaze onto Lee.

“Wait. What? I’m not the married one.” “Doesn’t matter. You entered into a high-profile relationship. We all know what he’s capable of when it comes to women, but I’m assuming he's not stupid enough to break your heart.”

“Yeah Lee. How’s that coming along?” I ask batting my lashes as I take a healthy bite of the pork ribs cooked to falling off the bone perfection on the grill. It’s a Saturday, and the GB’s are having a family get together. Which looks a lot different from Charming because most of the men are bachelors. The boys are going to try to join us later, but I’m not holding my breath. Club comes first, and they’re off doing one thing or another.

“It’s going well. We’re good. I mean it’s Jax. You’ve known him all his life.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Dad mumbles.

I snicker. “Dad. Would I let my sister get played? No. I would’ve told her to pump the breaks before they even got started. They’re solid.”

“Lee?”

“We’re good.”

“Hmmm.” He sits back in his chair, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. My Dad is not my Mom. He’ll pop me in the mouth quicker than I can say boo. He doesn’t take disrespect lightly, and I know better than to give any his way. It might seem harsh to some, but GB runs a tight ship. They’re smaller, so they have to. There aren’t too many predominately black M.C.’s who have as much sway as we do, or who’ve been around as long. We constantly have eyes on us. Which means maintaining our image is a must. It’s one of the things I hate most about this life. Women are accessories and ornaments. We have to look, talk, and behave a certain way depending on the set of people we’re around. Why people think biker chicks are dumb, I’ll never know. We have to be everything. The homemaker, caretaker, alibi giver, and a million other things all in one.

“I’m glad to see you two settle down. I was starting to think no man would ever tie either of you down.”

I take another bite of my food to keep my sharp tongue busy.

“We were just waiting for the right man,” Lee says.

“Someone mention me?” Kick asks appearing with a wide grin. I notice immediately he’s rocking our charter patch instead of a Nomad.

Oh, shit. “You back with us now, K?” I ask the question so Lee doesn’t have to.

“Yeah, Me and the road parted ways amicably. How you doing, Lee?”

“I’m good Kick,” Lee says softly.

“She’s dating Jackson Teller now,” Dad says. His eyes are sparkling as he watches Kick wince and the tension rushes in and settles over the picnic bench.

I cough to hide my laugh. I don’t feel bad for the fucker. He did my girl dirty. I want him to realize how much he’s shit out of luck right now. You don’t decide to turn Nomad without so much as a warning and think your girlfriend is going to be okay with it.

“That right? You an Old Lady?” he asks.

Lee shakes her head no.

“Not yet anyways.” I add.

She elbows my side, and I give her a grease riddled kiss on the cheek.

“Gross.” She wipes it away, and we laugh.

“I’ll be seeing you,” Kick says giving her a lingering glance as he heads off.

“Never a dull day round here huh? When did that happen?” I ask gesturing toward Kick’s departing back.

“He got voted back in this morning. We need more bodies. Recruiting is slow going.”

“Because you’re so scary and picky,” I say.

He shrugs. “Takes a lot to wear the black and orange.” His chest swells with pride, and I can’t help the pride that wells up inside me. This is my family, and it’s good to hold court. Charming is a second home, but this will always be where my roots were first planted. I know Mom is giving us space so he can give us the third degree. They always did the good cop bad cop routine, unless I pissed my mom off. Then she could be every bit as terrifying as my father.

“Did we miss anything else major?”

“Nah. If you came around more, you’d know these things.”

“Touché old man, but I got a business to run, and she has one to keep afloat.”

“It’s true,” Lee says in a sing-song voice.

He grins, and I roll me eyes. I never knew a man so proud of his daughter doing tattoos.

“I know. We got an area set up for you in the clubhouse. You’re going to go home with a nice chunk of change.”

“I’ll never say no to the green. I guess I best fortify myself with lunch.”

“I’ll play Girl Friday and keep you stocked up,” Lee says.

“Thanks, wifey,” I say with a wink.

“Here comes your mother.”

Oh, imagine that. She must know you’re doing asking us a million questions and giving us the glare of doom. My mom is an undercover hoverer. I imagine I’ll be the same way with Filip. You don’t want to make them look weak, but you worry, and you watch and wait always prepared to ruffle feathers. As my mother would say, some things need a women’s touch. I bet they have some sort of tell, so she knows when it’s cool to come over. I should talk to Filip about that.

“There are my girls.” My mom envelopes me, hugging me against her ample bosom. The scent of her perfume reaches me, and I relish it. I don’t see them as often as I used to. I need to remedy that. They won’t be around forever, and life expectancy and freedom can be fleeting in our life. I’ll never forget the four years she spent behind bars. With my father’s job, there was no way I could be left alone at thirteen to fend for myself. His family had written them off, and my mother’s family continuously tried to get her out of the life. Sending me to live with them would only lead to disaster. Thank God, Gemma stepped up and took me.

It was a good business move, but it was also a huge show of trust. My father respected the hell of JT. He could never predict everything that would follow. The thought of his death still makes my stomach ache. I watch as Mom moves on to her bonus baby. She’d taken up the mantle of caring and guiding her along with Gemma as her Gram aged. It made us more than just best friends, perhaps that’s why we turned to each other sexually. What started off as experimenting turned into something else entirely.

I shift in my seat as desire pools in my belly, and thoughts of her creamy breasts and clean shaven pussy slip into my head. It's been too long since we had some girl time. I��d have to remedy that tonight. Can’t let my wifey fell neglected.

Mom moves to sit beside Dad, and we play catch up as we continue to eat. I enjoy the sun and conversation. I’m also secretly enjoying the kick in the pants Kick will give big brother. As soon as I get a chance, I’ll be texting him. I know the business he has is a gun run. It’s not hard to figure out. Barring a problem, they should be free, and this will be sure to get him here.

Half an hour later, I’m set up and watching a line form as I declare my makeshift tattoo station ready. It’s going to be a long afternoon.

***

My hands and back are screaming as I wipe the back tattoo of the GB grim reaper.

“Alright, Mack. You’re all done.”

We’d been working on this bad boy in two to three-hour sessions, and it’s finally complete. I roll back and grin.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, brother, Go look at it.”

I nod toward the full-length mirror we’ve leaned against the wall. I roll my shoulders and crack my neck before I take in my surroundings. I spot Lee at the bar looking disinterested in whatever Kick is saying to her.

“This is amazing,” Mack says.

I admire the Reaper with it’s flickering flame eyes, and it’s skeletal fist raised with the GB emblem worked into the robe.

“Thanks, man.”

He walks over, and my jaw drops when he gives me a thousand even.”

“That’s too much.”

“Nah, you earned every penny of that tip, baby girl.”

I beam. “Thanks.” I quickly shut down shop, and move to rescue Lee.

I walk up behind her, plaster my body to hers and wrap an arm around her waist. I lean over her shoulder and smirk. “She’s not interested, and I’m not willing to share my bestie any longer. So shoo.”

He scowls.

“Bye, Kick,” Lee says. I kiss the corner of her mouth, and his eyebrows raise.

“Shit’s changed,” I say lowering my voice an octave and curl my upper lip. I know Lee has no feelings for him, but just the same, I’m not about to let him get any ideas. My brother has enough to worry about.

He raises his hands in the universal sign of surrender. “Aight, I know when I’m not wanted.”

Lee tilts her head back and bats her eyelashes. “My hero.”

“How long was he here bothering you?”

“About fifteen minutes. I made it clear I wasn’t interested, but he kept rattling on and spitting weak game. I was going to shut him down painfully after I finished my beer.”

“You’re so tempting. I can see why he couldn’t help but try.”

“Is that possession I see?” she whispers.

“Only people you belong to have names that start with J.” I fight the urge to nip her bottom lip. “We should go to our room and unwind.

We have our own room complete with a dresser with spare clothes, and two queen-sized beds in the clubhouse left over from the teen years when I was shuttled to and fro for visits and later living between to clubs.

“Unwind? Is that what we’re calling it?”

“I want to show you what Daddy’s taught me,” I whisper. The thought of dominating her has me wet and ready to play.

Her eyes darken, and her breath hitches. “Has baby girl grown up?”

“Why don’t you come find out?”

She drains her beer, and I laugh as she stands, and we head to our room.

Once we’re inside, I press her against the door and lock it. Her pulse jumps into her throat, and her eyes are half-lidded.

“Someone’s excited.”

“I’m eager to sample these lesson’s Chibs has been giving you first-hand.”

I bury my fingers in the dark silk of her hair. “Remember you asked for this,” I whisper against her lips.

She moans, and I fist her hair and yank slightly and guide her over to the bed. “Bend over, and lift that skirt. I want to see the one thing Kick will never have again.”

I give her enough slack to wiggle up the skirt and reveal the lacy black underwear.

“Look at that ass.” I trail my nails over her silk covered apple bottom. I release my hold on her hair and deliver a slap. She gasps. I bend down, grip the material with my teeth, and move them to her ankles. I leave them on, liking the restricted movement. “I wanted to do this in the bar,” I whisper as I ease her legs apart. “Eat this pretty pussy out in front of him.”

“Oh, God.”

“Would you have liked that?”

“Yes.”

“Naughty.” I grip her thighs and lean into sample her slick center. I moan as her creamy sweetness coats my tongue. I lose myself in the smooth flesh and flavor as I explore everything but the quivering needy clit protruding. I ignore the pretty pink pearl, sucking her lips into my mouth. She wiggles and I smirk against her skin. She’s used to ordering me. The tension in her body gets me high. The weariness from work is forgotten. I pull back.

“No.”

I slap her pussy, and she jerks and cries out.

“You’re not in control right now, pretty girl.” I palm her warmth, and she grinds against me. “Be still.” She grunts but complies. “Good girl,” I purr. I remove my hand and thrust two fingers deep.

“Oh, shit.” I smile as I give it to her fast and deep, angling, so I hit her sweet spot. She loves to stretch things out, but I’m in control, and I want to see her come undone.

“Journee,” She cries.

“Love it when you call my name, baby.” I bend and bite the area between her neck and her shoulder. Her slick walls clench around me as she yields trembling as she comes.

“No one can make you come faster. I think I need to give my brother some pointers. Would you like that?”

Her entire body shudders, and I grin. Tonight might be more interesting than I thought.

#sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy fanfiction #Jax Teller #chibs telford #Mo Astor

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