HOT! Click-Through Boosts Local Ranking? Plus 9 Tips for Pumping Up the Volume

[Linda Buquet]

Before I get to the 9 tips for legitmately boosting click-through rates, I wanted to share something pretty interesting.

Darren from Whitespark started a group click test back in May to see if a bunch of us clicking through on a random low ranking listing would move the needle.

I really didn't think the test Darren started would move the needle, since consultants from all over the country were clicking - some from overseas too.

I was getting ready to add the link below to that post and thought for fun I would check the ranking.

Lo and behold that listing just moved from F in the pack to B! I'll be darned!
(Darren is seeing in the A spot in incognito!)

Now granted the algo could have changed or they could have done something on their end, and correlation is not always causation, but... interesting!

Actually don't think it was an algo change, because I just compared ranking screen shots I took in post #13 and every single listing is in the exact same order, except for theirs moving up.

Check out the discussion and our click test here:

<a href="http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/google-local/18330-clicks-your-google-page-determines-your-ranking.html"># of Clicks on Your Google+ Page Determines Your Ranking?</a>

Soooo, the post below may have even more meaning now.

Great post by Chris Silver Smith...

<a href="http://searchengineland.com/10-tricks-increase-clickthrough-rate-193687">9 Tricks For Local Businesses To Increase Their SERP Click-Through Rate</a>

Sometimes you can move the needle — and dramatically — outside of obsessing and laboring over obtaining improving rankings in search engines.

Simply increasing your click-through rates on the organic rankings you’ve already achieved can increase sales and revenue, even without having to do some of the difficult things that could be necessary to inch up the ladder to the next position. Here are 9 tricks to help you do it!

What do you think?

<meta property="og:type" content="article"><meta property="og:title" content=""><meta property="og:description" content="Check out this click test we did. Moved the needle from the F spot to B in less than a month???">
<meta property="og:image" content="http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/attachments/google-local/1731d1402931282t-clicks-your-google-page-determines-your-ranking-highland-painters.jpg">

 

[chadkimball]

gaming influencing CTR works in regular serps as well, not just local fyi

 

[Linda Buquet]

True, for sure, Chad. And local is to a large part using the organic ranking algo.

But the way it blends the 2 algos together, I think we were wondering how much direct impact it could have on local.