Is local ranking just on-page, location, citations and reviews?

[whiz]

After much reading and mentoring, I'm under the impression that the majority of local ranking is on-page, location, tons of citations, and tons of reviews.

What else should I do to ensure success in local searches?

Should I do Web 2.0 or content marketing? I find that most low-effort content marketing is cheesy and spammy.

I'm also afraid to buy link packages or anything of that sort because I don't want a business built on shifting sand.

My plan is to do tons of citations and get tons of reviews - then search for local opportunities and links manually. I plan to create original content (photos, videos, articles) and release them on a natural basis.

Is this the way to go?

Or does anyone recommend that I buy a link package or something?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Hey Whiz! What kind of business is it? Can you share the details?

 

[whiz]

Hi. It's a dentistry.

We're in pretty good standing but we definitely want to get every advantage we can.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Reviews are huge - not just on Google but on 3rd party sites. I'd definitely work on links too but not the type you normally see. I'd look for sponsorship opportunities in the local market they're in and also for press opportunities (we use HARO).

I'd also make sure their website brags about their authority and clearly displays all the awards they've won.

 

[adammaxum]

ditto what joy said.

Once you have those 4 areas good...it then comes down to links...plain and simple.

Link building is something you have to know what you're doing otherwise you're probably going to do it wrong or get into trouble down the road. It's the one thing that separates the expert SEO people from the rest in my opinion.

For a local business, it's not that difficult.

Your first line of links are your citations. Make sure those are created, but also important, make sure you try and get them indexed.

Once you have your citations, you can begin acquiring links from local organizations, industry organizations, etc. This involves outreach.

From there you just keep finding good link opportunities. Reverse engineer competitor links in your market and other bigger markets.

The one thing you'll want to understand before building any links is the link itself. What does the link say? Is it a keyword or the business name? Is it follow or no-follow? Where is it positioned on the website page? What's your KW anchor text ratio look like? Don't build links all at once, space them out. Add alt/title tags to links, esp image links. Make sure the link isn't being ruined by tracking code or whatever. Lots of little things you need to know to really effectively build backlinks the right, safe and effective way.