One major factor for increasing a website's local SEO within search engine results is being able to provide a high-quality response to a user's search query, Search Engine Watch reports.
Being aware of inbound links, social media, brand name searches, user engagement and cross referencing can prove to search engines such as Google or Bing that a site is providing worthy information.
Inbound links are essential because other trusted locations are vouching for the legitimacy of the site they're linking to. Other ways to gain clout include links, likes, shares, tweets and +1s from popular social media sites.
Furthermore, when users search for a company's actual name or a product it sells, it's seen as a positive indicator compared to a business that shows up on results after a general search for a term.
According to a recent search ranking factor survey by SEOMoz, engines weigh inbound links at 20 percent, Search Engine Watch notes in a separate article. However, the more telling factors of a site's legitimacy were shown to be link popularity of a page - 22 percent - and trust/authority of the domain - 24 percent.