What is user based proximity?
What does it mean when I speak of user-to-business proximity?
Imagine that a person is standing in front of Mooloolaba beach, looking on their phone for “pizza”. It is more typical for Google to show that person the pizzeria, that is closest to them, than the pizzeria across town.
If you were to make an identical query as you move around the Coast and you are 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 the area, relative to where you are standing when you search.
Back in 2015, proximity was lowly ranked as an influencing factor on local pack rankings. Now in 2020, it is third!
What will help you rank as high as possible?
The first is your Google My Business elements such as keywords in your business name, category etc.
Next is Google Reviews. Respond to ALL Google reviews, good and bad, and add in keywords in your response.
Then, there is the proximity of the searcher to the business.
Your Google My Business listing
In order to rank highly with local intent searches, dedicate consistent, daily activity to optimising your Google My Business listing.
This is often neglected by most businesses so you can quickly outplay your competitors without advertising spend on Google Adwords.
