That distinction matters.
A useful Local SEO ranking-factor guide should separate what Google actually confirms from what practitioners observe, what industry surveys suggest and what remains unknown.
The evidence standard used on LetsBuzzMedia
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Current official Google documentation explicitly supports the statement.
INDUSTRY EVIDENCE
Research, testing, surveys or practitioner experience suggests something may matter, but Google has not publicly confirmed the claim in that form.
OUR OBSERVATION
We have observed something in the McKnight's Flat Pack Assembly project or another documented LetsBuzzMedia project.
An observation can identify a pattern. It does not automatically establish causation.
UNKNOWN / NOT ESTABLISHED
Google does not disclose the answer, or available evidence is not strong enough to support a dependable conclusion.
This prevents one of the most common problems in Local SEO publishing: taking an industry belief and presenting it as though Google had confirmed it.
| Signal | Google confirms? | Industry evidence | Flat Pack observation | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relevance | Yes | Practitioner surveys can suggest priorities. | Distinct service content can be logged. | No disclosed weight or single-change causation. |
| Distance | Yes | Repeatable geo-grids can show patterns. | A comparable baseline is planned. | No fixed ranking radius is published. |
| Prominence | Links and reviews are mentioned | Research can identify hypotheses. | Verified review and link changes can be dated. | No calculable score or guaranteed effect. |
What Google actually publishes about local ranking
How well the business matches the search.
How far the business is from the searcher.
How well known the business is.
Google's current documentation says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, then describes the third factor under the heading Prominence. It also states there is no way to request or pay for better local ranking and that details of the algorithm are kept confidential.
Source checked during drafting: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en
So we know the framework. We do not know a formula such as: relevance x 40% + distance x 35% + prominence x 25%.
No credible source outside Google can publish Google's internal weights as fact.
1. Relevance
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Google defines relevance as how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for and recommends complete, detailed information to help it understand the business.
In practical terms, Google needs to understand:
- what the business actually is;
- which services it genuinely provides;
- how the query relates to that business;
- what relevant information exists in the profile and wider web presence.
Business categories are one particularly important source of context. Google's category documentation says categories affect local ranking and advises businesses to choose a primary category that most specifically describes the business.
Source checked during drafting: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7249669
The business website can also provide much greater service-level detail than a Business Profile.
That does not mean repeating a keyword 30 times creates relevance. Real relevance starts with the underlying business.
A plumber does not become a locksmith because "locksmith" is added to a page title. A furniture assembler does not become a furniture retailer because the retailer keyword attracts more searches.
2. Distance
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Google says distance refers to how far each business is from the customer searching. When a customer does not provide their location, Google uses what it knows about that location.
This is why local rankings have geography built into them.
A business can be extremely relevant and well reviewed yet face a different competitive position several miles away from its base.
What Google does not publish is a fixed ranking radius.
There is no official rule saying "Every business can rank within five miles." Nor does adding more towns to the service-area field give a business a documented larger ranking radius.
The dedicated Google Maps Proximity guide owns that subject.
3. Prominence
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Google describes prominence as how well known a business is and currently says it is based partly on information including websites linking to the business and reviews. Its guidance says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking.
This gives us several concrete facts: links are explicitly mentioned; reviews are explicitly mentioned; review quantity and positive ratings are explicitly mentioned.
What this does not prove is that every link is beneficial, every review has equal value or a business can calculate prominence from third-party SEO scores.
How major Local SEO signals fit the framework
Google Business Profile categories
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Categories help Google understand what kind of business it is dealing with and Google's documentation states that the categories selected affect local ranking.
This makes category selection a clear relevance consideration. It does not mean selecting every category remotely connected with the business.
Google's own guidelines say to use the fewest categories needed to describe the core business.
See Google Business Profile Categories for the full selection process.
Business information
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to appear in local search results.
Accuracy also matters independently of ranking. A high-ranking profile with the wrong telephone number or opening hours is still failing the business and its customers.
Website relevance
Google's public Local SEO documentation does not provide a simple list of website fields with local-ranking weights.
However, the website is a source of publicly available business information that Google can crawl, and ordinary local organic results are web-search results.
INDUSTRY EVIDENCE
The 2026 Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors survey reports that experienced practitioners place substantial importance on factors including dedicated service pages, geographic relevance, inbound links and internal linking for local organic search. Whitespark states that contributors do not have special access to Google's algorithm; the report is a practitioner survey, not an algorithm leak.
Industry reference checked during drafting: https://whitespark.ca/local-search-ranking-factors/
Useful evidence? Yes. Google-confirmed weighting? No.
Reviews
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Google explicitly says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking.
That is a stronger statement than we have for many commonly discussed Local SEO signals.
But it still does not establish:
- an ideal number of reviews;
- a required review frequency;
- a review keyword formula;
- a percentage ranking weight;
- that replying to every review directly increases ranking.
Links
GOOGLE CONFIRMS
Google specifically includes websites linking to a business within its explanation of prominence.
That does not support buying large numbers of backlinks.
A legitimate local authority strategy should concentrate on real relationships, industry relevance, useful content and reasons another organisation would naturally reference the business.
The Local Link Building hub covers that subject separately.
Citations and business mentions
Businesses naturally appear on major platforms, directories, local websites and industry sources.
Google confirms that it compiles business information from publicly available web content, licensed data, users and other sources.
UNKNOWN / NOT ESTABLISHED
Google does not publish a rule requiring a certain number of directory listings. An accurate presence on genuinely useful sources is different from creating 300 low-quality directory profiles to meet an invented quota.
Geographic context
Distance is explicitly confirmed. The searcher's location is therefore not background noise; it is part of the ranking context.
This means a business can have excellent relevance and prominence but still face geographic limitations. Equally, the nearest business does not automatically rank first for every search. Google's framework contains relevance and prominence too, and Google does not disclose their exact interaction.
What practitioner studies can tell us
Industry studies are valuable when used carefully.
They can:
- reveal patterns across large groups of businesses;
- identify areas worth testing;
- aggregate practitioner experience;
- help prioritise limited resources;
- suggest hypotheses for further measurement.
They cannot reveal Google's confidential algorithm.
Therefore, "Local SEO practitioners frequently observe X" can be legitimate. "Google gives X a 12.4% weighting" is not legitimate unless Google itself publishes that information.
Real Project: McKnight's Flat Pack Assembly
McKnight's Flat Pack Assembly gives LetsBuzzMedia a way to observe Local SEO in a real service-area business rather than relying entirely on generic examples.
The business is based in Ballyclare, travels to customers and currently has a website containing distinct furniture-assembly service pages, manufacturer-focused pages and geographic information including Antrim and Newtownabbey.
Live project: https://flatpackassembly.net/
Relevance
We can record when new, genuinely distinct service content is added and compare subsequent search-query and visibility data.
But if several pages, internal links and Business Profile changes occur around the same time, we cannot responsibly say one individual change caused any movement.
Distance
The project is well suited to geographic measurement because it is a service-area business.
Comparable geo-grid scans could establish how visibility changes around Ballyclare and towards genuine service areas.
Until those measurements are recorded, LetsBuzzMedia should not publish invented Maps positions.
Reviews
The business can record genuine review acquisition after completed customer work.
If review growth coincides with Maps improvement, that is an observation worth recording. It would still require caution before attributing all improvement to reviews because website, competitor, location and profile changes may also have occurred.
Links and local authority
Any legitimate local links or mentions can be logged by date.
That approach is slower than publishing a dramatic case-study claim, but it produces more useful evidence.
Read the full McKnight's Flat Pack Assembly case study for the project record.
A practical priority order
Ranking-factor research becomes unhelpful when it encourages businesses to chase tiny speculative signals while basic problems remain unresolved.
A sensible priority is:
- operate a genuinely eligible business;
- keep its identity and Business Profile accurate;
- make its services and business type understandable;
- recognise realistic geographic constraints;
- build a useful website around genuine customer intent;
- earn legitimate reviews;
- develop relevant local and industry authority;
- measure visibility and customer outcomes over time.
This is not a published Google weighting. It is a practical implementation order designed to reduce wasted effort.
If you want to understand the underlying search mechanism first, read How Local SEO Works.