How do you actually rank in local SEO?

pitbully

pitbully

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I have a cannabis delivery service and I'm stuck on page 2 of the keyword I need to rank for.

I've hired two different agencies to get my site ranked at the top of page 1 for this keyword and my ranking hasn't moved at all. Both agencies I hired have good reviews and my site now has a backlink profile and domain stats that look way better than my competitors. My GMB also has 50+ genuine 5-star reviews from real customers. Yet, despite all of this, my competitors are sitting at the top of page 1 and I can't even break onto the first page.

There must be some critical factor for ranking in local SEO that I'm missing, but I don't know what that is. My competitors barely have any links compared to me and they are consistently destroying me in the SERPs.

What am I missing? Does anyone know a good knowledgeable local SEO agency/service who actually knows how to get ranked on the first page?
 
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i work for a company in their SEO department who have locations all across the country, and local seo shouldnt be that hard. u shouldnt of gone through 2 different agencies already with no results, espeically if youre only 1 store/location.
mind you, we hire external agencies too to see from a different perspective (waste of $50,000).
but lets break down the obvious first.
uve got access to semrush or similarweb?
uve checked your competitors stats? eg. keywords, categories, etc
your hitting ur keyword with location base based on KW volume? (eg. buy cannibas calafornia)
 
You should only hire one. You have to increase your site authority. have you tried PBNs or niche edit links?
 
I have some local seo projects and usully don't have much trouble getting to pos 1. You can DM me your site and I'll have a look if you want (no charge) just from a curious about the situation.
 
I feel your pain — local SEO is one of those spaces where doing “everything right” doesn’t always guarantee page 1. Cannabis niches are even trickier due to extra scrutiny and limited advertising options.
If your backlink profile and GMB reviews are stronger than your competitors and you’re still stuck on page 2, a few often-overlooked factors might be at play:
  1. NAP consistency – Are your Name, Address, Phone details 100% identical across all listings (Yelp, local directories, even random aggregators)? One mismatch can mess with trust signals.
  2. Local citations and map embeds – Tools like Whitespark or BrightLocal help build out these “local mentions” that Google weighs heavily for map packs.
  3. Proximity to searcher – This is huge for GMB-based searches. Even if your GMB is optimized, if you’re physically located further from the user than a competitor, Google often favors proximity over authority.
  4. On-page location signals – Do you have proper local schema? Is your city/region mentioned in H1s, meta titles, image alt tags, etc.? A strong backlink profile won’t help much if Google doesn’t think your page is locally relevant.
  5. Engagement metrics – Some businesses quietly boost local rankings by getting real customers to click their GMB listing, call directly from maps, or ask for directions. These signals show up as “popularity” in Google’s eyes.

Regarding agencies — a lot of them focus too much on links and overlook the local-specific stuff. You might get better results from someone who specializes in just GMB and local SEO rather than a generalist.
Curious: are your competitors ranking in the map pack and organic, or just one? That might give a clue about what signal Google is favoring in your area.
 
Have you considered that your competitors might not be using only white hat SEO? CTR manipulation and artificially boosting engagement work. If you have a physical location/store on maps, mimicking users who request driving directions and then navigate to the store (even through spoofing) can have a big positive impact on local SEO.

And there are more techniques that for the outise observer are almost 'invisible'...
 
Carnaged said:
i work for a company in their SEO department who have locations all across the country, and local seo shouldnt be that hard. u shouldnt of gone through 2 different agencies already with no results, espeically if youre only 1 store/location.
mind you, we hire external agencies too to see from a different perspective (waste of $50,000).
but lets break down the obvious first.
uve got access to semrush or similarweb?
uve checked your competitors stats? eg. keywords, categories, etc
your hitting ur keyword with location base based on KW volume? (eg. buy cannibas calafornia)
Click to expand...
I don't have access to a paid service like SEMrush. I've just been checking my competitors' basic stats using checkpagerankDOTnet to get an idea of how strong their domain is and how many backlinks they have. I'm assuming checkpagerankDOTnet is connected to one of these services.

When I check the stats of my competitors who are ranked in the top positions for the keyword I want to rank for, they don't seem to have many backlinks or much domain authority. My basic stats (backlinks, pagerank, authority) seem to be better than all of them, but I'm stuck on the second page.

The keyword I'm trying to rank for is "weed delivery CITY"
 
TechEinstien said:
You should only hire one. You have to increase your site authority. have you tried PBNs or niche edit links?
Click to expand...
I did only hire one. But several months and thousands of dollars later, the first one I hired couldn't get me ranked any higher than the second page, so I stopped using them and hired a second one. The second one was supposed to be a specialist in local SEO and they didn't improve my ranking at all.

The first agency I hired relies heavily on PBNs and also gave me several niche edit links.
 
Teste_fantasma said:
I feel your pain — local SEO is one of those spaces where doing “everything right” doesn’t always guarantee page 1. Cannabis niches are even trickier due to extra scrutiny and limited advertising options.
If your backlink profile and GMB reviews are stronger than your competitors and you’re still stuck on page 2, a few often-overlooked factors might be at play:
  1. NAP consistency – Are your Name, Address, Phone details 100% identical across all listings (Yelp, local directories, even random aggregators)? One mismatch can mess with trust signals.
  2. Local citations and map embeds – Tools like Whitespark or BrightLocal help build out these “local mentions” that Google weighs heavily for map packs.
  3. Proximity to searcher – This is huge for GMB-based searches. Even if your GMB is optimized, if you’re physically located further from the user than a competitor, Google often favors proximity over authority.
  4. On-page location signals – Do you have proper local schema? Is your city/region mentioned in H1s, meta titles, image alt tags, etc.? A strong backlink profile won’t help much if Google doesn’t think your page is locally relevant.
  5. Engagement metrics – Some businesses quietly boost local rankings by getting real customers to click their GMB listing, call directly from maps, or ask for directions. These signals show up as “popularity” in Google’s eyes.

Regarding agencies — a lot of them focus too much on links and overlook the local-specific stuff. You might get better results from someone who specializes in just GMB and local SEO rather than a generalist.
Curious: are your competitors ranking in the map pack and organic, or just one? That might give a clue about what signal Google is favoring in your area.
Click to expand...
I seem to have the things you've mentioned here covered. And yes I think you're right. I think it's the local-specific stuff I must be missing. That's why the second time around I hired an agency that was supposed to be a specialist in local SEO but they didn't improve my ranking at all.

My competitors are ranking in the organic results. They don't seem to be very dominant in the map pack because I never see them show up at the top. My GMB gets decent exposure but I need to rank for the keyword that my competitors seem to be ranking for without a significant amount of links or authority.
 
I rank high on SEO and it doesn't translate to sales.

SEO is getting lower and lower in relevance. I suggest that you stop wasting time on trying to get into the number and but pay all your attention and set up your analytics to figure out the real picture of how your customers are entering into your website.

Your competitors could have high Dr backlink, has very good customer service and interface to boost engagements.

Go back to the marketing basics, find who are your audience and bridge those channels to find more of them.
 
qwe7410 said:
I rank high on SEO and it doesn't translate to sales.

SEO is getting lower and lower in relevance. I suggest that you stop wasting time on trying to get into the number and but pay all your attention and set up your analytics to figure out the real picture of how your customers are entering into your website.

Your competitors could have high Dr backlink, has very good customer service and interface to boost engagements.

Go back to the marketing basics, find who are your audience and bridge those channels to find more of them.
Click to expand...
I think SEO translating into sales is highly dependent on your industry and your keyword.

In my business, SEO is the only effective channel. Cannabis delivery services and dispensaries aren't allowed to advertise anywhere that translates into sales.

Over the years I've tried it all, including handing out flyers and going door-to-door, but the only effective channel I'm actually allowed to use is SEO.
 
pitbully said:
I have a cannabis delivery service and I'm stuck on page 2 of the keyword I need to rank for.

I've hired two different agencies to get my site ranked at the top of page 1 for this keyword and my ranking hasn't moved at all. Both agencies I hired have good reviews and my site now has a backlink profile and domain stats that look way better than my competitors. My GMB also has 50+ genuine 5-star reviews from real customers. Yet, despite all of this, my competitors are sitting at the top of page 1 and I can't even break onto the first page.

There must be some critical factor for ranking in local SEO that I'm missing, but I don't know what that is. My competitors barely have any links compared to me and they are consistently destroying me in the SERPs.

What am I missing? Does anyone know a good knowledgeable local SEO agency/service who actually knows how to get ranked on the first page?
Click to expand...
You just need to work your GMB and Image GIo Tag. Added your best local keywords.
 
Can you show me your site's URL in PM pls ? Try to help you
 
It’s not just about links or reviews. Your competitors may have better local signals. Make sure your NAP is consistent and try adding local pages to boost relevance.
 
Use your google business page for local signals. Works good
 
pitbully said:
I have a cannabis delivery service and I'm stuck on page 2 of the keyword I need to rank for.

I've hired two different agencies to get my site ranked at the top of page 1 for this keyword and my ranking hasn't moved at all. Both agencies I hired have good reviews and my site now has a backlink profile and domain stats that look way better than my competitors. My GMB also has 50+ genuine 5-star reviews from real customers. Yet, despite all of this, my competitors are sitting at the top of page 1 and I can't even break onto the first page.

There must be some critical factor for ranking in local SEO that I'm missing, but I don't know what that is. My competitors barely have any links compared to me and they are consistently destroying me in the SERPs.

What am I missing? Does anyone know a good knowledgeable local SEO agency/service who actually knows how to get ranked on the first page?
Click to expand...

Hey, Key Local SEO Factors to Check​

  • Proximity to searcher – location matters more than links
  • On-page content – keyword, city name, NAP, and schema
  • GMB optimization – use correct category, services, Q&A, posts
  • Local citations – list on Weedmaps, Leafly, Yelp, etc.
  • Mobile UX – fast load, clear layout
  • CTR & engagement – low clicks = low rankings
  • Google filtering – too close to a competitor? You may be hidden
 
pitbully said:
I think SEO translating into sales is highly dependent on your industry and your keyword.

In my business, SEO is the only effective channel. Cannabis delivery services and dispensaries aren't allowed to advertise anywhere that translates into sales.

Over the years I've tried it all, including handing out flyers and going door-to-door, but the only effective channel I'm actually allowed to use is SEO.
Click to expand...
Try to have a GMB in each city center that you target.
 
pitbully said:
I have a cannabis delivery service and I'm stuck on page 2 of the keyword I need to rank for.

I've hired two different agencies to get my site ranked at the top of page 1 for this keyword and my ranking hasn't moved at all. Both agencies I hired have good reviews and my site now has a backlink profile and domain stats that look way better than my competitors. My GMB also has 50+ genuine 5-star reviews from real customers. Yet, despite all of this, my competitors are sitting at the top of page 1 and I can't even break onto the first page.

There must be some critical factor for ranking in local SEO that I'm missing, but I don't know what that is. My competitors barely have any links compared to me and they are consistently destroying me in the SERPs.

What am I missing? Does anyone know a good knowledgeable local SEO agency/service who actually knows how to get ranked on the first page?
Click to expand...
You're likely missing key on-page signals (like exact keyword in titles, headers, and content), local relevance (consistent NAP, location pages), or engagement metrics (clicks, bounce rate). Backlinks alone won’t push you to page 1. Try improving CTR with better meta titles, add local schema, and ensure your GMB and site match perfectly. For agencies, look for ones that specialize in local SEO for cannabis, generic agencies often miss niche-specific strategies.
 
You can DM me your site and I'll have a look if you want (no charge) just from a curious about the situation.
 
Ranking in local SEO (Local Search Engine Optimization) means appearing prominently in search results when people look for services or businesses near them
 
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