Whitespark 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors — GBP 32%, Reviews 20%, On-page 15%
Created 2026-06-23
Summary
Claim: Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors 2026 (47-expert survey, vendor) — local-pack ranking weights:
- GBP signals: 32%
- Review signals: 20% (up from 16% in 2023)
- On-page: 15%
- Behavioral: 9%
- Links: 8%
- Citations: 6%
- Social: 5%
Top 3 individual factors: primary GBP category, proximity to searcher, keywords in GBP business title.
Source: Whitespark (Edmonton, Alberta — Canadian vendor; sells local SEO tools/services).
Caveat: Vendor expert-opinion survey. Practitioner consensus, not controlled measurement.
Confidence: Industry-consensus (vendor-originated).
Why this matters for Candid: The standard reference for local-pack weights. The widget should treat GBP optimization as the highest-ROI moderate-gap work for local businesses (2-4 weeks for map-pack movement) and review work as the rising-importance complement.