How We Build the City Search Competition Index and Every City Figure
Every number on our Florida city pages comes from public U.S. Census Bureau data and is computed the same way for every city. This page explains the definitions, the formulas, how the writing is done and what the numbers cannot tell you.
The index
What the City Search Competition Index Measures
The index answers one question: how contested is local search in this city compared with the other Florida cities in our set? It is the average of four percentile ranks, each between 0 and 100, among the 211 cities:
- County local-search competition. The Local Search Competition Index of the city's county from our county SEO site: across fifteen local-search categories (law offices, plumbing and HVAC, roofing, electrical, remodeling, landscaping, dentists, physicians, real estate, insurance, accounting, auto repair, restaurants, salons, janitorial), how many employer locations per resident the county has compared with U.S. counties.
- County business density. Employer locations in those fifteen categories per 10,000 county residents.
- Household income. The city's median household income, because higher-income markets attract more competitors and bigger budgets.
- Population density. Residents per square mile, because dense cities put more businesses within reach of the same searcher.
The business data is published by county, not by city, so the first two parts describe the county the city sits in (the county holding most of its residents). We say so on every page.
Other figures
How the Other Numbers Are Calculated
- Percentile bars: the share of the other cities in the set that have a lower value than this city. A 90 means higher than 90% of them.
- Look-alike cities: the five cities closest to this one on eight standardized measures: residents (log), median income, median age, share of renters, population density (log), Spanish spoken at home, seasonal homes and residents 65 and older.
- Seasonal homes: housing units the Census classifies as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, as a share of all housing units.
- Where residents work: employed residents by industry, from the American Community Survey. It shows where residents work, which may be outside the city.
- Population change 2020 to 2023: Census population estimates, available only for incorporated cities.
- Nearby cities: straight-line miles between city centers (Census Gazetteer).
Sources
Where the Data Comes From
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2018-2022 (population, income, age, tenure, education, language, commuting, industry, housing)
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, Vintage 2023 (incorporated cities)
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2022 and 2017 (county employer establishments)
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Gazetteer (city centers and land area)
The cities in this set are the incorporated places in Florida with 20,000 or more residents plus a short list of larger unincorporated communities and well-known smaller cities. Census-designated places are used where they are the name people search.
How pages are written
How Each City Page Is Written and Checked
The numbers are the same kind for every city, so the written part is where pages differ. For each city we research public sources (city and county governments, chambers of commerce, economic-development and tourism organizations, local news) and record real neighborhoods, employers, institutions and seasonal patterns in a research brief with sources. The page is then written from that brief and the Census facts, leading with the traits that stand out for that city, such as seasonal housing, older residents, Spanish spoken at home, students or rapid growth.
Before a page goes live, automated checks compare it with every other city page: no shared sentences, limited overlap in wording once place names and numbers are removed, every paragraph anchored to something specific to that city, and every number traceable to the Census files or a cited source. Pages that fail are rewritten.
Limits
What These Numbers Cannot Tell You
- They are not search volumes. The index counts businesses. How many people search for a service, and how fast a page can rank, depend on factors public data does not show. We do not publish keyword volumes, traffic or ranking promises.
- They are not our results. We do not use client account data or publish GetPhound client results on these pages.
- County figures are not city figures. Business counts describe the county. A city's own mix can differ.
- Estimates have margins of error. The ACS is a survey, and small places have wider margins. Treat close values as ties.
- Establishments are not websites. Some counted businesses have no website, and sole proprietors without employees are not in County Business Patterns.
Get in Touch
Want These Numbers Applied to Your Business?
Tell us what you sell and where. Call 610-825-4363 or email hello@getphound.com to set up a strategy session with our CEO.