Local SEO: found by the people searching near you
Someone searching «near me» isn’t browsing — they’re choosing, often within hours. It’s the shortest distance between a search and a customer, and it runs on levers regular SEO doesn’t touch.
Why local search works differently
- 01Local searches carry a different intent — someone searching «dentist near me» is deciding, not researching
- 02Google shows different results depending on where the searcher is — there’s no single “your position” in local search, only your position relative to a given point
- 03The map pack and the organic results are two separate contests — a business can be strong in one and absent from the other, and both need attention
- 04It applies even without a storefront — lawyers, consultants, tradespeople: anyone whose clients prefer someone reachable has a local component, walk-in or not
What actually gets optimised
- 01The Google Business Profile — correct primary category, services, hours, service area, real photos: the single element that weighs most on the map pack, and the one most often filled in once and never touched again
- 02Consistency of business data everywhere — name, address and phone need to match across the site, the Google profile and directories; inconsistencies built up over years are a common, silent problem
- 03A genuine page for every location covered — not the same page with the city name swapped, but content that actually changes area by area
- 04Reviews — volume, continuity and responses matter more than the average alone; a profile with twenty recent reviews often beats one with fifty from three years ago
- 05Structured data for the local business — schema markup that states location, hours and service area explicitly, instead of leaving it to be inferred from text
- 06Genuine local signals, not purchased links — mentions from real local organisations, outlets and partners; a few genuine ones outweigh many generic ones
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between local SEO and “regular” SEO?
The pool changes, not the method. Local SEO works on searches where Google factors in where the searcher is, and brings in elements regular SEO doesn’t — the Google Business Profile, reviews, business data consistency, the map pack. The technical foundation of the site stays the same: structure, content built on real intent, structured data.
Do I need a physical location open to the public?
No. Many businesses work by appointment or on-site and still have a strong local component — professional practices, consultants, tradespeople, service businesses. Google has a specific setup for businesses that serve an area without receiving visitors on-site; declaring it correctly is one of the most commonly misconfigured settings.
How long before local search results show up?
Some fixes to the Business Profile can show effect quickly, because they correct information that was simply wrong. Organic ranking on local queries follows the same timeline as SEO generally — a few months for the first signals, longer for structural results. Anyone promising the map pack in two weeks is selling something else.
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