Local SEO Basics: Getting Found by Customers Nearby

01

Make your details match

Your name, address and phone number should read the same on your website, your Google profile and any directory you're listed in. An old phone number on one of them is enough to make search engines unsure it's the same business. It's boring work, and it's the most reliable thing on this list.

02

Finish your Google Business Profile

For local searches it's the biggest single thing you control. Choose a specific category, add hours, services and photos, and keep it current. If you haven't done it yet, start there.

03

Say where you work

Put your town or area in the title and main headline of your key pages, and put your address and a map on the contact page. If you cover several towns, write a short page for each, with real information about each one. Copying the same text and swapping the town name does more harm than good.

04

Reviews, speed and phones

Reviews help people choose you and help Google trust you, so ask every happy customer and reply to each one. Then check your site on a phone. Most local searches happen there, and a slow page with tiny buttons loses people who were ready to call.

05

Stuff you can skip

Repeating your town name twenty times on a page. Paying someone to list you in hundreds of directories, since a few accurate ones beat a lot of sloppy ones. And expecting results by next week. Local SEO builds slowly, over months.

Common questions