How to do local SEO

The seven jobs, in order

1. Claim and verify your Google Business ProfileSearch for your business on Google Maps. If a listing exists, claim it. If not, create one. Verification may be by video, phone, email or postcard, depending on what Google offers for your business. A business with no staffed premises or a service-area model has different rules, covered below.
2. Choose categories before anything elseThe primary category is the strongest relevance signal you control on the profile. Pick the one that matches the main service, such as Dentist, not Health. Add secondary categories only for services you truly provide.
3. Fix name, address and phone everywhereWrite your details once in a note, and copy them into the profile, your site footer, and every directory. Variations such as St and Street, or a different suite number, create doubt. Use the business name that customers see on your sign.
4. Build one page for the locationCreate a page on your site with the address, hours, map, local phone, photos of the premises, and the services you offer there. Write it for the neighborhood, not as a copy of your homepage. Link to it from the profile.
5. Ask for reviews the right waySend a direct link to your review form after a completed job. Reply to every review, good or bad. Do not offer discounts or gifts for reviews, and do not screen who you ask. Google's policies prohibit both.
6. Add local business schemaMark up the location page with LocalBusiness or a more specific type, using the same name, address, phone and hours that appear on the page.
7. Track the resultsUse the profile's performance numbers for calls, direction requests and website clicks. Tag the website link on the profile so analytics shows what came from it.

Which signals decide local rankings

Google describes three factors for local results: relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot change distance. You can influence the other two.

A 30-day plan

Service-area businesses and home offices

A plumber, a cleaner or a consultant working from a home office does not receive customers at an address. For these, Google lets you hide the street address and list the areas you serve. Do not use a virtual office or a mailbox as a fake premises. Profiles that break the rules can be suspended.

• List service areas by city, county or postcode district, not by every neighborhood.
• Create a page for each major area only if you have something unique to say about each one.
• Keep the home address private if you do not meet customers there.

Pitfalls in local SEO

• Stuffing the business name with keywords. Plumber Chicago Cheap 24 Hour Plumbing is against Google's guidelines and invites a suspension.
• Buying reviews or asking friends to leave them.
• Changing the business name, address or phone on one platform and forgetting the others.
• Ignoring the website. A weak site limits how far the profile can climb.
• Creating a new listing when the business moves or rebrands, instead of editing the existing one.
• Expecting results in days. Profile changes may show within weeks, and competitive markets take months.

Our local SEO checklist lists every field to check. If you have more than one branch, go to local SEO for multiple locations.

When to do it yourself and when not to

A single-location business with a simple service can do the first thirty days alone. Get help when the profile was suspended, when the market is crowded, when you have duplicate listings from years of changes, or when you lack time to ask for reviews consistently. Local SEO services from an agency are worth buying only if they report on calls and direction requests, not on rankings alone.