Local SEO basics
Local SEO basics: how to show up in “near me” searches
Local SEO helps nearby customers find your business. It rests on a complete Google Business Profile, clear local wording, genuine reviews and consistent details.
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Local SEO is how you appear when someone searches “plumber near me” or “hair salon in Macclesfield”. It is simpler than national SEO, and it rewards specific, consistent work.
Your Google Business Profile is the foundation. Claim it, verify it and fill it in completely: business name, address, phone, hours, services and photos, all matching your website.
Key points
Local wording tells Google where you work. Name your town, the areas you cover and your services naturally in page titles, headings and copy. Write for people first.
Reviews help customers decide and are one of the things Google considers. Ask happy customers to leave a Google review and reply to every review, good or bad.
What this means for you
Keep your business name, address and phone number the same everywhere they appear: directories, social media and your own site. Consistent details make it easier for Google to trust them.
Your website also needs to be fast and easy to use on a phone, because most local searches happen on one.
In our clients’ words
What our clients say.
FAQ
Common questions
Technical fixes land as soon as they go live. Rankings move over weeks to months, depending on your area and how established your competitors are.
A Google Business Profile can exist without a website. A website gives Google, and customers, far more to go on: your services, the areas you cover and proof of your work.
Ask every happy customer. Send a follow-up text or email with a direct link to your Google review page, so it takes them a minute.
Keep reading
Read next
How Google Business Profiles work
Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a customer sees. A complete, accurate profile gives them, and Google, what they need to choose you.
Why local business websites fail
Local business websites usually let their owners down for the same few reasons: they are slow, confusing, hard to find on Google or left alone after launch.
Why website speed matters
A slow page loses visitors before they read a word. Speed also feeds into how Google judges page experience on mobile.
Find out what your website is costing you.
A free Growth Audit™: a written, prioritised audit of your website, with the three fixes worth making first. You do not need a call to get it, and it is yours to keep.
We take on a limited number of builds at once, so there is usually a short wait before a new one starts. Once yours starts, it is about 14 working days from agreed direction to launch.