Local SEO: being found by people nearby

The map pack is the prize

Search for a local service and you will usually see a map with three businesses above the ordinary results. That block is the map pack, and it takes an outsized share of the clicks.

Getting into it is a different exercise from ranking a web page. It is driven largely by your Google Business Profile, your proximity to the searcher, and your reviews — with your website supporting rather than leading.

Google Business Profile

This is the free listing that shows your business on Google Maps and in that map pack. It is the single most important local SEO asset you have, and it is very commonly half-completed and then abandoned.

• Claim and verify itUnverified listings barely appear. Verification is usually a postcard or a phone call.
• Complete every fieldCategories, hours, services, service area, description. Completeness genuinely affects how often you surface.
• Choose categories carefullyYour primary category has a strong effect on which searches you appear for. Be specific rather than broad.
• Add real photographsYour actual work, premises and team. Listings with photos get materially more engagement than those without.
• Keep hours accurateIncluding bank holidays. Nothing loses a customer faster than a wasted journey.

Consistency, and why it matters more than it should

Your business name, address and phone number — often abbreviated to NAP — need to be identical everywhere they appear online. Your site, your Google profile, Facebook, directories, everywhere.

Not nearly identical. Identical. "Street" in one place and "St" in another, or an old mobile number lingering on a directory you forgot about, makes it harder for Google to be confident these listings are the same business. Confidence affects ranking.

This is tedious work with no visible glamour, and it is one of the more reliable local SEO wins available.

Reviews

Reviews affect local ranking and they very obviously affect whether somebody chooses you. Two businesses side by side, one with four reviews and one with forty, is not a close contest.

The reliable way to get them is to ask, promptly, every time, with a direct link that takes one tap. People are generally willing and simply forget.

Do not offer anything in exchange. Incentivised reviews breach Google's policies and can get your profile penalised. Reply to reviews as well, including the critical ones — a measured reply to a complaint reads better to prospective customers than no reply at all.

What your website should do

Your site supports the profile. Put your address and phone number in the footer of every page as real text rather than inside an image. Mention the areas you serve in natural language rather than stuffing a list of towns at the bottom.

If you genuinely serve several distinct areas, a proper page for each — with real, specific content about working there — can rank. Thin duplicated pages with the town name swapped out will not, and can be treated as spam.

Everything in technical SEO basics still applies, and trust signals matter especially here, since local buyers are often choosing between strangers.

Sources and further reading

• Google Business Profile Help (opens in a new tab)GoogleOfficial documentation for claiming and managing your listing.
• Local business guidelines (opens in a new tab)GoogleThe representation rules — worth reading before you set categories.
• Prohibited and restricted content (reviews) (opens in a new tab)GoogleWhy incentivised reviews are a bad idea.

Common questions

Do I need a physical address for local SEO?

Not necessarily. If you visit customers rather than receiving them, you can set up as a service area business and hide the address while still appearing for searches in the areas you cover. You do still need a genuine business address for verification.

How many reviews do I need?

There is no threshold, but you want to be in the same territory as the competitors appearing above you. Look at who ranks in the map pack for your main service and see where they are. Steady recent reviews count for more than a large number from years ago.

Should I make a separate page for every town nearby?

Only where you have something genuinely specific to say about working there. Ten near-identical pages with the place name substituted is a recognised spam pattern and can harm you. Three or four real ones beat twenty thin ones.