If your customers are in a particular town or region, local SEO is how you make sure they find you rather than the business down the road. Here's what it involves, without the jargon.

What local SEO is

When someone searches for a service with a place in mind, such as "electrician near me" or "florist in [your town]", Google tries to show nearby businesses that best match. Local SEO is the work that helps your business be one of them.

The two places you can appear

  • The map results: the map and short list of businesses near the top of many local searches. These come largely from Google Business Profiles.
  • The normal results: the familiar list of web pages below. These come from websites.

A strong local presence works on both, and the two support each other.

Your Google Business Profile

Your free Business Profile is often the first thing people see. Make sure it's claimed and complete, with the right category, your service area, opening hours, photos and a link to your website. Ask happy customers for reviews, and reply to them.

Your website's job

  • Clear location signals: say where you work, naturally, on the pages that matter.
  • Consistent details: use the same business name, contact details and address (if you show one) everywhere they appear online.
  • Pages for what people search: a page for each main service, written around how customers actually describe it.
  • Structured data: schema markup that tells search engines who you are, what you do and where.
  • A fast, mobile-friendly site: most local searches happen on phones.

What it isn't

Local SEO isn't a trick, and no one can guarantee you the top spot. Be wary of anyone who promises that. It's steady, sensible work that compounds over time.

A simple checklist

  • Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
  • Keep your business details identical everywhere
  • Give each main service its own page
  • Mention the areas you serve, naturally
  • Collect and reply to reviews
  • Make sure your site is fast and works beautifully on phones

Our SEO service builds all of this into your website from day one. On the Growth plan we also research the exact searches to target in your area.