Local SEO: 7 steps to get found in your area
Local SEO means showing up when someone nearby searches for what you offer. These are the steps that matter most, without the jargon.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. Local SEO focuses on searches with a place in mind: “dentist in” plus your city, “auto shop near me”, “open now”. These are searches from people ready to call or visit.
The 7 steps
- Claim, verify and complete your Google Business Profile.
- Use the same name, address and phone everywhere: your profile, your site, your social media and directories.
- Have a website of your own with a section or page for each important service.
- Write a clear, unique title for every page that says what you do and where. Google recommends descriptive, concise titles without repeated keywords.
- Ask customers for reviews and reply to them.
- Add local business structured data to your site. It’s code that tells Google your address, hours and phone in an organized way.
- Publish useful content that answers your customers’ real questions.
What not to do
- Add keywords to your business name on Google. It’s against their guidelines.
- Create lots of near-identical pages, one per town, just to rank. Google treats mass-producing content to manipulate results as abuse.
- Buy reviews or offer something in exchange for them.
SEO isn’t instant. Changes can take weeks to show. What is immediate is a complete profile and a clear site: they help convert people who already found you.