What is local SEO? (with a step-by-step checklist)

Short answer: local SEO is the work that helps people near you find your business when they search on Google or Google Maps, for example "accountant near me" or "plumber in Leeds". It covers your Google Business Profile, the consistency of your name, address and phone number across the web, location pages on your website, reviews and local links. Google ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and you can influence two of those three.

How does local search work? Map pack vs organic results

When a search has local intent, Google usually shows two kinds of results. At the top is a map with a short list of businesses, often called the local pack or map pack. Each entry comes from a Google Business Profile and shows the rating, opening hours and buttons to call or get directions. Below it are the ordinary organic results: web pages ranked by the same signals as any other search, where location pages and local directories often appear.

The two lists are ranked differently. For the map pack, Google says local results are mainly based on three factors (Google Business Profile Help):

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone is searching for. Complete and detailed business information helps Google understand what you do.
• Distance: how far your business is from the person searching, or from the location named in the search. You cannot change this one.
• Prominence: how well known your business is. Google mentions links to your website and the number of reviews, and says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.

The same page is clear that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Ads can appear above the map, but they are labelled as ads and do not change the organic order. If you want the background on how the organic part works, our guide on how SEO works covers crawling, indexing and ranking.

Local SEO checklist: profile, NAP, location pages, reviews, links, schema

Work through these in order. The first two are the foundation; the rest build prominence over time.

1. Claim, verify and complete your Google Business Profile

• Claim the profile and complete verification. Google notes that verified businesses are more likely to show up in local results.
• Use your real-world business name, exactly as it appears on your signage and website. Google's guidelines forbid adding taglines, keywords, service descriptions or locations to the name, and doing so can get the profile suspended (Google Business Profile guidelines).
• Pick the most specific primary category that completes the sentence "this business is a…", then add only the few secondary categories that describe your core business.
• Add opening hours, including holiday hours, your phone number, website, services and attributes such as parking or accessibility.
• If you visit customers rather than receive them, set a service area and hide your address. P.O. boxes and virtual offices are not eligible.
• Add your own photos of the premises, team and work, and keep posting new ones.

2. Make your NAP consistent everywhere

NAP stands for name, address and phone number. Use one exact version on your website, your Google profile, social profiles and directories. Small differences (an old address, a call-tracking number, "Ltd" in one place and not another) make it harder for Google and for customers to trust the details. Put the NAP in your website footer or contact page as text, not inside an image.

3. Build a page for each location or service area

Each physical location should have its own page with the address, opening hours, a map, directions and content that is specific to that place: the team, the area you serve, local projects. Avoid near-identical pages where only the town name changes. They rarely rank and add little for visitors. Link the page from your Google Business Profile.

4. Earn reviews and reply to them

Reviews feed prominence and help people choose. Ask every satisfied customer, make it easy with a direct review link, and reply to reviews, both positive and negative. Google lists responding to reviews as one of its tips. Do not offer incentives or ask only the customers you expect to be happy; Google's review policy forbids both. Our guide to Google reviews for business goes through how to ask and how to reply.

5. Get local links and citations

Links from local websites tell Google that your business is known in the area. Good sources are the ones that already exist offline: your trade association, local chamber of commerce, suppliers and partners, events you sponsor, local news when you have something worth reporting. Listings in relevant directories (citations) help keep your NAP consistent, but a few accurate ones beat hundreds of low-quality ones.

6. Add LocalBusiness structured data

Structured data describes your business in a format search engines read reliably. Google's documentation for LocalBusiness markup lists name and address as required, and recommends properties such as geo coordinates, opening hours, telephone and the URL of the specific location. Use the most specific type available, for example Dentist or Restaurant (Google Search Central). Google notes that markup makes a business eligible for richer display but does not guarantee it.

7. Measure what happens

Check the performance figures in your Google Business Profile (calls, direction requests, website clicks) and track enquiries from the location pages in your analytics. Rankings in the map pack vary by where the searcher stands, so a single "position" from your office is not the full picture.

How long does local SEO take?

Some changes show quickly. Correcting your categories, hours or name on the profile can affect which searches you appear for once Google has processed the edit. Building prominence is slower: reviews, links and well-performing location pages accumulate over months, not weeks. How fast you move also depends on competition. A locksmith in a big city faces more competitors than an architect in a small town. Our article on how long SEO takes explains the timelines in more detail.

What does local SEO cost?

A Google Business Profile is free, and much of the checklist above is work you can do yourself. The cost comes from time: writing location pages, asking for reviews, earning links and keeping everything up to date. If you hire an agency or consultant, the price depends on the number of locations, how competitive your market is and whether website work is included. We go through pricing models and what affects them in how much SEO costs.

One location or many?

With one location, the focus is a strong profile, one excellent location page and steady reviews. With several, the work multiplies and coordination becomes the main problem: one profile per location, one page per location, consistent NAP for each, and a process so every branch collects reviews. Each location has to qualify on its own; you cannot create profiles for places where you do not serve customers in person. If that is your situation, read our guide on local SEO for multi-location businesses.

When should you hire help?

You can do local SEO yourself if you have one location, a reasonably complete profile and time each month for reviews and updates. Bringing in help makes sense when you manage several locations, when competitors clearly outrank you despite a complete profile, when your website lacks proper location pages, or when no one in the business has time to keep it going. Look for someone who reports on enquiries and calls rather than just rankings. If you want us to take a look, see our local SEO service.