What brings you here
You want your website and profile to support the same customer journey.
What Local SEO covers
Local SEO is the broader discipline that makes a business findable and credible in a specific place. It sits underneath Maps SEO and includes four workstreams.
- Technical SEO — crawlability, indexation, speed, mobile usability, sitemaps, canonicals, robots
- On-page and content — service pages, location pages, titles, headings, internal linking
- Citations — consistent business information across the web
- Reputation — authentic reviews and professional responses
Technical foundations first
No amount of content helps if Google cannot crawl, index or render the site. This is unglamorous and it decides your ceiling.
- Submit an XML sitemap and keep it current
- Make sure important pages are indexable and duplicates are handled correctly
- Fix mobile usability — most local searches happen on a phone
- Improve Core Web Vitals, especially LCP and INP
- Validate structured data rather than assuming it is correct
- Remove redirect chains and fix broken internal links
Site architecture for local search
Google needs to understand what you do and where you do it. A clean structure makes that obvious.
- One clear page per core service
- A location page per area you genuinely serve — no more
- Breadcrumbs on every page, visually and in markup
- Internal links that point deliberately at the pages that need visibility
- No orphaned pages with no path to the homepage
Service pages vs location pages
These are different jobs and they must not be merged into one page trying to do both.
- Service pages answer “what do you do?” for someone who already knows they need it.
- Location pages answer “can you serve me?” for someone in a specific area.
- One page trying to rank for both usually satisfies neither.
- Each needs unique copy. Cloning one page across 40 cities is a doorway-page pattern.
Location pages done right
If you publish location pages, they must pass a quality gate before going live. If a page cannot pass, it should not be published.
- Unique title, meta description, H1 and introduction
- Genuine local context — real areas, real constraints, real process
- At least five real FAQs asked by people in that area
- Links to nearby areas you serve and back to the parent service page
- Breadcrumbs plus validated LocalBusiness and FAQ schema
- A clear, local call to action
Citations and NAP
Consistent business information is one of the simplest wins available and one of the most commonly botched.
- One canonical business name, one address format, one phone number format
- Google first, then Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp and industry directories
- Remove duplicates and closed-location listings
- Add citations only where they are credible for your industry
- Re-audit quarterly, because drift is inevitable
Reviews as a local SEO signal
Reviews sit at the intersection of ranking and conversion, which is why they matter more than their reputation suggests.
- Ask consistently, follow up once, never incentivise
- Respond to everything, quickly and professionally
- Track themes — the recurring complaints are free product research
- Never purchase, generate or fabricate reviews under any circumstances
Local structured data
Structured data helps machines interpret your content correctly. It does not directly boost rankings, but it removes ambiguity.
LocalBusinesswith accurate name, address, phone, hours and geo
Servicemarkup for what you offer
FAQPagefor genuine on-page questions
BreadcrumbListfor hierarchy
- Validate every change — unvalidated markup is worse than none
Internal linking
Internal links tell Google which pages are the important ones. Most small business sites have almost none, and this is a free opportunity.
- Link from your strongest pages to your money pages
- Use descriptive anchor text — the words a customer would use
- Add contextual links inside body copy, not only in menus
- Link location pages to their parent service page and to neighbouring areas
- Fix or remove any broken or orphaned pages
What to measure
Track the numbers that reflect behaviour, not vanity.
- Calls, website clicks and direction requests from Business Profile Insights
- Organic visibility for your priority service-plus-city combinations
- Indexed page count for genuinely useful location pages
- Review volume, rating and response time
- Technical health: errors, indexation, Core Web Vitals
How to prioritise when budget is tight
Work through these in order. Each one makes the next one more effective.
- Fix incorrect business information everywhere — it is free and customers depend on it
- Complete the Business Profile properly
- Fix the technical blockers
- Build one genuinely strong service page
- Start the review request process
- Publish location pages only when they will be useful
- Maintain all of it monthly
Want this applied to your business?
Reading is useful; doing is faster. Request a free audit and we will show you exactly where your profile, site and citations stand.
Related reading
Google Maps SEO Guide
How the Map Pack works and what actually moves rankings.
Read the Maps SEO guideRelated services
local SEO services · citation management · review strategy — if you would rather have this done for you than DIY it.
Google Business Profile Guide
Complete your profile properly and avoid suspension.
Read the GBP guide