The Ultimate Local SEO Guide for Small Businesses

Every week, 8 in 10 consumers use Google to search for local businesses. If a consumer or corporate buyer goes to Google and searches for your company name or a related keyword, what will they find? 

Your website? Or your competitor’s website?

To understand the importance of local search engine optimization, let’s imagine you’re visiting a new town and want to get pizza. Search engines like Google will use your query and current location data to try and serve you the most relevant content. 

For example, if you type in “pizza delivery near me,” Google will show local listings in a few different ways:

1. Sponsored results from businesses that have paid for ads will be at the top.
2. Next comes a “local pack”, usually headed Places, that shows the top three local business listings, with a map.
3. Sometimes there may be an AI overview. 
4. Finally there are regular search results.

If the searcher is nearby, the local search results can help them find you by showing a location pin on Google Maps, along with delivery information. And this information appears high up the page, directly below the sponsored listings.

That’s why local search is so powerful. 

As a small business owner, your local SEO strategy can help you build trust with consumers, increase foot traffic and sales, and build your online visibility. You can achieve great results by making small, incremental changes to your marketing strategy — and you don’t necessarily have to spend money on ads.

But is it worth it? Should you try coming up in the local results?

Why local SEO matters

Google — and other search engines — tries to give searchers results that are high-quality and relevant. If someone types in “restaurant delivery services,” they’re most likely interested in their local market, not a company hundreds of miles away.

Local search rankings are a major focus of marketing campaigns because of statistics like these:

• 96% of consumers learn about local businesses online.
• 80% of local searches convert into sales.
• 62% of people ignore businesses without an online presence.

Over 46% of all Google searches are for local businesses. If a potential lead doesn’t find you in the search results, they’re likely to go to a competitor instead.

How local SEO works

You don’t have to be an SEO expert to make this work for you! Knowing how Google works at the local level can help you better visualize why you need to be listed, too. 

Search engine algorithms aim to understand the user’s intent, even if they don’t specifically mention a city. So if a person types in “plumber,” Google will assume they are looking for a plumbing service they can use, rather than information about what a plumber is or how to train to become a plumber.  The user will see search engine results pages focused on local businesses, rather than nationwide or worldwide.

Local businesses are likely to show up both in Google’s local pack, and in organic search results. Let’s look at each one in turn. 

Local packs

Google’s local pack, if there is one, usually shows directly after the sponsored results. It shows a map and the top three places that are relevant for the user’s search query. Sometimes there’s a sponsored result as well.

Here’s what the local pack might look like for someone who is looking for a local delivery service:

If you tap a business name in the list, it will show information pulled from their Google Business Profile. Depending on the business, this might include:

• Photographs from Google Maps, Google Street View, and reviews
• Physical address
• Operating hours
• Online reviews
• Website
• Phone number
• Menu
• Online ordering information
• Links to social media profiles

From this profile, users can easily call the business, get directions, or open their website. Many people never look further than this, so getting your business into the local pack is worth a lot when it comes to search visibility. 

Organic search results

Organic search results are the traditional list of blue links to websites that are relevant for the potential customer’s query. Just like in the local pack, the links may include some information from Google Business Profile, like reviews. You can see an example in the image below, where Google has included a star rating in the listing for Reliable Couriers.

So as you can see, digital marketing and organic search offer small and local businesses the opportunity to be found online. In the next sections, we’ll offer quick, actionable steps for implementing local SEO.

9 Steps to build a local SEO strategy for your business

Search engine optimization drives organic traffic to your website’s landing pages and helps you get found online. Local SEO ranking strategies build off of traditional digital marketing with minor tweaks that you can integrate into your current strategy.

Here are the most important, actionable steps you can take to build a local SEO strategy.

1. Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free service that helps your business control its online presence on Google. You can use it to give your customer important info like:

• Your address — including a Google Maps link and directions
• Hours of operation
• Phone number
• Website
• Services
• Reviews

You can claim your business listing and profile for free here. 

If you already have a Google Business Profile, here’s how to optimize it:

• Add as much information as possible: Fill in as much information as you can on your profile. Include operating hours, products (where relevant), categories, photos, service area, and anything else you can.
• Triple check that your name, address, and phone number are accurate. 
• Encourage local customers to leave reviews: Ask customers to leave a review, in person or in your emails. Make it as easy as possible to do this by providing a link directly to Google where they can leave a review. A simple sign with a QR can work wonders.
• Respond to customer reviews: Owners or managers should reply to every negative review. Be careful not to get defensive —  take a deep breath, and respond out of a genuine desire to fix the issues the person had. This will show others that you take reviews seriously. 
• Update your profile when any changes are necessary.

You also want to verify that your business information is accurate across local directories.

2. Make sure your local citations are accurate and consistent

Local citations must be 100% consistent. Your business’s name, address, and phone number must be accurate across all:

• Business directory listings (think Yelp, etc).
• Local listings
• Google Business Profile
• Website pages
• Social media profiles

For example, take a look at the search engine results page (SERP) for Harvestly, which delivers fresh produce and prepared food around San Luis Obispo in California. They’ve done a good job of making sure their information is accurate across many different site:

• Google Business Profile
• Yelp
• Nextdoor
• Instagram
• San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce
• Facebook

Some external sites pull information from all sorts of strange places, so make a habit of searching your own business name every couple of months and correcting any inaccuracies. 

Consistent information builds trust and also helps search engines display accurate information to searchers.

3. Create local-focused content

Local content is hyper-relevant to your audience. Routific’s customer Flourist, which supplies fresh-milled flour, baked goods, groceries, and kitchen supplies across Vancouver, is a great example.  Browse their Instagram feed and you’ll find a lot of shoutouts to other local businesses, artists, and farmers, alongside pictures of their latest specials. 

Flourist has also enabled its location page on Instagram, so it’s easy to customers to tag them, and share information about their location and contact details. 

4. Focus on review management

Yes, a review management strategy is a thing! The way you handle your reviews sends important signals that help Google, and other search engines, rank your site locally. Spend time:

• Asking customers for reviews.
• Replying to negative reviews.
• Encouraging positive reviews if the customer had a good experience.

Make it a daily or weekly habit to check for new reviews so you can respond quickly. Manage reviews across all platforms, such as Google Business Profile, Yelp, and even your own sites.

5. Research local keywords

Optimizing your site with relevant search terms can improve your search engine rankings, send targeted website traffic to your pages, and help potential customers discover your business.

Finding relevant search terms starts with keyword research. Some good tools to start with are:

• Moz Keyword Explorer — offers a limited number of free searches. 
• Ubersuggest from NP Digital — specifically aimed at small businesses, with a limited free tool and accessible pricing.
• Google Keyword Planner — it focuses on finding keywords for paid ads, but is useful for general SEO research as well.

When you want to get more serious and it’s worth paying for keyword research, consider one of these leading tools:

• Ahrefs
• Semrush

How to do local keyword research

Once you’ve chosen a tool, here’s an effective process for finding promising keywords:

• Find high-level keywords for your industry. Start by brainstorming a list of search terms your customer might use to find you. Then try them in Google and make notes of the suggestions that pop up in the search bar, as well as the “People Also Ask” section of the results. Keep all these ideas in a spreadsheet so they’re easy to copy and paste into a research tool. 
• Add location info. Now that you have some industry terms, add location terms into the mix. For example, “coffee delivery in Vancouver.”
• Use your tool to get search volume data and other info. Take your list of local keywords and paste it into your research tool. You should get information on how often each term is searched for, and what the top results are. Using this data, you can create a shortlist of search terms that will drive the most traffic to your site.

6. Optimize your site for local keywords

At this point, you should have a list of specific keywords that are relevant to your target audience. Now, you can put those search terms to work by optimizing your web pages. We call this on-page SEO. 

It’s a good idea to choose one main keyword to focus on for each page, and sprinkle in a few supporting keywords. 

Best practices for local keyword optimization

• Add your main keyword to the page’s title tag and meta description. Not sure where to find this? Do a quick search for your website builder’s name + “title tag and meta description.” You’re sure to find a helpful guide.
• Make sure your page is structured with subheadings (H1s, H2s, and H3s). Incorporate your main keyword and other supporting keywords into these headers naturally.
• Add your supporting keywords to the rest of your content. Don’t overdo it, but try to incorporate other search terms into your copy whenever it makes sense and is relevant to the content.
• Avoid keyword stuffing. Web pages that repeat their main keyword every couple of sentences are painful to read, and will get you penalized by search engines.  

Most website builders have plugins or apps that can help you optimize your pages. Some of these platforms have native SEO tools, so take advantage of them if you can.

7. Consider local link building strategies

Link building is an important aspect of any SEO strategy, and that includes local SEO. The goal is to attract links from other sites that point back to your site.

These backlinks (as they’re called) are like “votes” for your site. They give your site credibility and tell search engines that your site is important enough for other people to link to it. 

Backlinks are one of many ranking factors Google uses to rank sites in the local search results. But it’s not just a numbers game. The key is to focus on building links from relevant, authoritative sites. 

Best practices for local link building

• Add your business to relevant local directories. Be sure to refer back to point 2 of this guide and verify that your info is correct!
• Do something newsworthy. Sponsor a local sports team. Host a local community event. Partner with a local charity. Then, reach out to local publications and media outlets with your story (make sure the story includes a link back to your business website).
• Write guest articles for relevant and local publications. For example, let’s say that your business focuses on farm-share deliveries. Maybe you could write an article on the advantages of buying from local farms. Make sure the topic and angle of your post will appeal to the publication’s audience. 
• Continue publishing local-focused content. The content you create and publish on your blog and social media can also help attract backlinks to your site. Make sure you’re sharing your content to increase your reach and exposure.

Sometimes, just ensuring that your site is listed in as many relevant directories and board sites as possible can lead to natural backlinks. 

Take Connecticut-based Terra Firma Farm as an example. In 2023, the publication CT Insider featured their site in an article on local dairies that make and sell their own eggnog.

The story included a backlink to Terra Firma Farm’s website, along with a link to their delivery portal and information about their delivery service availability. 

How did CT Insider find their business? By checking the Connecticut Department of Agriculture's Milk Promotion Board. So make sure your business is listed on relevant sites, no matter how obscure they might seem!

8. Use LocalBusiness structured data to help Google understand your business

Schema markup is a standardized code format (a type of structured data) that helps search engines understand the information on your website. Think of it as a special language that tells Google exactly what your content means, not just what it says.

For local businesses, implementing LocalBusiness schema markup can be particularly valuable. This code tells search engines:

• Your business name, address, and phone number
• Business hours (including seasonal variations)
• Service areas you deliver to
• Accepted payment methods
• Menu or product information
• Reservation or ordering options

Adding schema markup does require editing your website's code. There are a few ways to do this without getting into anything too complex:

• Plugin solutions: If your site runs on WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO or Schema Pro can add basic schema markup automatically.
• Google's Structured Data Markup Helper: This tool lets you visually tag elements on your page and generates the code for you.
• Working with a developer: For more complex implementations, especially for delivery service areas, working with a web developer or SEO service is often the most efficient approach.

Adding this invisible code to your website can help your business appear in rich results and potentially improve your local search rankings. For delivery businesses, it's particularly valuable to specify your service areas using the "areaServed" property.

Google provides a comprehensive guide for implementing LocalBusiness schema, including all the properties you can use to describe your business in detail.

Here’s an example of a schema markup for an apple pie recipe:

9. Don’t forget mobile optimization

Local SEO isn’t just about the technical side of things. It’s also about creating a positive user experience. In today’s world, that means making your site mobile-friendly.

An estimated 96.3% of people use their smartphones to go online at least some of the time. If you want to reach these users, your site has to be speedy and easy to navigate on mobile devices.

Creating a positive mobile user experience can also improve your local SEO. How? Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites in mobile searches.

If that’s not enough to convince you, then consider this — 58% of people search for local businesses on their smartphones every day.

How can you make your site mobile-friendly?

• Make sure your site has a responsive design
• Optimize your images and content for speed (if you’re on WordPress, there are many plugins that can do this for you)
• Focus on touch-friendly functionality, so links and buttons are easy to tap 

Having a responsive design really is the key, especially for local SEO rankings.

Walden Local and Flourist both have mobile sites that are a great example of a responsive design that delivers a speedy and seamless experience. 

Their sites load quickly on mobile devices, and simplified navigation buttons make it easy to get where you want to go on the site.

If you’re not sure whether your site is mobile-friendly, try visiting it on your smartphone. There’s a good chance that it already has a responsive design if your site has been updated within the last 4-5 years.

The value of getting it right

Check out this Google local pack for the search query “Local meat delivery MA”. Walden Local Meat is prominent; and all three places have added information about their locations, phone numbers, and opening hours.

The takeaway

Local SEO can help you build brand awareness and reach more customers in your local area. The key is to have a solid strategy and plan. By following the SEO tips in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to improving your visibility in the local results. At the same time, you’ll boost your overall SEO efforts to drive more traffic and prospective customers to your site.