Where local results come from
A local search shows two things: the map pack (three businesses with pins, ratings and a 'call' button) and the normal results underneath. The map pack is driven by your Google Business Profile, your reviews and how close you are to the searcher. The results underneath are driven by your website. Local SEO works on both, because many people never scroll past the map, and many others want to read a website before they call.
The parts of local SEO
- Google Business Profile: claimed, complete, correct categories, hours, photos, services, posts, and questions answered. See what Google Business Profile is.
- Reviews: steady new reviews on Google, replied to. Volume, recency and rating all matter.
- Service and location pages: one page per service and, if you cover several areas, one per area, each with content specific to that service or place rather than a template with the town swapped.
- Consistency: the same name, address and phone number on your site, your profile and directories.
- Local links and mentions: chambers of commerce, associations, local news, suppliers, sponsorships.
- On-site basics: the city and service in page titles and headings, an address and service area on the site, and LocalBusiness structured data; see what schema markup is.
What local SEO cannot do
It cannot make you appear in the map pack for a city you are not in or near; proximity to the searcher is a large factor that no amount of optimization overrides. Businesses that serve a wide area reach the other towns through website pages, not through the map. And 'near me' is not something you put on a page; Google reads it as the searcher's location. The guide on what SEO is and how it works covers the broader picture, and SEO services is the version where we do the work.