Guide · local SEO basics
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the work of helping a business appear when people nearby search for what it offers — in Google's map results, in Google Maps, and in ordinary results for searches like “electrician Leeds” or “dentist near me”. It has two halves: your Google Business Profile, and your own website. You can't pay Google for a better local ranking; it comes from how relevant, close and well known your business is.
Where local results appear
Search for a service with a place in it, or “near me”, and Google usually shows three kinds of result:
- The map pack — a small map with a handful of businesses underneath, near the top of the page.
- Google Maps — the same businesses, found in the Maps app.
- Ordinary results — normal website listings, which for local searches are often business websites and directories.
Local SEO is about showing up in all three. The map results mostly depend on your Google Business Profile; the ordinary results mostly depend on your website. Each helps the other.
What Google says decides the ranking
Google publishes the main factors in its Business Profile help pages. Local results are based mainly on three things:
| Factor | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well your business matches what was searched | Complete, accurate business details; a website that clearly says what you do |
| Distance | How far you are from the searcher, or from the place they typed | Very little — but state your real location and service area clearly |
| Prominence | How well known your business is, including reviews and links from other websites | Earn genuine reviews; get listed where your customers look |
Some versions of Google's page now call the third factor “popularity”. Google also states plainly that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
The two halves of local SEO
1. Your Google Business Profile
The free listing that powers the map results. Choose the right category, fill in every field, keep your hours accurate, verify the listing, and use your real business name — adding keywords to the name breaks Google's guidelines.
2. Your website
This is where most small businesses lose out without knowing it. Your site should make it obvious what you do and where you do it:
- Your main service and town in the page title and the main heading of the home page and service pages.
- Your phone number as real text with a tap-to-call link — not an image.
- The same business name, address and phone number everywhere they appear.
- Wording that states the areas you cover.
- Optional LocalBusiness structured data that matches what's on the page.
What local SEO is not
- Not Google Ads. Ads appear above the results but don't change your unpaid ranking.
- Not fake reviews or bought links. Both break Google's spam policies and can get a listing or site penalised.
- Not a page for every town. Near-identical pages for each location are “doorway pages” under the same policies. Create a location page only when you genuinely serve that area and have something specific to say about it.
A five-minute self-check
- Search for your main service and town on your phone. Do you appear in the map, the results, or neither?
- Open your Business Profile. Is every field filled in, with the right category and hours?
- Look at your home page title in the browser tab. Does it say your service and town, or just your business name?
- On your phone, tap your phone number on your website. Does it dial?
- Is your business name, address and phone number the same on your site and your profile?
Anything that failed is where to start. For a fuller plan, read our guide to local SEO for small businesses.
Want to know which of these your site gets wrong? Our £99 audit checks your pages and gives you the three fixes that matter most, with exact wording, usually within the hour. See a sample audit or start yours.
Written with AI assistance and checked against the Google documentation linked above. Last reviewed 23 September 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our corrections policy.