SEO – Local SEO
Local SEO helps a business with a physical place or a service area to show up when people search nearby, like “dentist near me”, “pizza in Delhi” or “plumber in Pune”. Google shows a map with three businesses on top of such results (the local pack), and then the normal results.
What affects local ranking?
Google says that local results are mainly based on three things:
| Factor | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Relevance | How well your business matches what the person searches for |
| Distance | How far your business is from the person, or from the place they typed |
| Prominence | How well known your business is, from reviews, links, mentions and its general web presence |
1. Google Business Profile
This is the free listing which shows in Maps and Search (earlier called Google My Business). It is the most important local SEO task.
- Create or claim your profile, and verify it.
- Choose the correct main category, and add other categories only when they are true.
- Fill the name, address, phone number, opening hours, website and services.
- Add real photos of your place, products and team.
- Use the name that you really use in the real world. Adding keywords to the business name is against the rules.
- Post updates and answer the questions of customers.
2. NAP consistency and citations
NAP means Name, Address, Phone number. It must be exactly the same on your website, your Google profile, and other listings (directories, maps, social profiles). A mention of your business details on another website is a citation.
3. Reviews
- Ask happy customers to leave an honest review.
- Reply to all reviews, good and bad, in a polite way.
- Never buy reviews or write fake ones. It is against the policy and customers notice it.
4. Your website
- Put the address and phone number in text (not only in an image) in the footer or on a contact page.
- Make a page for each location or each main service area, with unique content.
- Embed a map and add the opening hours.
- Make the site fast and mobile friendly, because most local searches are on phones.
LocalBusiness structured data
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Dentist",
"name": "Smile Dental Clinic",
"url": "https://example.com/",
"telephone": "+91-11-5555-0100",
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"streetAddress": "12 Main Road",
"addressLocality": "New Delhi",
"postalCode": "110001",
"addressCountry": "IN"
},
"openingHoursSpecification": [
{
"@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
"dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
"opens": "09:00",
"closes": "18:00"
}
]
}
</script>The example uses a made up business and phone number. Use your real details, and keep them the same as on the Google profile.
Local keywords
Use the city and the area names naturally in titles, headings and content, like “Dental clinic in Karol Bagh”. Think about the “near me” searches, and about the services you give.
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