Local SEO in one minute
When someone searches "electrician near me" or "lawn care in [town]," Google assumes they want someone close by. It shows a map with three local businesses (the "map pack"), then regular website results underneath. Local SEO is everything you do to earn a spot in both.
How Google picks the map pack
Google says it ranks local results on three things:
- Relevance: how well your business matches the search. Your categories, services and website content.
- Distance: how far you are from the person searching, or from the area they named.
- Prominence: how well-known and trusted your business is. Reviews, links from other websites, and listings around the web.
You can't change distance, but you can work on relevance and prominence, and that's what local SEO does.
The parts of local SEO
- Google Business Profile: fully filled out, with the right categories, photos and posts.
- Website: pages for each service and area, fast on phones.
- Citations: your name, address and phone listed the same way on trusted directories.
- Reviews: a steady flow, with a reply to each one.
- Links: other local websites linking to yours.
Who needs local SEO
Any business that serves customers in a specific area: contractors, plumbers, HVAC, roofers, electricians, landscapers, cleaners, auto shops, salons, restaurants and more. If customers search for your service plus a town, or "near me," local SEO applies to you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SEO and local SEO?+
Regular SEO helps a website rank for searches anywhere. Local SEO focuses on searches tied to a place, and adds the Google Business Profile, reviews and local listings that decide the map pack.
What are the three factors for local search ranking?+
Google lists relevance, distance and prominence as the main factors for local results.
Is local SEO a one-time thing?+
No. Competitors keep working on theirs, and Google rewards businesses that stay active with new reviews, posts, photos and content.