Local SEO: The Definitive Guide

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO helps you appear in search results when someone nearby searches for what you offer. Key tasks are to find relevant keywords, optimize your Google Business Profile, and create listings on other websites.

By executing a sound local SEO strategy, you can capture more traffic, leads, and sales.

The Power of Local SEO

Local SEO can be a huge lead source for your business.

Take OHSO, a local Arizona brewery chain, for example.

They have 23.3K ranking organic keywords overall—and scored the top spot on Google for hundreds of location-based keywords.

This includes:

• Ohso gilbert
• Ohso scottsdale
• Ohso on central
• Ohso tatum and shea

They also show up in Google’s coveted map pack for searches like “local breweries phoenix” and “paradise valley breweries.”

How have they done so well in the local SERPs?

First, they created—and optimized—separate Google Business Profiles for each of their six locations.

Each profile features OHSO’s menu, photos, website, menu highlights, popular times, and more.

This helps improve each location’s chances of ranking in Google’s map pack.

Second, they created dedicated landing pages for each location on their website.

Each page features location-specific details (like events and on-site activities) and local keywords (like “Gilbert ohso brewery”).

Smart.

Bottom line:

OHSO doesn’t just hope people find its locations.

They make it happen with strategic local SEO.

Still not sold?

Just look at these fascinating statistics that highlight exactly how huge local SEO can be:

There are approximately 5.9 million keywords in the U.S. related to “near me” as of 2024. Roughly 800 million searchers each month use a variation of “near me” in their search. (SOCi)

An overwhelming 92% of searchers choose a business from the first page of local search results. (SEO Tribunal)

“Open now near me” searches have increased 400%. (Think with Google)

When searching locally, 72% of consumers visit the store that’s within a five-mile radius of their location. (SEO Tribunal)

The statistics are clear: Local searches make up a huge chunk of the SEO world.

If you can get your local business in front of these searches, there’s a good chance they’ll be walking through your door shortly after.

The Importance of the Map Pack

The map pack (also known as the “local pack”) is a set of three local business results.

It includes a map of their locations pulled from Google Maps. Like this:

For example, when you search for “Barber Boston,” Google has a map pack at the very top of the results.

With the standard search results underneath it.

Ranking in the map pack works a little differently than the rest of the Google search results.

You’ll learn more about that in chapters four and five.

For now, just keep in mind that the map pack has its own algorithm with its own set of rules.

Another helpful thing to know:

Google will show local results (including map pack results) even if there’s no city or state in the keyword.

If Google thinks that the searcher’s intent is local, they’ll show locally relevant results.

For example, when I searched for “gardener” in NYC, Google came back with a map pack:

This is important to keep in mind as you do keyword research for your local business.

Yes, you want to optimize for “store + city” keywords. But also keep in mind that the generic “store” keyword (without a location) may get more search volume than the “store + city” version.

But before we get into all that, let’s take a look at how to measure your map pack rankings.

Don’t Forget Local Organic Rankings

If you’re a local business, the map pack is the place to be.

But you don’t want to completely ignore traditional local results.

These are the results that usually show up below the local pack.

Like this:

Don’t let the fact that the map pack appears at the top of the page discourage you. Most local searches have an insanely strong commercial intent.

It’s absolutely worth your while to rank highly in the local search engine results pages (SERPs) too.

And, unlike map pack results, the local results are basically the same for any Google SERP.

To optimize your site for local organic rankings, use the keyword you want to rank for in your title tag and in your URL. Plus, all the traditional on-page SEO stuff and backlinks.

Actually, the only unique thing about local organic rankings is how you track them.

Remember: keywords with “store + city” only make up a fraction of all local searches.

So, in addition to “Boston barber,” you also want to track your rankings for keywords like “Barber” and “Barber near me.”

Here’s how:

To track rankings for “barber near me” for people searching in Boston, you just specify the location in the rank tracking tool of your choice:

And if you want to get a better idea of where you rank around town, track your rankings for that same keyword across lots of different spots.

Google Suggest

Google Suggest can work well for identifying keywords used in local searches.

Simply enter a keyword related to your business into Google, and watch the suggested search terms come up in the drop-down menu below the search bar.

For example, if you type in “HVAC,” you get this list of suggestions:

Outside of “HVAC near me,” these keywords aren’t a great fit for local SEO.

But when you add part of a local term, like “HVAC B” (for Boston), you start to see keywords that you can use.

Local Voice Searches

A surprising 71% of consumers prefer voice search over typing in queries.

That’s a huge percentage already, and the trend is expected to continue.

The main thing to consider here in terms of keywords is this: voice searches tend to be longer and use more natural language.

For example, take a local keyword like “gluten free pizza brooklyn.”

That same search done via someone’s voice will probably be more like: “gluten free pizza in brooklyn that’s open right now.”

There’s yet to be a tool specifically for finding search keywords used in voice search.

The solution?

Miriam Ellis, local search scientist at Moz and founder of Miriam Ellis Consulting, says to focus on long-tail keywords.

Practice awareness of long-tail terms in your keyword research, and be sure your site is optimized for them.

An Updated Google Business Profile

According to Google’s documentation, they use three factors when ranking businesses for the map pack:

1. Relevance: How well your business matches what someone is searching for
2. Distance: How far your business is from the location the search took place or the location-specific in the search term
3. Prominence: How well-known and well-liked your business is

And the major source for a lot of this data?

Your Google Business Profile.

Creating a Google Business Profile lets you influence how your business appears on Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Shopping. It has your business name, contact details, hours, services, and even visible customer ratings.

Like this:

Your business website is still important. The content on your page and the links pointing to your site play a role in your ranking within the map pack.

But for your business to rank number one in the map pack, your Google Business Profile (GBP) needs to be on point.

We’ll go into depth on creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile in chapter five.

Positive Online Reviews

Review Signals also play an important role in Google local ranking factors, according to Moz’s Local Search Ranking Factors report.

Specifically, the report states that three types of reviews matter most:

• Reviews on your Google Business Profile
• Reviews on third-party sites (like Yelp)
• First-party reviews on your website

Other review factors like recency, velocity, diversity, authority, and format seem to matter too.

Bottom line?

It’s important to get high-quality reviews, and avoid negative ones.

Replying to reviews—even (and maybe especially) negative ones—can help too.

Make Sure Your Profile Data Is Consistent

When it comes to your Google Business Profile, consistency is HUGE.

Not only should everything you enter into the GBP match your website, but it should also match your NAP citations around the web.

When Google sees that your business info is consistent in your GBP, on your website, and on third-party sites like Yelp, the algorithm interprets your business as legit. It sees all your local info matches up.

But the opposite is also true.

For example, when your local business has one address listed in your GBP and another on your website, that’s a huge red flag to Google:

So if your business changes its name, physical location, or phone number, it’s important that the new data gets updated ASAP.

And that includes citations on local business directories.

You should also double-check that your business address is written the exact same way on your Google Business Profile and everywhere else it shows up.

Google doesn’t like it when one address says “Avenue” and another version uses “Ave,” for instance.

Pro tip: Have multiple locations? While linking GBPs to your homepage may provide a ranking boost due to higher authority, Miriam says it can disrupt user experience by forcing customers to search for local information.

Instead, consider linking to location-specific landing pages that provide immediate access to branch details, hours, and services.

Though these pages typically have less authority, you can strengthen them over time through strategic internal linking and quality backlinks.

Keep Crucial Business Data Updated

Double-check that your opening hours, holidays, and other basic business info are all accurate and up to date.

This kind of thing may not directly impact rankings.

But when someone drives to your restaurant, only to see a “Closed” sign, you can expect a bad review from a hangry person.

So you want it to be second nature that when opening hours change, that change is also made inside Google Business Profile.

Pro Tip: Digital tools like Listing Management from Semrush can help keep your profiles in sync across various channels.

Write Unique Content for Every Location

You probably already know that you should write content that’s 100% unique for every page on your site.

For example, if your business serves Boston and Brookline, you want the content for each page to be completely different.

The part you may not know?

As long as you avoid duplicate content, you can create these sorts of landing pages for cities even if you’re not physically based there.

This is helpful if you serve nearby cities but don’t actually have a location in that area.

For example, an estate sale company based in Seattle, WA may serve areas like Issaquah, Renton, and Silverdale even though they don’t have offices there.

Creating landing pages for those satellite cities obviously won’t help you rank in the map pack.

(You would need a Google Business Profile based in that location for that.)

But the landing page trick can totally help you rank in the local organic results for lots of relevant, local keywords. And as long as you serve folks in that area, the traffic will convert well too.

Here’s a good example: This roofing service has pages optimized around “Brockton” and “Natick” in Massachusetts.

The best part? They’re not physically located in Natick OR Brockton.

Yet they rank in the local SERPs for both of those target keywords.

Try Title Tag Cliffhangers

The idea here is that you start your title tag off with a strong, benefit-driven statement. Like this:

Then, make sure the statement goes beyond Google’s title tag limit (currently 60 characters or 575 pixels).

This cutoff creates an open loop that can lead to more clicks.

Backlinko reader Andrew Holland used this technique on his local agency site a while ago.

This tactic led to a significant increase in his organic click-through rate and rankings.

First, Run a NAP Audit

You want your NAP data to be 100% consistent everywhere.

On your website.

On your Google Business Profile.

On business directories.

On local listings sites.

Basically, any place that mentions your business online.

There are a ton of citation tools and services to choose from. We recommend WhiteSpark and Semrush.

No matter what tool or service you use, these are the most important things you’ll need to have before you start:

1. The current, up-to-date NAP for the business
2. Any historic NAP info (so you can easily find the outdated citations)

With this information, the tool you use will scour the internet for NAPs. And you’ll get a report like this:

Find Citation (and Link) Opportunities

Let’s say you’ve built citations at Yelp, FourSquare, Angie’s List, and the other usual suspects.

Wondering what’s next?

It’s time to go local.

Local citations are super relevant. And they can give your map pack rankings a real boost.

And because you’re reaching out to folks in your local area, your outreach conversion rate is usually going to be insanely high.

Question is:

How do you find the local citation opportunities?

Check out the Backlink Gap tool in Semrush.

As the name suggests, this feature is designed for link building. But, as you’ll see in a minute, it definitely works for citations too.

In fact, you can sometimes double-dip and get a link and citation from the same place.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

First, take a batch of two to three competitors and pop them into the tool along with your website on top:

Pro Tip: You don’t need to use direct competitors here. Any business in your area can work. After all, they’re also building citations from local business directories.

You’ll get a report that lists all the sites that have linked to your competitors. Like this:

Sift through the results to find citation opportunities:

Link opportunities:

Or both:

Don’t worry too much about nofollow links here.

Remember: the main goal here is to get your NAP on the page. If you get a link (even a nofollow one), that’s a bonus.

Connect with Other Local Businesses

Most local businesses have relationships with other businesses in the area.

You’ll probably need to tap into cold email outreach at some point. But to start, build links from people that you already know.

Have relationships with any of the following?

• Distributor
• Supplier
• Wholesaler
• Contractor
• Neighboring business

List them out, complete with contact information.

Next, take a look at their website. See if there’s a specific page where a link to your site would make sense.

(This is the step a lot of people overlook.)

For example, this paving contractor has a page that links to some of their favorite distributors.

Reach out to your contacts with the suggested link and your recommended placement.

You may be surprised how many are happy to oblige.

Sponsor Local Events

It’s a fact:

Most local events need sponsors.

And if you can sponsor a local event, you’ll usually find yourself with a nice link on the event’s website.

This local, non-profit circus is a good example. There’s a whole page on their site that links to their supporters:

And your support doesn’t have to be straight cash.

Run a pizza place? Consider donating a stack of large pepperoni pizzas.

Are you a printing company? You can offer to print up flyers.

You get the idea.

Thumbtack Suggest

Thumbtack is a website where you can find professionals in your area. And, like Google or Amazon, their search function has a Suggest feature.

This is another great way to find local keywords to optimize around.

For example, visit Thumbtack and type in “cleaners” but don’t complete the search yet. It gives you a handful of suggestions:

Including a bunch of super-specific terms PERFECT to create landing pages around:

Use Location-Focused Keywords Above the Fold

This single tip can help your local organic rankings a LOT.

All you need to do is make sure your local-focused keyword shows up at the very top of your page in a headline.

Something like this:

Even better?

Wrap that title in an H1 tag.

That said:

This is more of a UX signal than a straight-up on-page SEO tactic.

It helps local searchers. With a location-specific headline, they can tell right away whether you serve their area.

The sad news is that when searchers see a headline like this one (without any local reference), they’re probably going to go back to the search results to find a business that’s 100% focused on their city.

But use a headline like this one with a clear, local relevance? Searchers immediately think: “Great. They serve Boston. I’m definitely in the right place.”

Optimize Meta Descriptions for Local Searchers

It’s no secret that writing a great meta description is a FANTASTIC way to improve your organic click-through rate.

Unfortunately, a lot of local businesses use keyword-stuffed descriptions like this:

#facepalm

Instead, go with this formula:

Pro Tip: Use Google Ads to find compelling description copy. You know that the ad copy is proven to get clicks (otherwise, they wouldn’t use that copy in their ads). So it’s a safe bet to use some of that copy in your description.

For example, when we search for “hotel new york,” we see that Google ads use the terms like “save,” and “best price.”

These terms would be PERFECT to use in your page’s description.