When someone searches "accountant near me", "plumber in Leeds" or "wedding photographer York", Google shows a map with three businesses before any normal results. Most of the clicks go there.
Local SEO is the work of getting into that map pack and the local results under it. For businesses that serve a town, city or region, it's usually the fastest SEO win available.
What local SEO is
Local SEO is optimising your online presence so you show up when people search for what you do in a specific place - either with a location in the search ("solicitors in Birmingham") or when Google assumes a local need ("dentist", "coffee shop").
Google ranks local results on three things:
- Relevance - how well your business matches the search.
- Distance - how close you are to the searcher or the location in the search.
- Prominence - how well known and trusted your business is, online and off.
You can't change distance. Everything else is work you can do.
Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the single most important local ranking factor you control.
- Choose the most specific primary category Google offers for what you do, and add relevant secondary categories.
- Fill in every field: services, products, hours (including holiday hours), service areas, attributes.
- Add real photos of your premises, team and work, and keep adding them.
- Post updates and offers regularly.
- Answer the questions people ask on your profile.
- Keep your name, address and phone number exactly the same as on your website.
Reviews
Reviews influence both rankings and whether people choose you.
- Ask every happy customer, at the moment they're happiest.
- Make it easy with a direct review link.
- Reply to every review, good and bad, specifically and politely.
- Don't buy reviews or offer incentives - it breaks Google's rules and UK consumer law.
Location pages on your website
If you serve several towns or have several offices, give each a genuinely local page: who you serve there, local projects or clients, directions, local reviews, and photos. Avoid copying the same text and swapping the town name - those pages rarely rank and can drag the rest of the site down.
Citations and consistency
Citations are listings of your business name, address and phone number on other sites - directories, industry bodies, local chambers of commerce. They matter less than they used to, but inconsistent details still confuse Google. Make sure the main directories in your sector list you, and that every listing matches.
Local links and mentions
Links from local sources tell Google you're a real part of the community:
- local news coverage and business awards
- sponsorships of local clubs, charities and events
- chambers of commerce and business networks
- suppliers, partners and local trade bodies
Local search in AI answers
People increasingly ask ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode for local recommendations - "best accountant in Harrogate for small businesses". The businesses named usually come from reviews, local directories, "best of" lists and local press.
Ask a few AI tools who they'd recommend for your service in your area and note which sources they cite. A free LLM visibility checker will run the same check across several engines at once.
How to measure local SEO
- Map pack rankings for your main searches, checked from different points in your area (rankings vary street by street)
- Calls, direction requests and website clicks from your Business Profile
- Enquiries and bookings from organic search
- Review count and average rating over time
Local SEO checklist
| Area | Check |
|---|---|
| Business Profile | Specific primary category, every field complete, regular photos and posts |
| Reviews | A routine for asking, and a reply to every review |
| Website | Name, address and phone number match the profile |
| Location pages | Genuinely local content for each area or office |
| Citations | Listed consistently on key directories |
| Local links | Press, sponsorships and local organisations |
| AI answers | Checked who AI recommends locally and which sources it cites |
Frequently asked questions
What is local SEO?
Optimising your business's online presence so it appears in local searches and Google's map pack - through your Google Business Profile, reviews, location pages, citations and local links.
How long does local SEO take?
Business Profile improvements and reviews can show results within weeks. Competitive local markets, like solicitors or estate agents in a big city, usually take three to six months.
Do I need a physical address for local SEO?
You need a real address to verify a Business Profile, but service-area businesses (like plumbers) can hide it and list the areas they cover instead.
Is local SEO different from normal SEO?
It builds on the same foundations, but adds local signals: your Business Profile, reviews, proximity and local mentions. A national business focuses more on content and links; a local one on map pack visibility.
The takeaway
Local SEO rewards consistency more than cleverness: a complete Business Profile, a steady stream of reviews, genuinely local pages and mentions from your community.
Want to know why a competitor ranks above you locally? Book a 30-minute call and we'll show you what they're doing that you're not.
Nomada Digital is a B2B SEO and AI search agency. The views here are practitioner-level and based on real client data.