Marketing
Local SEO: how to get found by customers nearby
Local SEO is how you get found when people search for a business near them, such as “bike shop Utrecht” or “hairdresser near me”. It decides whether you show up in the map results and local listings above the ordinary search results. This guide explains how Google chooses local results, what to set up on your website and your Google Business Profile, and how to keep it all up to date.
In short
- Google bases local results mainly on relevance, distance and prominence.
- A complete Google Business Profile is the most important local step.
- Keep your business name, address, phone number and opening hours identical on your website and in every listing.
- Reviews help you stand out, so ask every happy customer and answer each review.
- Add a page per location and per service area to your website, with real details.
How Google ranks local results
Google says local results are based mainly on three things: relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your listing matches what someone searched for. Distance is how far you are from the location in the search, or from where the person seems to be. Prominence is how well known you are, which shows in reviews, links and how you rank in normal web results.
You cannot change your distance to a customer, but you can improve relevance and prominence. Google does not publish how much each factor weighs, and it can differ by search, so treat the steps below as good practice, not a formula.
What you can influence
- Relevance: complete and accurate business information
- Prominence: reviews, links and a strong website
- Distance: a correct address and service area
Set up your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the listing that appears in Google Maps and in the local results. Claim it, verify it and fill in every field: business name, category, address or service area, phone number, website, opening hours, photos and a short description. Choose the most accurate main category, because it tells Google what you are relevant for. Keep the information current, and update special opening hours before holidays.
Add good photos of your shop, team and products, and answer questions people ask. Use the name people know you by, without extra keywords added, because Google can suspend profiles with misleading names.
Fill in
- Main category and any extra categories
- Address, or the area you serve if customers do not visit you
- Phone number and website link
- Opening hours, including holidays
- Photos and a short description
Keep your details consistent
The name, address and phone number of your business should be the same everywhere: on your website, on your Google Business Profile and in other listings such as directories and social profiles. Differences make it harder for Google and for customers to know which details are right, and they lead to calls to the wrong number or visits at the wrong time. Google does not name consistency as a ranking factor, but it supports the accuracy of your information, which relevance builds on.
On your website, show your address, phone number and opening hours as real text on the contact page and in the footer, not only in an image, so search engines and visitors can read them.
- Use one exact spelling of your name and address
- Show address, phone and hours as text, not as an image
- Update every listing when you move or change hours
- Remove duplicate or outdated listings
Good to know
In SitePack you store your address, phone number and opening hours once under Settings > Locations. Contact details and opening hours elements linked to a location update across your whole site by themselves. Under Settings > My company you describe your business for search engines.
Reviews and your website
Reviews are one of the clearest signals of prominence. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can improve your local ranking. Ask customers for a review right after a good experience, make it easy with a direct link and answer every review politely, including the critical ones. Never write, buy or trade reviews for yourself: that breaks Google's rules and your reviews can be removed.
Your website supports all of this. Create a page for each location, with the address, a map, opening hours, photos and a few lines about that shop. If you serve several towns, write a useful page for each one with real information, and do not copy the same text with only the town name swapped. Mention local terms naturally in titles and headings, such as “bike repair in Utrecht”.
Local page checklist
- A page per location with address, map and opening hours
- A clear title with the service and the town
- Photos of the real shop or team
- Links to the page from the menu or footer
- Your Google Business Profile linked to the page
Measure and maintain
Check your Google Business Profile insights for how people find you and what they do: calls, direction requests and website clicks. In Google Search Console, look at the queries that include a town or “near me” and the pages that appear for them. Compare month by month and fix what is out of date.
Local SEO is ongoing: hours change, people move and new reviews arrive. Set a monthly reminder to check your profile, answer new reviews and confirm that your website and listings still say the same thing.
Monthly routine
- Check opening hours and special days
- Answer new reviews
- Review calls and direction requests in your profile
- Look at local queries in Search Console
- Add a recent photo or post
Keep reading
- What is SEO? How search engines work and the first steps to get found.
- SEO for online stores Category pages, product texts and the technical basics.
- Free SEO check Check a page for the SEO basics, free.
- How to make a business website Plan, build and launch a business site.
- Pricing Everything included, see the current plans.
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