Local SEO helps nearby customers find you on Google Maps, in local search results and in AI answers. The essentials are a complete Google Business Profile, identical name, address and phone everywhere, a page for each core service and area, genuine reviews, LocalBusiness schema and direct answers to local customer questions.
Key takeaways
- Your Google Business Profile is the single most important local asset.
- Consistency of name, address and phone (NAP) builds trust with search engines and AI.
- One strong page per service beats one page listing everything.
Google Business Profile
- Claim and verify your profile.
- Choose the most accurate primary category, then relevant secondary ones.
- Add hours, service areas, services, photos and a clear description.
- Post updates and answer questions regularly.
Consistent business details
- Use one exact business name everywhere.
- Match address and phone on your site, profile and directories.
- Show contact details on every page, with a clickable phone link.
Your website
- Create a page for each core service.
- Name the cities and neighborhoods you serve in text, not only a map image.
- Answer local questions directly: price ranges, response times, licensing.
- Add LocalBusiness schema matching your visible details.
- Make every page fast and mobile-friendly.
Reviews and reputation
- Ask every happy customer for a review.
- Reply to every review, good or bad.
- Never buy or fake reviews.
Citations and links
- List your business in major directories and industry associations.
- Earn local links from partners, sponsors and press.
AI search
- Allow AI answer crawlers in robots.txt.
- Publish an llms.txt summarizing who you are and where you work.
- Check what AI assistants say about your business.
Sources
- Google, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
- Schema.org, LocalBusiness