How local search rankings work
Google describes three main local ranking factors: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how close you are to the searcher) and prominence (how well known and trusted you are). You cannot change distance, but you can strengthen relevance and prominence, which is where local SEO work focuses.
What I set up and improve
Google Business Profile
Correct categories, services, hours, attributes, description, photos and regular posts.
NAP consistency
An identical business name, address and phone number everywhere you appear online.
Local citations
Listings on trusted directories and industry sites, plus clean-up of duplicates and errors.
Local keyword research
The phrases customers use with your city, neighbourhood or “near me”.
Local landing pages
Unique, useful pages for each service area, never copy-and-paste doorway pages.
Review management
An honest process to request reviews and respond professionally.
Local schema
LocalBusiness structured data on your website.
Bing Places
Claiming and optimizing your Bing listing, which is often overlooked.
Local SEO in five steps
Claim and verify
Claim your Google Business Profile and Bing Places listing and verify ownership.
Fix the basics
Add accurate categories, hours, services and high-quality photos.
Align your data
Match NAP details across your site, profiles and directories.
Build local pages
Create helpful service and location pages with real local detail.
Earn trust
Collect reviews, local links and mentions, then monitor and respond.
Reviews and reputation
Reviews influence both rankings and conversions. I help you set up an ethical review process: asking real customers, never buying reviews or gating them, which breaks Google’s policies, and replying thoughtfully to both praise and criticism.
Service-area and multi-location businesses
If you travel to customers or operate from several branches, each needs the right setup: service areas defined correctly, one profile per genuine location and dedicated pages that show real local value.