46% of Google searches have local intent
When someone searches "restaurant near me", "dentist in [your city]" or "emergency plumber", Google shows the map first with 3 businesses. If your business isn't there, you're losing customers every day.
Local SEO is the strategy to position your business in those Google Maps results and geographic searches. The best part: it's free and more effective than any paid advertising for local businesses.
Google Business Profile: your digital business card
How to create your profile
Go to business.google.com, create your profile with the exact business name (no extra keywords — Google penalizes this), add your real address, phone number, website, and business hours. Select the correct primary category: "Mexican Restaurant" is better than just "Restaurant".
Verify your business
Google needs to verify your business exists. The most common method is a postcard sent to your address with a verification code. You can also verify by phone, email, or video in some cases.
Optimize every field
- Description: Use 750 characters to describe your business including main services and location
- Photos: Upload at least 10 professional photos. Profiles with photos receive 42% more direction requests
- Hours: Keep hours updated, including special hours and holidays
- Services/Products: List all services with detailed descriptions
The 3 pillars of Google Maps ranking
1. Relevance
Does your profile match what the user is searching for? This is determined by your category, description, listed services, and website content.
2. Distance
How close are you to the searching user? You can't control this directly but can optimize for broader areas with a strong profile and many reviews.
3. Prominence
How well-known and trusted is your business? Measured by: review count and quality, links to your website, social media mentions, and profile age.
Review strategy that works
- Actively request reviews: After each successful service, send a direct link to your review page
- Respond to ALL reviews: Positive (thank them) and negative (resolve professionally). Google values interaction
- Don't buy fake reviews: Google detects them and can suspend your profile
- Pace your reviews: A steady flow of 2-3 per week is better than 20 at once
Your website as local SEO reinforcement
- Include your address and phone in the footer of every page
- Create service-specific pages: "Plumbing in [your city]", "Dentist in [your area]"
- Add Schema markup: LocalBusiness, GeoCoordinates, and areaServed
- Local blog: Write about topics relevant to your community
At AvilaDev, we implement all technical local SEO (Schema, meta tags, geolocation) in the websites we build, giving you a competitive advantage from day one.
Start today: local SEO checklist
- Create/optimize Google Business Profile
- Verify the business
- Upload 10+ professional photos
- Request 5 initial reviews from satisfied customers
- Publish first Google Post
- Register in 5 local directories
- Optimize website with LocalBusiness Schema
