When someone in your area searches "coffee shop near me" or "plumber in Wandsworth," Google shows a map with three businesses listed below it. That is the local pack, and it is the single most valuable piece of real estate in local search. If your business is not in that top three, you are invisible to the majority of potential customers searching for what you offer.
Local SEO is the process of optimising your online presence so that Google shows your business for relevant local searches. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking web pages, local SEO is heavily tied to your Google Business Profile, your physical location, and your reputation through reviews. Here is how to get it right.
Step 1: Claim and Optimise Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the foundation of local SEO. If you have not claimed yours yet, go to business.google.com and verify your listing. If you already have one, make sure every field is completed properly:
- Business name: Use your exact registered business name. Do not stuff keywords into it. Google penalises this and it can get your listing suspended.
- Primary category:Choose the most specific category that matches your business. A Thai restaurant should select "Thai Restaurant," not just "Restaurant." You can add secondary categories as well.
- Address:Ensure your address matches exactly across your website, social profiles, and directory listings. Even small inconsistencies like "St" versus "Street" can confuse Google.
- Phone number: Use a local number, not a tracking number from a call service. Consistency matters here too.
- Business hours: Keep these accurate. Update them for bank holidays. Google tracks whether your listed hours match reality.
- Business description: Write a clear, natural description that includes your location and what you do. Avoid keyword stuffing. You have 750 characters, and the first 250 are the most important because they appear in the preview.
- Photos:Upload at least 10 high-quality photos including your exterior, interior, team, and products or services. Businesses with more than 100 photos get 520% more calls than the average listing, according to Google's own data.
Step 2: Build Consistent Citations
A citation is any mention of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on another website. Citations help Google verify that your business is legitimate and located where you say it is.
Start with the most important UK directories:
- Yell.com
- Thomson Local
- Bing Places
- Apple Maps Connect
- Facebook (business page with correct address)
- Industry-specific directories (TripAdvisor for hospitality, Checkatrade for trades, Bark for services)
The golden rule with citations is consistency. Your business name, address, and phone number must be identical across every single listing. We have seen businesses jump from page two to the local pack simply by fixing inconsistent NAP data across 15 directories. It sounds tedious, but it works.
Step 3: Get More Google Reviews (and Respond to All of Them)
Reviews are one of the top three ranking factors for local search. The number of reviews, the average rating, and how recently they were left all influence where you appear in the local pack.
Here is how to build a steady flow of reviews without being pushy:
- Create a short link to your Google review page. You can generate this from your GBP dashboard. Print it as a QR code for receipts, table cards, or packaging.
- Ask at the right moment. For a restaurant, that is when someone compliments the food. For a tradesperson, it is the day after completing a job. Timing matters more than the method.
- Send a follow-up email or SMS 24 hours after a purchase or appointment with a direct link to leave a review. Keep the message short: "We hope you enjoyed your visit. If you have a moment, a Google review would mean a lot to us."
- Respond to every single review, positive and negative. Thank positive reviewers by name. For negative reviews, acknowledge the issue, apologise where appropriate, and offer to resolve it offline. Google has confirmed that responding to reviews improves your local ranking.
Step 4: Optimise Your Website for Local Search
Your website supports your GBP listing. Google cross-references the information on your site with your profile, so they need to align. Beyond that, there are several on-page optimisations that improve local rankings:
- Title tags:Include your location in key page titles. "Best Thai Restaurant in Soho, London" is better than "Welcome to Our Restaurant."
- LocalBusiness schema markup: Add structured data to your homepage so Google can read your business details directly from the code. Include your name, address, phone, opening hours, and coordinates.
- Location pages: If you serve multiple areas, create individual pages for each one. A cleaning company operating across South London should have separate pages for Brixton, Dulwich, Peckham, and so on, each with unique content.
- Embed a Google Map: Place an embedded map on your contact page. This reinforces your location to Google and makes it easy for customers to find you.
- Mobile speed: Over 75% of local searches happen on mobile. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load on a phone, you are losing both visitors and ranking potential.
Step 5: Post Regularly on Your Google Business Profile
Most businesses do not know that you can publish posts directly on your GBP listing. These appear in your Knowledge Panel when someone searches your business name, and they signal to Google that your listing is active.
Post at least once a week. Share updates about new products, special offers, events, or seasonal changes. Each post should include a photo, a brief description, and a call to action like "Book now" or "Learn more."
We manage GBP posts for several hospitality clients in Central London. The ones that post weekly consistently rank higher in the local pack than competitors who set up their profile and never touch it again.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Keyword stuffing your business name.Adding "Best Pizza London Delivery" to your business name will get your listing flagged. Use your real name.
- Ignoring negative reviews. An unanswered negative review looks worse than the review itself. Always respond professionally.
- Using a virtual office address. Google is increasingly sophisticated at detecting virtual addresses and shared workspaces used purely for SEO. If you do not serve customers at that location, use a service-area business listing instead.
- Neglecting your profile after setup. GBP is not a set-and-forget tool. Regular updates, posts, and review responses signal to Google that your business is active.
Your Local SEO Checklist
Here is what to do this week to start improving your local search visibility:
- Claim or verify your Google Business Profile.
- Complete every field, including photos and business description.
- Audit your NAP consistency across your top 10 directory listings.
- Set up a system for requesting reviews after every sale or service.
- Respond to all existing reviews you have not replied to.
- Add LocalBusiness schema markup to your website homepage.
- Publish your first GBP post this week.
Local SEO is not complicated, but it does require consistency. The businesses that treat their Google presence as an ongoing marketing channel, rather than a one-time setup, are the ones that dominate the local pack.
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