WHAT IS LOCAL SEO?

If you’ve ever typed “best coffee shop near me” into Google and ended up at a cosy little café you never knew existed, you’ve witnessed local SEO in action. It’s the secret sauce that helps businesses appear in local searches, making them visible to people who are actually nearby and ready to buy. Because let’s be honest, nobody wants to travel 100 miles for a decent cup of coffee.

Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is all about making sure your business shows up when potential customers search for products or services in their area. It’s different from regular SEO, which focuses on ranking nationally or even globally. With local SEO, you’re not trying to be famous everywhere, you just want to be the big fish in your own pond.

So, how does it work? Google and other search engines use a mix of factors to determine which businesses show up in local searches. The three biggest ranking factors are:

1. Relevance: Does your business match what the person is searching for?

2. Distance: How close is your business to the searcher’s location?

3. Prominence:  How well-known and trusted is your business online?

The star of the show in local SEO is Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). This is the profile that appears when someone searches for a business like yours. It shows your name, address, phone number, website, business hours, and even customer reviews. Keeping this updated is as essential as remembering your own phone number, because if customers can’t find you, they won’t come knocking.

Another key part of local SEO is online reviews. Google loves businesses that have plenty of positive reviews, and so do customers. Would you rather visit a restaurant with glowing five-star ratings or the one where everyone complains about food poisoning? Exactly. Encouraging happy customers to leave reviews can seriously boost your rankings.

Local keywords also play a huge role. If you’re a plumber in Manchester, your website should include phrases like “emergency plumber in Manchester” or “best Manchester plumbing services.” This tells search engines exactly where you are and what you do. Stuffing random locations into your content won’t work though, Google is smarter than that.

And let’s not forget local backlinks. If your business gets mentioned by local newspapers, directories, or other websites, it signals to Google that you’re a trusted part of the community. Think of it as a digital version of word-of-mouth, except instead of your gran telling everyone about your business, it’s the internet.

So, why does local SEO matter? Simple, it helps small and medium-sized businesses compete with big brands by focusing on customers who are already nearby. Even if you’re a tiny shop competing against massive chains, good local SEO can help you rank higher and attract loyal customers.

At the end of the day, local SEO is about visibility and trust. If your business isn’t showing up when people search for what you offer, you’re missing out on customers who are practically at your doorstep. So, get your Google Business Profile in order, collect those reviews, and make sure your website tells the world where you are. Your next customer could be searching for you right now.