Local SEO
Local SEO is the work of getting a business found in searches with a place in them, like "florist near me" or "coffee shop in Leeds."
Local SEO is the work of getting a business found when people search for something nearby. "Coffee shop near me," "furniture store in Bristol" and "emergency plumber" all have a place in them, stated or implied. Local SEO is how you show up in the map results, the business listings and the ordinary results for those searches.
If people come to you in person, or you serve a particular area, these searches are often the ones closest to a visit or a call.
What it involves
Most local SEO happens in a few places:
- Your Google Business Profile, with the right category, hours, photos and description
- Your NAP (name, address and phone number) written the same way everywhere you're listed
- Listings on the directories and review sites for your area and industry
- Reviews from real customers, and your replies to them
- Pages on your own site for each location or area you serve
Google says local results are based mainly on three things: how relevant a listing is to the search, how far away it sits from the person searching, and how well known the business is. Its tips on local ranking explain each.
For example, say Fernhill Coffee opens a café in York. To show up for "coffee near York Minster," it claims its business profile, lists the café in local directories with the same address and phone number, and asks regulars to leave a review. Within a few weeks, it appears in the map results for searches nearby.
Local SEO and AI answers
People ask AI platforms local questions too: "Where can I get good coffee in York?" To answer, a platform needs to know where you are, what you do and what people think of you. Much of that comes from the same places local SEO works on: business listings, directories, review sites and local news. If those disagree with each other, or leave you out, the platform has less to go on.
In AnswerOrbit
Answers change with where the question is asked from. In Settings, a market can be a country, a city, or in the US a state, for the platforms that ask from them. That lets you see what someone in York sees when they ask about coffee.