10 SEO Tips That Actually Work for Local Businesses

Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

This is the single most important thing you can do for local SEO. Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is what shows up in Maps and the local pack when people search for businesses like yours.

Use Location-Specific Keywords

Instead of trying to rank for “plumber” (virtually impossible), target “plumber in Birmingham” or “emergency plumber Edgbaston.” These long-tail, location-specific keywords have less competition and much higher intent.

Include your city and neighbourhood names naturally in your page titles, headings, and content. Your homepage title might be “Smith Plumbing | 24/7 Plumber in Birmingham” rather than just “Smith Plumbing.”

Get Reviews (And Make It Easy)

Google reviews directly impact your local search ranking. But most happy customers wont leave a review unless you ask. Create a simple process: send a follow-up email or text with a direct link to your Google review page.

Pro tip: Dont ask for “5-star reviews” - thats against Googles guidelines. Just ask for honest feedback and make it easy to leave.

Ensure NAP Consistency

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. These details must be identical everywhere they appear online - your website, Google profile, Facebook, Yelp, industry directories, everywhere.

Even small inconsistencies (“Street” vs “St.”) can confuse search engines and hurt your rankings. Do a search for your business name and check every listing.

Create Location-Specific Pages

If you serve multiple areas, create dedicated pages for each. A page titled “Plumbing Services in Solihull” with content specific to that area will rank better than a generic services page for Solihull-based searches.

Include local landmarks, mention specific neighbourhoods, and add a Google Map embed showing your service area.

Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

Over 60% of local searches happen on mobile devices. If your site is hard to navigate on a phone, youre losing customers before they even call. Google also uses mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile site is what gets ranked.

Test your site on your own phone. Can you easily find your phone number? Does the menu work? Can you read the text without zooming?

Speed Up Your Website

Page speed is a ranking factor. More importantly, slow sites lose visitors. If your page takes more than 3 seconds to load, over half your visitors will leave before seeing your content.

Compress your images, minimize code, and consider a faster hosting provider. Use Googles PageSpeed Insights to check your current performance.

Add Schema Markup

Schema markup is code that helps search engines understand your content. For local businesses, LocalBusiness schema tells Google exactly what you do, where youre located, and when youre open.

This can result in rich snippets in search results - your star rating, hours, and address appearing right on the search page. If that sounds technical, many website builders (including ThemeSmith) add this automatically.

Build Local Backlinks

Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) remain important for SEO. For local businesses, focus on local links: your Chamber of Commerce, local business directories, community sponsors, or local news sites.

Sponsor a local event, join business associations, or offer to write a guest post for a local blog. Quality matters more than quantity here.

Create Helpful Content

The best SEO strategy is creating content that genuinely helps your potential customers. Answer their questions, solve their problems, and demonstrate your expertise.

A plumber might write “How to Prevent Frozen Pipes This Winter” or “Signs You Need a New Water Heater.” This content attracts visitors, builds trust, and establishes you as an authority in your field.