Local SEO, measured from customers’ streets

Local SEO helps you show up when people search for a business nearby: on Google Maps and in the map pack, the 3 businesses Google shows with the map. It leans on your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), reviews and listings. Regular SEO is about your website ranking in the main results. Most local businesses need both.

Work on what Google says it looks at: relevance, distance and prominence. Pick the right primary category, which Whitespark’s 2026 survey of experts ranks as the top map pack factor. Fill in services and service areas, keep hours and photos current, earn steady genuine reviews and keep listings consistent. Distance you can’t change, which is why we measure at 49 points.

Because distance is one of Google’s 3 local factors. Google weighs how far each searcher is from each business, so the same search can show you first on your block and nowhere a mile away. That’s why one ranking number tells you little. Your free Maps report shows your rank at 49 points, so you can see where it changes.

It depends on your market, your competitors and where your profile starts, so we won’t give you a date. Fixing broken basics, like the wrong category, can show results sooner than ranking across a crowded city. Reviews and links take longer to build. You get a new map every month, so you can judge the progress yourself.

Yes, but it’s harder, because distance counts. If you travel to customers, remove your address from the profile and list the towns you serve as service areas; Google says the whole area shouldn’t be more than about 2 hours’ drive from your base. Real website pages about your work there help, not one page copied with the town name swapped.

Usually, if customers search for what you do near them, which covers most trades, shops and restaurants. The work compounds: a stronger profile, more reviews and accurate listings keep helping long after the month they’re done. Start with the free Maps report. If you already rank well across your area, we’ll tell you, and you may not need us.

We quote it in writing after your free Maps report, because it depends on your market, your competitors and what needs fixing first. We don’t publish set prices yet. It’s month to month, with no long-term contract, and nothing starts until you agree. Google Business Profile itself is free; our fee is for our work.