How Do I Rank Higher in Google Local Search? Bruce Clay’s Checklist for Local SEO

The good news: Showing up in Google’s search engine can be extremely beneficial to your local business.

The bad news: Google doesn’t care if you rank high or low. It cares only that there are quality results that answer the query to the total satisfaction of the searcher.

So the pressing question is, how do you rank higher on Google Maps and Google local search results?

This list of local SEO ranking factors and best practices will share strategies to rank both in the Google local pack and the organic listings in the search results – plus some other smart business tips for local merchants.

We have compiled these critical strategies to boost your visibility online and track your progress. While this is not exhaustive nor in priority order, they are important to know, as many of them impact:

• Whether or not you can attract customers.
• If you can create a good experience when people visit your website.
• The quality of your SEO program.
• Your business’s ability to show up in Google’s local pack.
• Your visibility in the organic listings in the search results.

Let’s dive into these tips:

• First, Where Can a Local Business Rank?
• Local Business Marketing Strategies
  1. Branding
  2. Competitive Review
  3. Keyword Research
  4. Content Gap Analysis
  5. Become a Local Expert
• Local Business Website SEO Strategies
  6. Domain Name
  7. Content Management System (CMS)
  8. Website Hosting
  9. Email
  10. Website Performance
  11. Mobile Compatibility
  12. Information Architecture (SEO Siloing)
  13. Location Pages
  14. Local-Focused Content
  15. Content Quality
  16. Content Variety
  17. Local Videos
  18. Outbound Links
  19. Schema
  20. On-Page SEO
  21. Google Map on Website
• Local Business Online Marketing Strategies (Off-Page Factors)
  22. Google Business Profile
  23. Google Business Profile Optimization
  24. Ratings and Reviews
  25. Other Reviews, Citations and Mentions
  26. Social Profiles
  27. Local Link Building
  28. Local Directories
  29. Better Business Bureau (BBB)
  30. NAP+W
  31. Press Releases
• Local Business SEO ROI Tracking
  32. Online and Offline Tracking
  33. Rankings
• Final Thoughts
• FAQ: How can I engage and attract more customers by optimizing my presence on Google Local Search?

First, Where Can a Local Business Rank?

Local businesses can rank primarily in two areas of the search results:

1. The Google local pack / local finder or Maps. Google uses factors like relevance, distance and prominence for ranking local businesses in the local pack.
2. Google organic listings. For the organic listings (like the “blue links”), there is another set of countless signals for ranking.

Here’s an example of a local pack in the Google Search results:

And here’s an example of organic listings for the same search:

Video content YouTube ranks in the Google Search search engine results pages (SERPs) for videos, and optimized images on your site can rank in the SERPs, too.

Now on to the steps local businesses can take to build a solid reputation, attract more customers and improve visibility in the search results.

Local Business Marketing Strategies

1. Branding

Being a respected business in your community will increase your local search visibility. Google pays a lot of attention to a brand’s perceived trust and expertise.

Even if you’re just starting out, aim for happy customers and consistent quality to attract traffic and mentions.

2. Competitive Review

Doing competitor research gives you an understanding of the playing field, and it shows you how you can differentiate your business.

With the right tools, you can understand things like:

• What keywords your competitors are targeting.
• What they are doing well with their SEO.
• How you can do better than them with your SEO program.

For more, see: How to Do Competitor Research for SEO

3. Keyword Research

One of the most important steps to rank locally is to learn what your target audience is searching for on search engines.

Enter keyword research. Keywords are essentially the queries your target audience uses when they search for things related to what you offer.

Keyword research helps you:

• Identify and speak the language of your customers.
• Create useful content for your target audience.
• Drive more qualified traffic to your website and business.

If you are already doing SEO, identify the keywords working for you in terms of hitting key performance indicators and bringing in revenue. Double down on those in terms of effort.

Starting out in SEO? Keyword research helps identify phrases and queries relevant to what your brand offers that people search for online.

For more, see: What Are Keywords? Why Are Keywords Important to SEO? And How Do You Do Keyword Research?

4. Content Gap Analysis

Content gap analysis offers a holistic overview of all of the content your business and brand are creating and how you could potentially improve it.

Here, you’ll take an in-depth look at both content that’s doing well and content that needs work.

Increased efforts will amplify any success already being realized and focus on refining content that requires improvement.

Then, you’ll identify new areas for content creation that you haven’t tackled yet. You can also use competitive research to help here.

5. Become a Local Expert

Make yourself known as a trustworthy business by building local expertise and authority in your space.

For example, you could teach a class or speak at a local event. Brainstorm presentations that bring value to an audience while showcasing your expert knowledge related to your business.

To establish yourself as a local authority, tell local stories and express your opinion about the topics your business and your customers are focused on.

Earlier, I shared a search result that showed a YouTube video from a local real estate agent who gave advice on what it was like to live locally.

This real estate business uses its YouTube channel to provide helpful, local and expert content about its city:

Excellent content can become a strategy for attracting search traffic and also local expert links. See our e-book, The New Link Building Manifesto, for proof.

Local Business Website SEO Strategies

6. Domain Name

Your website’s name should accurately represent your business or brand. It’ll be in every URL, so make it something appropriate and easily remembered.

Including a keyword as part of your domain (e.g., www.FirstStreetDental.com or LAflorist.com) can help you as a local business if it’s tied into your brand name.

Search algorithms are getting better and better at weeding out low-quality results, so make sure your domain doesn’t look like spam by relying solely on the keyword-rich domain name without having a quality website attached to it.

7. Content Management System (CMS)

Above all else, your CMS should be easy to use, and easy to implement SEO.

WordPress is the leader in this space. And although WordPress has struggled in the past in terms of helping websites perform optimally, Google partnered up with the company to help improve this issue.

Plus, WordPress offers countless local plugins to improve performance.

8. Website Hosting

While you may not immediately think of website hosting as an SEO thing, the hosting provider you choose can impact things like:

• How fast your site loads.
• Whether or not you have server downtime.
• Website security.

… and more — all of which are important to Google and should be important to you, too.

9. Email

Use your business’s domain in your email address (@bruceclay.com) rather than @gmail or another generic provider.

It’s a small point, but worth putting on the housekeeping checklist to increase your professionalism and perceived trustworthiness.

10. Website Performance

Page speed is an integral component of Google’s algorithm. It can also directly impact your revenue.

Research reveals that websites which load in one second tend to experience three times greater conversion rates compared to sites which take five seconds or longer to load.

There are many ways to speed up your web pages. For more information, see How Fast Should My Webpage Be?

11. Mobile Compatibility

Mobile has taken center stage, as most searches take place via smartphones, with Google rating websites according to how mobile friendly they are.

It is especially critical for local businesses, whose customers search for them from mobile devices while on the move.

Check your site to make sure it’s mobile-friendly with Lighthouse and optimized for mobile devices — otherwise, your rankings and visitor counts will suffer.

Also, voice search is the next big area of compatibility (think: people doing a quick voice search to find your business from their car while driving).

For more, see The Mobile-Friendly Site.

12. Information Architecture (SEO Siloing)

Silo your web content based on the themes your business is about.

What does that mean? Structure your website’s content by grouping related webpages together in hierarchical categories through your site’s main navigation, your directory and your internal links.

Doing this well will strengthen your site’s relevance, expertise and authority around those topics.

For more, see SEO Siloing: What, Why, How.

13. Location Pages

Have one or more pages on your site dedicated to each location your business is in.

For example, if your brand serves a wide region, you might have a different landing page for each city in that region, like “dog grooming Simi Valley” and “dog grooming Thousand Oaks.”

Then, make sure those pages are organized well on the site.

My advice would be to create a section for “locations” on the site with a main landing page linked to from the top navigation. On that landing page, you’d have links to all the location pages on the site.

Each location page should have a breadth of helpful content, too. Design them to be a good landing page for anyone searching within that area, and make the content unique.

Avoid laundry lists or simply doing a “wild card” replacement for the city name. Search engines can spot that type of duplicate content a mile away.

So, where to start? For location pages, you might include:

• Services / products / features available at that location.
• A map.
• Hours of operation.
• Ratings and reviews.
• Pictures of the location.
• Directions to the location coming from different places nearby.
• A little bit about the community.
• Unique selling propositions.

Here’s one example:

14. Local-Focused Content

Use locally relevant content to rank higher in organic search.

One example is a search for “moving company simi valley, ca” where the second position in the organic search results is a moving company that does not have a location in Simi Valley but does have a content-rich landing page for this location they serve.

Plus, having content that’s locally focused can improve your reputation and reach in your area.

15. Content Quality

Have a good volume of helpful content on the site that exudes experience, expertise and authority. In turn, this will help people trust your business, and search engines like Google trust your site, too.

For more, see The Complete Guide to the Basics of Google’s E-E-A-T.

16. Content Variety

Vary the types of content you create for marketing. Content ideas include images, news, events, blog posts, videos, ads, tools and more. (For more ideas, check this list.)

Having a variety of types of content indexed also gives your site more opportunity to rank since they can appear in the vertical search engines (e.g., Google Images, YouTube, etc.).

Many different types of content can be “localized” to pertain specifically to your community.

17. Local Videos

Build local landing pages for the videos on your site to attract links and mentions, especially if the videos are localized or are specific to a geographical area.

To do this, simply make a local video, upload it to your YouTube channel, then embed it on your local landing page.

For instance, let’s assume you have a storage facility in Simi Valley, CA; you can create a video by filming this location, and then uploading it to your YouTube channel, and finally embedding it to your Simi Valley location landing page on your site.

Here’s an example from a local business, Extra Space Storage, in their Thousand Oaks, Calif., location:

Add text to the pages for more relevancy — for instance, a write-up about the topic. You could even simply use the video transcript and clean it up so that it reads more like an article.

18. Outbound Links

Boost your credibility by linking to local expert resources that would be useful to your site visitors. Choose external web pages that are relevant to your subject matter and region.

Remember that in order to be viewed as a local expert, you should visibly network with other local experts.

For more, see What Are Outbound Links? Why Are They Important?

19. Schema

Schema markup is code you can add to your website in order to assist search engines in understanding various forms of data like recipes, videos, reviews or business details.

Google uses structured data to better comprehend what’s on a page and its purpose.

According to one study, pages with schema markup ranked an average of four positions higher in search results.

There is other research, too, that shows the impact of schema, like this case study highlighted by Google.

You can implement local business schema to help your local business online. Note that local business schema has specific types such as LegalService, Dentist and AutomotiveBusiness.

Make sure to take advantage of these more specific schema types by selecting relevant schema types.

Local businesses, in particular, should call out their name, address, phone and website URL, also known as NAP+W, as well as hours of operation and much more.

As an example, here’s what the schema for NAP+W would look like in the page code:

Over the years, Google has expanded its use of schema, so be sure to take advantage of all the structured data that applies to your content.

Check out Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper for non-techies and then its Structured Data Testing Tools to confirm you’re implementing the schema correctly.

For more, read: What Is Structured Data and Why Is It Important to SEO?

20. On-Page SEO

On-page elements are critical to get right for organic SEO on any web page.

In addition to the standard optimization items (see our Always-Up-to-Date SEO checklist for a list), a locally targeted page should have:

• The name of your city, state or region and other geographical/local references on the page.
• The city/location information in the title tag and meta description.
• Location information in the heading tags on the webpage.
• Appropriate reading level and complexity (compare top-ranking pages to find your sweet spot).

Remember:

• Do not stuff keywords.
• Do not simply find-and-replace city names.

21. Google Map on Website

By adding a Google map to your contact page or footer, you can quickly show searchers and search engines exactly where you’re located.

Using an embedded map rather than a static map image provides extra functionality and reduces friction — a human visitor can just click the map and grab directions.

Here’s an example on our site:

Local Business Online Marketing Strategies (Off-Page Factors)

22. Google Business Profile

Create, verify and optimize a Google Business Profile to increase local pack rankings.

23. Google Business Profile Optimization

To prime your Google Business Profile for search success, follow these tips:

• Make it complete. Take your time when filling in the available information into a Google Business profile. Craft a good description (up to 750 characters) of the business and keywords so long as you can fit them into the content naturally.
• Choose categories wisely. Choose the most relevant primary category for your business. This is the most important factor in helping to rank in the local pack. After that, best practices are to add two to three more categories – but only if they are relevant. It’s OK to experiment to see how different categories might impact your business over time.
• Use images. Include a high-resolution profile cover image, plus as many additional photos as possible. Check out Google’s help file on managing photos or videos for your Business Profile.
• Use the right phone number. Google Business Profile suggests using a local phone number as the main phone number; additional toll-free numbers can also be provided as needed. A toll-free number can be added as an additional number. The same local business number should be used on all local directories, listings and data aggregators.
• Get the word out. Google Posts to enhance your brand’s Knowledge Panel with upcoming events or special news.

24. Ratings and Reviews

Ninety-eight percent of people read online reviews for local businesses. If your brand wants to establish credibility and gain new customers, it’s worth investing time into building local reviews and testimonials that reinforce that claim.

Plus, ratings and reviews impact how well you rank in local search, says Google:

“Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’ local ranking. Your position in web results is also a factor, so search engine optimization (SEO) best practices apply.”

Testimonials can be displayed in addition to Google ratings and reviews, such as those displayed on our site:

Of course, there are other ways to display testimonials, having a person’s name and their picture can boost a testimonial’s credibility even more. Check out how this testimonial displays on our SEO training site:

As a local business, you will want to be sure the reviews are more localized than you see in these examples.

For instance, having the reviewer include information that is more relevant to the local services, products or experiences you provide is key. Also, include things like the city, town or neighborhood the customer resides in.

Below are a few key strategies for collecting and overseeing ratings and reviews:

• Encourage customers to leave reviews and testimonials about your business.
• Check out Google’s help file on how to send a link to get a review. But remember that Google doesn’t want businesses to offer incentives for leaving reviews.
• Make sure that your review profile is an honest picture of people’s experiences with your business. For instance, if all the reviews are positive, people may not trust the business.
• Make sure you read and reply to reviews on Google so people know you care.
• Consider displaying third-party reviews to add value to the listing to help people decide on your business.

25. Other Reviews, Citations and Mentions

Aside from Google reviews, there are other types of reviews that may come into play for local rankings.

It’s important to monitor the quantity and sentiment of your online reviews so you can actively manage your reputation.

Other review sites to monitor include Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Bing, local chamber websites and more.

Other sites where citations and mentions may occur include Reddit, Quora and news media sites like WSJ, etc.

Even if they don’t include a link, brand mentions on social media platforms, for instance, show engagement and interest in your business.

These linkless mentions (and also “nofollow” links) help your business by attracting new customers and reinforcing your brand’s reputation, which can even influence local search rankings.

26. Social Profiles

Being active in social media and sharing your content (think content marketing) contributes to keeping your business top-of-mind.

On social media sites like Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube, your profile pages matter — make them consistent with your brand voice and informative. And be sure to include your contact information.

Here’s an example of a local hair salon using Instagram to showcase their looks:

Engagement with your brand is a social signal, such as when something you’ve posted is shared or liked. It’s also a means of strengthening relationships with current and potential customers.

Social media provides an effective channel to share news, local offers, alerts and updates to your customer base and raise awareness.

Interact with them one-on-one, and you may develop a brand advocate for life.

27. Local Link Building

Local link building is an important part of local search optimization. When relevant, quality websites within your city link back to you, it shows you’re a trusted local brand.

Only links coming from unique IPs, unique domains and unique WhoIs for your geographic area will help you rank, so don’t fall for link schemes.

Remember that you can go after your competitor’s backlinks. If someone is linking to your competition, they might link to you as well.

Start by looking at the backlink profile of your top-ranked competitors (using a backlink analysis tool such as Majestic, Ahrefs or others).

Identify good candidates—high-quality and relevant sites that don’t already link to yours. Then, see if you can earn links from those same sites.

See our e-book, The New Link Building Manifesto, for more ideas on earning links.

28. Local Directories

To make it easier for searchers to find you, you’ll want to be included in geotargeted directories for services, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages online, a local restaurant database, data aggregators and others.

Data aggregators collect business information from multiple sources and distribute it online platforms such as search engines or business directories.

Acxiom, Infogroup, Localeze and Factual are four data aggregators which specialize in SEO.

You can use local submission services such as BrightLocal or Yext to build new business listings or update the existing ones.

These citations add more weight to your site in the local search ranking algorithms.

29. Better Business Bureau (BBB)

Expand your credibility by listing with the Better Business Bureau. Monitor your ratings there and display your BBB rating on your website as a trust signal for visitors.

30. NAP+W

A business’s proximity to the searcher heavily influences whether it shows up in local pack results, so your location matters.

NAP+W refers to the information you include about your business online, including your business name, address, phone number and website URL.

For local optimization, you don’t want to have various versions of your address and phone number out there.

When the information is consistent, it improves the search engines’ confidence in your business listing’s accuracy. That includes on your website, on your Google Business profile and in online directories.

(Be sure to include your business address on your website. You can do this in the footer so it appears on every page, or at least show it on your contact page.)

Here’s an example of inconsistencies as identified with Yext’s free test:

31. Press Releases

Being mentioned in the news could have an indirect effect on rankings. Plus, press releases can be a great way to let locals know that you exist, especially if you have breaking news.

Opening a new location? Hosting a charity event? Be sure to publicize it and include the local geo-references (city name, etc.) in your text.

A press release published through an online PR site might catch the eye of a reporter who will publish a news article (and in SEO speak, this gets you a citation) about your business in a local publication.

For more, see Why Press Releases Still Matter to SEO and How to Write a Press Release That Entices Media.

Local Business SEO ROI Tracking

32. Online and Offline Tracking

Stay on top of your conversions — actual results and dollars earned from your marketing efforts — through analytics.

(If you haven’t yet, set up Google Analytics for free.)

Pay particular attention to rising or falling click-through rates and bounce rates, which will show you how many searchers clicked through to your site and whether they liked what they found.

Track click-to-call interactions, too. Appointments and sales made online may also be important metrics for success.

Remember, not counting progress is a failure.

33. Rankings

Be aware of your rankings in regular organic results and in the Local Pack. I suggest you choose at least five specific local keyword phrases to focus on at a time, but test more for rankings.

Check to see whether your business shows up on the first page of search results; compare your results to that of your competition.

You can do this through manual viewing of “[keyword] near me”-type searches if you’re in the local area. You can also use tools like BrightLocal or Whitespark. Semrush and Moz also have local solutions.

Final Thoughts

Increasing local search rankings requires significant effort, but the result will more than make up for it as a local business. It may even mean your survival. It may even mean your survival.

The points on this local SEO checklist give you lots of ways to attract more customers with your online strategy.

However, if you are just starting local SEO or have limited resources and want to focus on the most important items, start with these three tasks first:

1. Set up and optimize your Google Business Profile.
2. Implement on-page local SEO on your site.
3. Use a local business directory submission provider to manage and build new listings and citations.

Need to rank higher in Google local search? Arrange a free consultation with us and let’s talk about how our SEO experts can help.

Schedule your free 1:1 now

FAQ: How can I engage and attract more customers by optimizing my presence on Google Local Search?

Searches on Google are designed to deliver relevant local listings that meet user inquiries, making local SEO essential if local searches are to bring more customers your way. To successfully engage potential customers, strategies should extend beyond just technical SEO but include an understanding of customer behaviors, too.

An optimized Google Business Profile is essential when it comes to local SEO. Make sure you enter complete information such as name, address and phone numbers as well as operating hours and photos; business descriptions with relevant keywords that increase visibility on results pages may even further enhance results pages.

Frequently post on your Google Business Profile with details about product or service offerings that will excite existing customers and draw in new searches for businesses like yours. Be consistent in sharing updates; doing so will educate current patrons while bringing in more buyers.

Citations play an indispensable part of local SEO strategy, helping to increase rankings while establishing authority. Listing your business on directories like Yelp and Yellow Pages can establish credibility and build up your online presence.

Data analytics tools give you important metrics when optimizing local search results and conducting performance audits. For instance, businesses can track the search terms customers used prior to engaging with their business online and tailor strategies accordingly.

Customer reviews play an integral part of local SEO performance and brand recognition. When businesses actively pursue customer satisfaction through gathering feedback quickly and replying promptly to reviews, they build trust and loyalty with their clientele.

Social media platforms give local businesses an incredible chance to connect with new audiences and engage with existing customers, driving visibility and traffic.

Mobile search has significantly transformed our daily lives, and mobile-optimized websites will become an integral component of business operations as more customers use mobile queries to conduct searches. Optimizing your site for local mobile searches can earn sales more quickly than targeted computer-only promotions, increasing engagement rates as well as foot traffic directly into physical locations.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Start by claiming and verifying your Google Business Profile (GBP). When complete, follow Google’s verification steps to demonstrate ownership.
2. Enhance your GBP with updated details regarding your business name, address, phone number (NAP), hours of operation and opening/closing times.
3. Upload professional, high-resolution images that represent your location, products, services and team.
4. Write an informative and compelling description of your business that uses relevant local keywords.
5. Select categories that best describe your business to help Google connect it with related search queries.
6. Encourage customers to write reviews. Positive customer comments establish credibility and increase search ranking.
7. Respond promptly and show how much you value feedback by responding quickly to both positive and negative reviews, to demonstrate you value their contribution.
8. Regularly update your GBP with posts about new products or services offered, promotions or events in order to maintain user interest and engagement with your audience.
9. Research and incorporate location-specific keywords into your GBP, website content and marketing materials.
10. Be mindful of the growing trend in mobile searches to optimize and responsive your site accordingly.
11. Ongoing registration with directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages and local chamber of Commerce websites will help grow your business and generate sales.
12. Make sure that all directories and platforms that list or list you have an accurate representation of your business name, address and phone number.
13. Cooperate with local businesses and organizations to gain valuable backlinks that will boost your search ranking.
14. Use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to share updates with your target audience and publicize local events.
15. Track and analyze customer interactions using tools like Google Analytics to fine tune your strategies.
16. Be mindful of what queries customers use to find you and adapt your content accordingly.
17. Showcase what sets your business apart, such as special offers, eco-friendly practices or unique products.
18. Publish blogs, videos or guides that address local matters to attract and engage your target audience.
19. Incorporate search phrases like “near me” or “in [city name]” into both content and meta descriptions for maximum impact.
20. Google Ads allows advertisers to reach local customers with specific interests or demographics by investing in them locally.
21. Use local business schema markup on your website to help search engines understand its details.
22. Organize or participate in community events and promote them using GBP and social media channels.
23. Adjust your content so it aligns with conversational and question-based queries frequently used for voice searches.
24. Keep a regular tab on your GBP and local SEO strategies to ensure accuracy of information while staying abreast of changing trends.