Local SEO that actually fills your calendar

Local SEO isn't "national SEO but smaller". It's a different game with its own playbook. Here's the 30-day sprint we run with new local clients — every step is concrete, every result is measurable.

Week 1: Google Business Profile (the lever that moves everything)

Roughly 60% of local SEO outcomes come from how well your Google Business Profile is set up. Get this week right and everything else compounds.

• Day 1: claim/verify the profile if you haven't. Yes, do this first. Yes, it takes the postcard.
• Day 2: nail the primary category. This is the single highest-leverage field. Pick the most specific category that describes what you do, not the broadest.
• Day 3: fill in every additional category that applies (max 9). Don't keyword-stuff — only what you genuinely offer.
• Day 4: write a description that mentions your service + city naturally. Don't repeat keywords.
• Day 5: upload 10 real photos. Exterior, interior, team, work-in-progress, before/after if applicable. Real photos beat stock photos 10:1 for engagement.
• Day 6: add services. Each one with its own description. This is underused and powerful.
• Day 7: set up posts. One per week, every week. Even a single sentence with an image works.

Week 2: NAP citations (the boring but critical week)

NAP = Name, Address, Phone. The premise: your business info should be identical everywhere on the web. Mismatched NAP is the #1 reason perfectly good local sites don't rank.

• Audit your existing citations. Yelp, Yellow Pages, BBB, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Facebook, Instagram, your own site footer. Spreadsheet them with the listed name/address/phone.
• Pick the canonical version (we recommend matching your Google Business Profile exactly).
• Fix the mismatches one by one. This is grunt work. There's no shortcut. Plan on 4-6 hours.
• Submit to 10 new local directories. Industry-specific ones beat generic ones.

Week 3: Reviews (the trust signal)

For local search, review count and recency matter as much as the average star rating. A 4.7-star business with 200 reviews dated this year beats a 5.0-star business with 12 reviews from 2022.

• Build a review-request system. Email + SMS within 24 hours of a transaction.
• Use a script: "Hi [Name], thanks for choosing us. If you have 30 seconds, a quick Google review would mean a lot — [shortlink]". Don't ask for "a 5-star review", just "a review".
• Respond to every review. Yes, every single one. Yes, including the 5-stars. Yes, especially the 1-stars.
• Aim for 5-10 new reviews per month, indefinitely.

Week 4: On-page + measurement

Now the technical SEO. Your homepage and your top 5 service pages need a quick pass:

• Title tag: {Service} in {City} | {Brand}. Boring, effective.
• H1: matches the title intent, contains the city.
• Schema markup: LocalBusiness + Service + Review. Our SEO Score tool tells you what's missing.
• Embed a Google Map. This is a small but real ranking signal.
• Set up Google Search Console + tag your profile in Google Maps to track query reports.

What to expect after 30 days

• Google Business Profile views: +50-100%
• Direction requests: +30-60%
• Phone calls from search: +20-40%
• Local pack appearances: starts within 2-3 weeks

None of this is glamorous. All of it works. Local SEO rewards consistency more than cleverness.