Local SEO is everything that makes you show up when someone looks for a service nearby: “plumber in Lyon”, “lawyer near me”. Three levers matter more than the rest: a complete Google Business Profile, a steady flow of customer reviews and a website that clearly talks about your town.
Take care of your Google Business Profile.
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the listing that appears in Google Maps and next to the search results. It's often a customer's first contact with your business, before your website. Fill it in completely:
- complete information: address, phone number, website, and your service area if you travel to your customers;
- the right primary category, then a few secondary categories that truly describe what you do;
- up-to-date opening hours, public holidays and closures included;
- real photos: your storefront, your team, your work;
- a link to your website, ideally to the page for that location.
Two rules spare you bad surprises. One profile per real location, where you see customers or genuinely work from: no profile for a mere mailbox. And your real name, with no added keywords: “Smith Plumbing”, not “Smith Plumbing Emergency Repairs”. Google can suspend a profile that breaks these rules.
Get reviews, and reply to them.
Reviews reassure your future customers and they matter to Google. The most effective approach is simple: ask. After a job well done, send the direct link to your profile by email or text message, or display a QR code at the counter.
Reply to every review, good and bad. Say thank you, clarify, offer a solution. A negative review handled well often builds more trust than a perfect score. Never buy reviews or write them yourself: it's against the rules, and Google spots them.
Google's three criteria: relevance, distance, prominence.
Google itself explains how it ranks local results. Three criteria matter:
- relevance: does your profile match what the person is looking for? Hence the importance of accurate categories and a precise description;
- distance: how far your business is from where the search happens. You can't choose it, but you can state your service area clearly;
- prominence: what the web says about you. Reviews, articles, links, your presence in directories.
Google's guide to local ranking
A website that talks about your town.
Your profile points to your website: it should confirm what the profile says, and go further.
- One page per town or area you actually serve, with content specific to each: your work there, how to get to you, the questions local customers ask. Copying the same page and only changing the town's name doesn't help.
- The town in the page title and in its main heading: “Dentist in Lyon” rather than “Home”.
- Useful content: your services, your prices when possible, your work, the answers to the questions people ask you on the phone.
- LocalBusiness structured data: code that visitors don't see, which describes your business (name, address, opening hours) in a format search engines read directly.
- A map on the contact page, so people find your address in one tap.
A local search often happens on a phone, sometimes out in the street. A page that takes several seconds to load sends the customer to the next competitor. Lightweight pages and a mobile-first website are part of the basics.
The same name, address and phone number everywhere.
Google cross-checks the information it finds about you. If your address differs from one site to the next, it has doubts. Make sure your name, address and phone number are written exactly the same way:
- in your country's official business register;
- in local directories and the ones for your industry;
- on your social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X;
- on your website and your Google profile.
After a move or a new phone number, go through all of these places. An old address forgotten in a directory can cause confusion for a long time.
Links from your own area.
A link from the website of a local player counts for more than a link from an anonymous directory on the other side of the world. The best opportunities are often already around you:
- your partners and suppliers, on their references page;
- trade associations and your regional chamber of commerce;
- the sports or cultural clubs you support;
- local press, for an opening, an event or an initiative;
- the websites of public institutions in your town or region, when you legitimately appear there.
Forget bought links and directories created solely for SEO: at best, Google ignores them.
Local advertising, to move faster.
Organic search takes months. To be visible right away, Google Ads shows your ad to people searching for your service in your area, and Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) makes you known to people living nearby. Both can target a town or a radius around your address.
Getting cited by AI for local searches.
When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for “a good plumber in Leeds”, the assistant runs a search, reads a few pages and a few listings, then cites the ones it understands best. The signals are those of local SEO. Three habits matter more here.
- Spell out what you do, where and for whom. A sentence like “Smith Plumbing handles repairs for homeowners in Leeds and within 20 km” is more useful to an AI than a slogan.
- Answer your customers' real questions. Prices, lead times, areas served, emergencies: a short FAQ, with a direct answer under each question.
- Be described the same way elsewhere. Google profile, directories, local press, partner websites: information that matches from one source to the next limits errors in the answer.
Google even recommends keeping your Business Profile up to date to appear in its AI-generated answers.
None of this guarantees a citation, and answers change from one try to the next. To see where you stand, ask the question yourself to two or three assistants, once a month, and note who gets cited.
In Belgium: what's different.
- In Brussels, your customers search in French, in Dutch and often in English. A website and a profile that are at least bilingual open up the whole region.
- Your legal details come from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE/BCE): check that your name, address and company number are up to date there, then use them identically everywhere.
- Belgian directories count too: the Golden Pages (Pages d'Or, Gouden Gids), plus those of your municipality and your trade federation.
- Describe your service area by municipality or province, “Liège and Huy” or “Walloon Brabant”, rather than an entire region you don't cover.
Frequently asked questions.
Do I need a website to rank well locally?
Not to appear in Google Maps: a profile is enough to exist. But a website confirms your information, details your services and gives you a page to rank for each town you serve.
How long does it take to see results?
A complete, verified profile can appear within a few days. Rankings then build up over several months, as reviews, links and content accumulate.
Can I have a profile without a public address?
Yes. If you travel to your customers without seeing them at your premises, Google Business Profile lets you hide your address and show a service area instead.
Do I need one page per town?
One page per town or area you actually serve, with its own content. Dozens of identical pages where only the town's name changes don't help, and can hurt.
Should I reply to negative reviews?
Yes, quickly and calmly. Say thank you, acknowledge what needs acknowledging and offer a solution. Your reply is mostly for the future customers who will read it.
The checklist.
- Google Business Profile claimed, verified and complete.
- Right primary category, up-to-date hours, real photos.
- Reviews requested after every job, and a reply to each one.
- One page per town or area you actually serve, with the town in the title and main heading.
- LocalBusiness structured data and a website that's fast on mobile.
- The same name, address and phone number everywhere, starting with the official register.
- A few links from partners, associations or local press.