What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is the work of appearing when someone nearby searches for what you sell. It runs on two connected surfaces: the map pack, driven mostly by your Google Business Profile, and the organic results, driven mostly by your website.

The three ranking inputs

• Relevance — does your profile and site clearly say you do this service
• Distance — how close you are to the searcher, which you can't change
• Prominence — reviews, links, mentions, and overall authority

What you actually control

A complete, correctly categorized profile. A site with a page per service and honest coverage per market. Consistent business information. A steady stream of reviews. That's the whole game, repeated over time.

What local SEO is not

It isn't a one-time setup, and it isn't keyword stuffing city names into a footer. Both are still sold, and both stopped working years ago.