SEO guide for local businesses

Fill every GBP field — primary category, address, phone, hours, services, and description. Verify ownership so Google trusts you represent the business.

Applies to: * · Source: Google Business Profile Help

Pick the narrowest primary category (e.g. "Plumber" not "Contractor") and add relevant secondary categories. Categories are major filters in local search.

Applies to: * · Source: Google Business Profile Help

Match name, address, and phone exactly across GBP, website footer, JSON-LD, Yelp, Apple Business Connect, and Bing Places.

Applies to: * · Source: Google Search Central — LocalBusiness schema

Use the most specific schema subtype (Restaurant, Dentist, LegalService). Place markup on homepage, contact, and location pages with NAP, hours, and geo coordinates.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Google Search Central

Share a direct GBP review link. Aim for a consistent trickle (2–5 per week) rather than bulk bursts — review velocity is a Map Pack prominence signal.

Applies to: * · Source: Google Business Profile Help; Search Engine Land

Respond professionally to positive and negative reviews. Keep replies short, acknowledge issues offline for complaints, and never keyword-stuff responses.

Applies to: * · Source: Google Business Profile Help

After GBP and your website, align Yelp, Apple Business Connect, and Bing Places — these cover most citation weight for UK local businesses.

Applies to: * · Source: Google Search Central

Without a site, GBP is your digital storefront. Complete every field, collect reviews, add photos, and post updates until a one-page site is ready.

Applies to: no-website · Source: Google Business Profile Help

Lead with service + borough (e.g. "Plumber Camden | 24hr Emergency"). Keep titles unique, aligned with the H1, and under ~60 characters.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Moz; Semrush

Summarise page value in active voice, include the target keyword, and add a soft CTA. Stay concise to avoid mobile snippet truncation.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Semrush on-page checklist

Each page needs exactly one H1 stating the main topic. Match search intent, include the primary keyword, and nest H2/H3 subtopics beneath.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Moz; Search Engine Land

Use a hub-and-spoke model linking service pillars to FAQs and borough landing pages. Avoid orphan pages and keyword-stuffed anchor text.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Semrush; Search Engine Land

Create focused URLs like /plumber-camden with matching H1 and title. Pair the trade with the neighbourhood rather than generic "London" pages.

Applies to: has-website, local-service · Source: Semrush local SEO guidance

At position 4, prioritise specific service + area pages and niche keywords rather than only the head local term you already nearly rank for.

Applies to: rank-4 · Source: SynapseCRO lead model

Phone, booking, or quote buttons must be visible without scrolling on mobile. Rank 3–4 listings lose clicks when CTAs sit below the fold.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Google Core Web Vitals; CRO research

After testimonials, service details, and case studies, repeat the same primary action. Long pages should end with a clear next step.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Semrush CRO guidance

Google ranks the mobile version. Use min 44×44px tap targets, readable headlines, and a visible CTA on the first screen.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Google Search Central; web.dev

Display star ratings, review counts, accreditations (Gas Safe, CQC, SRA), and response-time promises adjacent to forms — not in the footer.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Search Engine Land

Compress images (WebP), lazy-load below-fold media, and remove heavy scripts. Good Core Web Vitals correlate with higher conversion rates.

Applies to: has-website · Source: web.dev; PageSpeed Insights

Integrate booking (Fresha, Calendly, OpenTable) near the top of service pages to reduce friction vs competitors in the Map Pack.

Applies to: beauty, dentist, restaurant, physio, accountant · Source: Local CRO best practice

Businesses at position 3 are one push from the top — focus on headline clarity, above-fold CTA, and trust signals before net-new content.

Applies to: rank-3, has-website · Source: SynapseCRO lead model

Preload hero images, use a CDN, and reduce server response time. LCP is a confirmed ranking and UX signal for competitive local keywords.

Applies to: has-website · Source: web.dev Core Web Vitals

Break up long JavaScript tasks and defer non-critical scripts. INP replaced FID in 2024 and measures responsiveness across all interactions.

Applies to: has-website · Source: web.dev — Optimize INP

Set explicit dimensions on images and embeds, reserve space for dynamic content, and avoid injecting elements above existing UI.

Applies to: has-website · Source: web.dev Core Web Vitals

Include only canonical, indexable URLs. Submit in Search Console, reference in robots.txt, and update lastmod when content actually changes.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Google Search Central

Run JSON-LD through Rich Results Test and monitor Search Console. Fix missing properties on LocalBusiness, FAQPage, and BreadcrumbList markup.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Google Search Central

Apply Restaurant, Dentist, LegalService, RealEstateAgent, or other specific subtypes rather than generic LocalBusiness where possible.

Applies to: restaurant, cafe, pub, dentist, solicitor, estate agent, optician · Source: Google Search Central

Rank-4 businesses often lack verified GBP, NAP consistency, mobile speed, and a strong service page. Address basics before advanced tactics.

Applies to: rank-4 · Source: SynapseCRO lead model

One page per service + area (e.g. "Electrician Islington") with 40–60% unique content: local testimonials, landmarks, and area-specific FAQs.

Applies to: local-service, no-website, has-website · Source: Google doorway pages guidance

Show staff bios with credentials, case studies with outcomes, and original job-site photos. Essential for YMYL trades in London.

Applies to: has-website, ymyl · Source: Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines

Mention nearby stations, high streets, and borough context naturally. Hyper-local relevance helps match "[service] [area]" queries.

Applies to: local-service · Source: Local SEO neighbourhood targeting

Answer pricing, response times, and service-area questions on-page. Add FAQPage schema where appropriate to capture snippet space.

Applies to: has-website, local-service · Source: Semrush; Google structured data docs

AI crawlers often skip JS execution. Use SSR/SSG so title, H1, and body copy appear in curl / view-source — CSR-only shells are partially invisible to LLMs.

Applies to: has-website · Source: LLM SEO / Vercel AI crawler research

First paragraph should summarize the page in 2–3 sentences: local = who/where/service; personal = who/expertise; global = product/problem solved. Acts as an RAG embedding anchor.

Applies to: has-website · Source: LLM SEO (RAG retrieval best practice)

One H1, nested H2/H3, bullet lists over text walls. Clear structure improves semantic similarity matching in AI search — not just traditional rankings.

Applies to: has-website · Source: LLM SEO

Emerging convention to document AI usage preferences (similar spirit to robots.txt). Low effort, no SEO downside — signals transparency to AI systems.

Applies to: has-website · Source: llms.txt proposal

LLM search retrieves from indexed web content. Valid sitemap, robots.txt, and Search Console coverage are prerequisites — LLM SEO builds on traditional SEO.

Applies to: has-website · Source: Google Search Central; LLM SEO