What local SEO is and how it differs from general SEO
General SEO tries to get a page to show up for a search anywhere. Local SEO aims to get you found when someone searches for a service nearby: Google Maps, the local results block and, increasingly, answers generated by AI assistants that recommend specific businesses.
That is why proximity, relevance (you do what they are looking for) and trust (your data is consistent and real customers rate you) are what count.
Your Google Business Profile
- Claim and verify it, if you have not yet.
- Choose the main category carefully and add the relevant secondary ones.
- Enter your real opening hours, including holidays.
- Describe your services and add your own photos, not stock images.
- Link it to your website and check the phone number is correct.
- Reply to reviews, including bad ones, politely and without arguing.
NAP: make everything match
NAP stands for name, address and phone number. They should appear exactly the same on your website, your profile, your social networks and the directories you are listed in. A small difference (a street written two ways, an old phone number) makes Google doubt which one is right.
On your website, write them as text, not inside an image, and add structured data (schema.org, LocalBusiness or similar) so search engines and assistants can read them without guessing.
Your website: what a local page needs
- A page for each important service, with a title that says what you do and where.
- Mentions of the neighbourhood or area where you work, written naturally.
- Real questions from your customers with a short, direct answer.
- A map, directions and a tappable phone number.
- Fast loading on mobile: that is where people will search from.
How AI assistants read your business
Assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity retrieve snippets from web pages and other sources to build an answer. They tend to cite pages that state clearly who you are, what you do and where, with questions in the headings and direct answers at the start of each section. There is no guarantee you will be cited, but these practices also help with Google.
- Write what you do, for whom and in which area, in full sentences.
- Structure content with clear headings and concrete questions.
- Do not block crawlers in robots.txt if you want them to be able to read you.
- Keep external profiles (business profile, LinkedIn, directories) consistent with the same NAP.
- The llms.txt file is a recent proposal and not every assistant reads it: do not rely on it alone.
Reviews and external signals
Reviews from real, recent and varied customers are a trust signal. Ask for them naturally, after a job well done, and never buy or invent them: it breaks platform rules and can cost you your profile. Consistent mentions in local directories, associations and media also count.
A 30-day plan
- Week 1: review your Google profile and unify the NAP everywhere.
- Week 2: create or improve the pages for your main services.
- Week 3: ask for reviews and upload your own photos.
- Week 4: measure and adjust with Search Console, your profile statistics and a manual test in AI assistants.
To measure, look at queries and pages in Search Console, and every month ask the assistants the questions your customers would ask. Note whether you appear, which page they cite and whether the NAP they show is correct.
Common mistakes
- Having different phone numbers or addresses depending on where people look.
- Copying the same text on every page and only changing the neighbourhood.
- Buying reviews or links.
- Expecting results in days: local SEO shows in weeks or months.
- Abandoning the profile after creating it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does local SEO take to work?
It depends on competition and where you start from. It usually shows in weeks or months, not days, and nobody can guarantee a specific ranking.
Do I need a website if I already have a Google profile?
Your profile helps you show up on Maps, but your website is where you can explain services and answer questions. They reinforce each other.
Can I do it myself?
Yes: a good part of the work is tidiness and consistency. If you do not have the time, Pexalia’s local SEO module covers that foundation.
Want to apply this to your business?
We do a 15-minute call, no strings attached, and tell you where we would start.