The essentials
- Definition: local SEO covers the work that gets a business into the results for geographically intended searches: "plumber Nantes", "restaurant near me", Google Maps.
- Google's three criteria: relevance (the business matches), distance (from the user), prominence (standing, reviews, citations).
- Lever number one: the Google Business Profile listing, complete, active and well rated.
- Weight: close to one Google search in two has local intent; local pack clicks often lead to a visit or a call.
The aim of local SEO is the branch of organic search aimed at geographically intended searches: a service in a town, a shop "near me", directions on Google Maps. For those queries, Google doesn't only show sites: it shows businesses, in a block with a map called the local pack, fed by Google Business Profile listings. A business that receives customers in person or works within an area (a tradesperson, a practice, a restaurant, an agency, a shop) plays most of its visibility on this ground.
Local SEO and classic SEO: what changes
| Classic SEO | local SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Queries targeted | Generic, national | With a town, a neighbourhood, "near me", or an implicit local intent |
| Results | Links to pages | The local pack (map + 3 listings) then links |
| Main asset | The website | The Google Business Profile listing, then the site |
| Key signals | Content, technical quality, backlinks | The listing, reviews, consistency of details, proximity, local citations |
| A personalised result | Little | Strongly, according to the user's position |
The detailed comparison is in the difference between local SEO and classic SEO.
How Google ranks businesses: the three criteria
- Relevance : do the listing and the site match what the user is looking for? Primary and secondary categories, declared services, the description, the site's content.
- Distance : between the business and the place of the search (or the town typed). You don't control it, except by creating pages or listings per area.
- Prominence : the standing Google can establish. The number and rating of reviews, mentions on third-party sites (local citations), links, presence in the press, the site's authority.
Google says so itself: these three factors combine. A very close business with no reviews can be outranked by a competitor slightly further away but better rated and more complete. How it works in detail is in understanding local ranking.
The levers of local SEO, in order of impact
| Lever | What to do | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Google Business Profile listing | Claim it, complete it to 100%, the right category, photos, hours, services, posts | Optimising your listing |
| 2. Reviews | Collect them regularly, respond to all of them, aim for 4.5 and above | Google reviews |
| 3. NAP consistency | The same name, address and phone everywhere | NAP |
| 4. A local website | A page per location or per area, contact details, LocalBusiness structured data | Structuring your local pages |
| 5. Local citations and links | Reference directories, the local press, partners, associations | Local link building |
| 6. Local content | Completed jobs, news, guides tied to the area | What content to create |
Why local SEO pays
- The intent is strong : someone searching "locksmith Lyon 3" needs a locksmith now. Conversion rates (a call, directions, a booking) are far higher than on generic queries.
- The competition is local : you aren't up against the whole web, but against the businesses in your area. A serious tradesperson can reach the local pack within a few months.
- The cost is low : the Google listing is free; most of the work is regularity (reviews, photos, posts).
- AI draws on it : when someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini for "a good Italian restaurant in Bordeaux", the answer is built from listings, reviews and local sites.
Measuring local SEO
Four metrics are enough: local pack position on your key queries, from several points in your area (see tracking your position on Google Maps); actions from the listing (calls, directions, clicks to the site, in the listing's statistics); the number and rating of reviews; and conversions from the traffic coming from the listing, measured in GA4 thanks to UTMs on Google Business Profile. The full list is in which KPIs to track in local SEO.
Where to start
A business starting from scratch follows this order: claim and complete the listing (one day), set up review collection (a week to organise, then ongoing), check the consistency of your details across the web (half a day), create or complete the site's local page, then post once a week on the listing. The ten-step action plan is detailed in local SEO: the action plan for a small business, and an local SEO audit tells you where you stand.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's Google Business Profile module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is local SEO?
It is all the work that gets a business to appear in geographically intended search results: queries with a town or "near me", the local pack with its map, Google Maps. Its main asset is the Google Business Profile listing, complemented by the site, reviews and local mentions.
How long does it take to appear in the local pack?
From a few weeks to a few months depending on the competition in the area and the trade. A complete listing, an exact category and ten or so recent reviews are often enough in a small town; in a large city on a contested trade, allow three to six months of regular work.
Does local SEO work without a shop?
Yes for businesses that travel to the customer (tradespeople, home services, consultants): Google Business Profile lets you hide the address and declare a service area. Businesses with no physical presence and no service area, however, aren't eligible for a listing.
Do you need a website for local SEO?
The Google listing alone lets you appear in the local pack, but a site strengthens relevance and prominence (a page per location, content, structured data) and captures the searches where the local pack doesn't appear. The question is covered in our article "do you need a website or is the Google listing enough".