What is local SEO?
Quick answer
Local SEO is the practice of helping a business show up for nearby, intent-driven searches - the "near me" and "in [town]" queries that lead to a call, a visit or a booking. Unlike general SEO, which competes for web-wide rankings, local SEO centers on the Google map results and is driven largely by your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and the consistency of your business information across the web. For most local businesses, optimizing the profile is the highest-leverage local-SEO work there is.
Local SEO vs. regular SEO
Regular SEO is about ranking web pages in the standard search results. Local SEO is about ranking your business in the map pack and local finder for searches with local intent. They overlap, but local SEO leans on your profile, reviews and local signals rather than purely on website content and links.
The main ingredients
A complete and accurate Google Business Profile, a steady flow of genuine reviews, consistent name/address/phone details everywhere your business is listed, and relevant categories and services. These are the levers that move local visibility.
Where ProfileBoost fits
ProfileBoost is a done-for-you service focused on the profile side of local SEO - the 11 signals Google ranks - completed as a fixed-price package. Start with a free audit to see where your profile stands today.
Want this done for you?
Run a free audit against the 11 signals Google ranks, then let ProfileBoost optimize them for you.
ProfileBoost optimizes your profile against Google's published best practices. Search ranking is determined by Google's algorithm and depends on many factors; we cannot and do not guarantee any specific ranking position.
- How to rank higher on Google Maps
- What is a Google Business Profile?
- How does Google Business Profile ranking work?
- How do you get more Google reviews?
- How do I set up Google Business Profile posts and keep them fresh?
- How do I keep my Google Business Profile from going stale with regular updates?
- What photos should I upload to my Google Business Profile?
- What are the 11 ranking signals Google uses for local business profiles?
- What's the best way to get my business showing up in Google Maps search results?
- How do I make my Google Business Profile show up in the map pack?
- What makes a Google Business Profile complete and optimized?
- What makes a Google Business Profile complete and optimized?
- What should I include in my Google Business Profile to rank better locally?
- How do I optimize my Google Business Profile to appear in local search results?
- How should I manage hours and attributes on my Google Business Profile?
- How do I optimize my Google Business Profile for restaurants?
- How do I set up the right business categories on Google Business Profile?
- How do I optimize multiple business locations on Google Business Profile?
- How do I add services and products to my Google Business Profile?
- How do I fix missing information on my Google Business Profile?
- Why isn't my business showing up on Google Maps?
- Why is my business not showing up on Google Maps?
- Google Business Profile suspended: how do I get reinstated?
- How do I add services and products to my Google Business Profile?
- How should a business optimize Google Business Profiles for multiple locations?
- How should I manage hours and attributes on my Google Business Profile?
- How should a restaurant optimize its Google Business Profile?
- How can I improve my Google Business Profile for AI search answers like ChatGPT?
- How can I clean up duplicate Google Business listings for my company?
- What's the fastest way to fully optimize a Google Business Profile for me?
- How to avoid Google Business Profile suspension (and what to do if it happens)