What is one actionable piece of advice you would give to someone struggling to improve their website’s local SEO? What’s a common mistake you see? We asked SEO experts for their insights, and here are 17 proven tips to enhance your local SEO strategy.
- Fix Your Google Business Profile
- Get Local Backlinks
- Prioritize High-Quality Reviews
- Maintain Consistent NAP Information
- Use Location-Specific Keywords
- Actively Ask for Reviews
- Add Contact Information
- Network in Your Community
- Optimize Your Google Business Profile
- Include Actual Location on Webpage
- Start with a Site Audit
- Create Separate Pages for Each Location
- Align Website and Google Business Profile
- Strengthen Internal Linking Structure
- Manage Online Reviews Consistently
- Update Google Business Profile Regularly
- Create Localized Pillar Content
17 Local SEO Tips from Experts
Fix Your Google Business Profile
If you’re struggling with local SEO, here’s my two cents: fix your Google Business Profile (GBP) game. I’ve seen so many businesses neglect basic stuff like consistent NAP (name, address, phone number). Once, I helped a local home renovation company, and honestly, all we did was clean up their GBP and match it to their website. Suddenly, their calls tripled in a month. Wild, right?
A big mistake I’ve seen people make is that they overthink backlinks and keywords but forget reviews. Seriously, I’ve seen firsthand how asking happy customers to leave honest reviews can shoot you up the rankings. Bonus: It’s free.
I get it, local SEO can feel like a maze (been there), but sometimes the fix is just right in front of you. Start small and keep it simple.
Damilola Ademuyiwa
SEO Specialist, Dammy Ade
Get Local Backlinks
I often see local businesses neglecting local backlinks completely. Since you’re working on increasing your local topical authority, you need to get backlinks from others in your community—newspapers, chambers of commerce, or local blogs.
Partner and network with local businesses and organizations to create events, exchange knowledge, and get featured on their websites. If you haven’t already, sign up for local directories to boost your local credibility (even if it doesn’t result in a do-follow backlink). Pitch stories to local journalists, especially if you’re co-creating events. And finally, create local content that other publications will want to share!
Lana Rafaela Cindric
SEO & Content Manager, SiteGuru
Prioritize High-Quality Reviews
Prioritize collecting and engaging with high-quality reviews on your Google Business Profile. Encourage satisfied customers to leave detailed feedback about their experience, and make a point to respond thoughtfully to every review—positive or negative. From experience, this builds customer trust, showcases excellent service, and signals active engagement to search engines, which can help boost your visibility.
A common mistake I often see is businesses ignoring negative reviews or failing to respond. This can damage trust and miss an opportunity to show excellent customer service, which impacts local SEO.
Adam Berry
Founder / SEO Consultant, Adam Berry SEO
Maintain Consistent NAP Information
The most actionable piece of advice I would give to someone struggling to improve their website’s local SEO presence is to have a consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number, and Email) everywhere on your website by adding it to your website’s footer. Also, use this same NAP in local directory sites submission [Citations] which have high authority and low spam score, and always link directly to your location page. The most common mistake I see is that business owners, most of the time, use different phone numbers, names, and emails, and links to any random social media page in directory sites which makes it inconsistent, and they struggle to rank.
Mohammad Arman
Local Marketer, Mohammad Arman
Use Location-Specific Keywords
Beyond the basics that are easy to find, such as making sure everything is filled out in your Google Business Profile, etc. Most businesses fail to include location-specific keywords in their website content, titles, and headers. For example, instead of using general terms like “plumber services,” you want to use “plumber services in Austin” or “emergency plumber downtown Austin.”
Zoltan Fagyal
SEO Consultant & Founder, Back Bay Digital
Actively Ask for Reviews
A common mistake I see businesses make when trying to improve their local SEO is neglecting the importance of reviews on their Google Business Profile. Many businesses wait passively for reviews to come in, which is not a strategy. From my experience, you can multiply the number of reviews you receive by at least ten times if you actively ask for them.
Here’s a simple, actionable way to get more reviews:
Generate Your Google Review Link:
- Search your business name on Google.
- Click the “Ask for reviews” button, and copy the generated review link.
- Share the Review Link
Option 1: Direct Messaging
Send the link to satisfied customers via email or text.
Option 2: Create a QR Code
Use Canva to create a QR code linked to the review page. This makes it easy for customers to leave a review directly from their phone. To promote the QR code print the QR code on flyers, posters, or business cards. Display them at your business location, particularly near high-traffic areas like the checkout counter.
After a positive experience, send a thank-you message and remind customers how easy it is to leave a review using the QR code. Regularly monitor and respond to reviews to engage with customers and build trust.
By implementing this simple strategy, you’ll see a significant increase in reviews, which directly impacts your local SEO.
Matthew Demers
Founder, Diffuse Digital Marketing
Add Contact Information
Many business owners are not willing to add their contact information on the website, usually a phone number, local address, and contact information is a good signal to search engines. Other mistakes might be local schema not existing, or not working on the GMB account and explicitly connecting it with their website.
Nick Malekos
Director of SEO, Marketing Experts Hub
Network in Your Community
If you’re struggling with local SEO, here’s my golden nugget: stop optimizing in isolation and start networking in your community. Local SEO isn’t just about keywords and backlinks—it’s about building relationships that make your website relevant in your actual, physical location.
Reach out to local business groups, chambers of commerce, local media outlets, and even niche bloggers in your area. These organizations are often looking for partnerships, content collaborations, or sponsors, and they can offer you high-authority, hyper-relevant backlinks. For example:
- Chambers of Commerce: Many have member directories with do-follow links. Being listed boosts your visibility and your authority.
- Local Blogs and Media: Write a guest post or pitch them a feature. If they link back to your site, it’s SEO gold—and it builds trust with your local audience.
- Business Partnerships: Collaborate with nearby businesses for cross-promotions. A shared event or a co-branded campaign can naturally generate backlinks and social buzz.
Most people focus too much on technical tweaks-NAP consistency, keywords, citations—while forgetting the human element. The mistake? Ignoring local connections. Google doesn’t just want to see that your site is optimized; it wants evidence that your business is embedded in the community. No amount of on-page SEO can replace a mention from the local news site or a shoutout from a trusted blogger.
Tie this outreach to Google Business Profile activity. If you’re networking in the real world, make sure your online profile reflects it—photos of events, local keywords, and reviews from nearby customers. When Google sees this blend of digital and physical activity, you’ll climb those rankings faster.
Remember, local SEO is less about gaming algorithms and more about showing Google (and your audience) that you’re the real deal in your corner of the world. Get out there and connect.
Arthur Valverde
SEO Agency CEO, Padzup
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
For businesses looking to boost their local SEO, optimizing your Google Business Profile is essential. It’s a common mistake I see businesses make; they create a profile and then rarely touch it again. To truly leverage its power, you need to treat it as a dynamic extension of your business.
This means regularly posting updates, sharing photos of your products or services, and keeping your information current, including holiday hours. Engage with customers by responding to reviews promptly and thoughtfully, and don’t forget to utilize the Q&A section to address common questions proactively. It’s also crucial to ensure your business categories are accurate and up-to-date, as this helps Google understand your offerings and connect you with the right local searches.
Think of your Google Business Profile as your digital storefront. Just as you would maintain a clean and inviting physical storefront, you need to keep your online presence fresh and engaging to attract local customers. An optimized profile can significantly improve your visibility in local search results, driving more foot traffic and ultimately boosting your bottom line.
Elliott Kosmicki
Founder & President, Major Impact
Include Actual Location on Webpage
This sounds obvious when you think about it but…you must use the actual location on the webpage!? We see it quite often when websites get built by the business owners. They look great and explain their services but a common mistake is they forget to mention the location they cover. For example “John’s super cheap reliable plumbing services” sounds great but John’s not going to rank for “Plumber in London” unless he adds “London” to the website.
To get you started and on the right track for showing up in local searches I recommend adding your service location in these areas:
- URL
- H1 title
- H2 title
- 1st paragraph
- Within the page content (Once every 600-800 words)
- Meta title
- Meta description
- Image file names/ALT text (If applicable)
By combining your service (“Plumber”) and location (“London”) you can show website users the area you cover and tell Google to start showing your website in London for plumbing-related queries. (Or whichever service and location is relevant for you!)
Dean haggart
Head SEO, Smart SEO Cornwall
Start with a Site Audit
Always kick things off with a site audit. It’s like getting a check-up for your website—it shows you what’s working, what’s broken, and where you need to focus. From there, you can map out a game plan to fix the issues holding you back. A common mistake I see? Skipping this step and just guessing at what needs improvement. Trust me, a solid website audit can save you so much time and frustration!
Mark Miranda
Owner, Pecan Street Digital
Create Separate Pages for Each Location
A highly effective strategy for improving local SEO is to create separate pages for each location within your company’s service area. When your website features pages dedicated to specific cities, neighborhoods, or regions, you increase your chances of ranking for local searches. These separate pages allow you to tailor content to local audiences, boosting relevance and enhancing your local SEO.
A common mistake many businesses make is treating their entire service area as a single entity. This approach makes it difficult to rank for localized keywords. Instead of trying to cover multiple areas with one broad page, focus on creating content that speaks to each market’s unique needs and search behaviors. This ensures higher relevance, a better user experience, and improved rankings for local search queries.
For example, let’s consider a business in Chicago. Instead of creating a single page offering “Interior Design Services for the Chicagoland Area,” create additional pages such as “Interior Design Services in Evanston” or “Hinsdale Interior Design Services.” Be sure to link these additional pages within your website to amplify their SEO impact. This way, when users search for locally specific keywords, your website will be more likely to appear in the search results.
Abigail Kruger
Owner, Current Creative Design
Align Website and Google Business Profile
If you’re struggling with local SEO, start by making sure your website and Google Business Profile reflect each other. Your services, keywords, and contact details should align perfectly. This consistency helps Google connect the dots and understand what you offer. But this is super important: do keyword research to find service terms that people are actually searching for in your area. Don’t guess—use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or check out what competitors are doing. Once you know what works, keep your Google Business Profile service keywords slim and focused.
I had to learn this the hard way. In the beginning, I crammed in as many service keyword combinations as I could think of, hoping to cast a wide net. Instead, it diluted the focus and made it harder for Google to match the profile to specific searches. Once I slimmed them down to clear, targeted terms, the Google Business Profiles I manage started appearing for more relevant, high-intent search results.
For example, if you’re running a medical spa, stick to terms like “Botox treatments” or “Hydrafacials,” rather than trying to cover everything from “skin consultations” to “beauty services.” A lean, focused list of keywords ensures Google knows exactly what you specialize in, which helps boost your visibility for the right audience.
And don’t stop there—keep your profile fresh by posting updates, adding photos, and encouraging reviews. A focused, well-maintained profile paired with targeted keywords and aligned with your website can make all the difference in improving your local search rankings.
Daniel Travers
Digital Media & Marketing Specialist, Redideo Studio
Strengthen Internal Linking Structure
In SEO, the focus often falls on backlinks, but the internal linking structure is equally important. Local service and product pages should be linked prominently near the top of the homepage using descriptive anchor text. Ideally, this anchor text matches the keyword of the linked page. This approach strengthens key subpages, improving their rankings in search results.
This is often overlooked, yet it is easy to implement and has a significant impact.
Benny Windolph
Head of SEO, HECHT INS GEFECHT
Manage Online Reviews Consistently
One actionable piece of advice we often give to businesses struggling with local SEO is to consistently manage online reviews. A common mistake we see is ignoring negative feedback or assuming positive reviews will come in automatically.
Engaging with every review, good or bad, is crucial. Responding to positive feedback builds trust and encourages more customers to share their experiences. But the real opportunity lies in addressing negative reviews thoughtfully. It shows potential customers (and search engines) that we care about resolving issues and improving the service.
How does this impact local SEO? Google considers trust and relevance when ranking local businesses. Active engagement with reviews signals that a business is both trustworthy and active in the community, giving local search rankings a boost.
We always emphasize keeping responses Genuine and personalized. No generic replies. It’s a simple strategy, but it works.
Vikrant Bhalodia
Head of Marketing & People Ops, WeblineIndia
Update Google Business Profile Regularly
The single most impactful action for local SEO is consistently updating your Google Business Profile(s). I’ve seen too many businesses set it up once and then forget about it, missing out on critical opportunities. Tools like Yext, Semrush, and BrightLocal can streamline listing management. Furthermore, centralized in one place, write once, publish everywhere. Also, they allow for seeing your rankings on a map so you can mine more opportunities for ranking nearby you.
It’s essential to keep your Google Business Profile fresh with new content, mirroring your social media posts, and taking advantage of new features as Google adds them. This is because while AI Chats don’t rely on Google Business Profiles directly, like Google’s own AI summaries do, other AI crawlers do pick up on broad brand mentions online—so consistent brand mentions help with that. One way is simply to use the directory listing tools above; another is doing guest posts on relevant sites for both backlinks and brand mentions.
Localized landing pages are also critical, as they allow your website to show up when users are searching in a specific location. They also improve paid advertising ROAS as it’s no good to direct traffic to your homepage if you have a location near them. It’s a bad user experience to have to manually navigate to the relevant location page for information or contact forms, etc.
Tommi Saltiola
CEO & Fractional CMO/Cmto/CTO/CIO, Tommi Saltiola & Co
Create Localized Pillar Content
In my opinion, relevance is the most important factor in local SEO. Enhancing organic presence is simple yet requires a tailored approach. Local customers are seeking solutions that are both available and suitable for them.
Creating pillar content tailored to local consumers will help grow a business’s website locally. Moreover, this personalized content connects more effectively than a generalized piece of content. This, in turn, improves the website’s organic visibility.
Rakshit Panchal
SEO Manager, Sydney Digital Agency
