The importance of local SEO and why ranking highly has never been so important
Most local businesses don’t struggle because they’re bad at what they do.
They struggle because potential customers never discover them, don’t immediately trust them, or choose a competitor before making contact.
Local SEO isn’t simply about improving rankings. It’s about making your business more visible, more credible and easier to choose.
What is Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)?
Create a Google Business Listing
Step 1. If you don’t already have one, create a Google Account or log. We advise all of our clients to create a Google Account for their business and retain control of it. There are so many different features for businesses to take advantage of that you’d be mad not to.
Step 2. Go to: google.com/business and click on ‘Start Now’ or ‘Create your profile’.
Step 3. Enter your business details.
As simple and straightforward as that is, you will need to verify your listing. You can do this by postcard or business phone number.
Monitor, Revisit & Revise
Now the hard work begins. It’s time to roll up your sleeves…
Most important now is to let your business listing run for a couple of weeks to see how well it ranks in Google Search and Maps. You need to monitor where you rank and, if necessary, tweak things, including keywords, services you offer and any information that changes.
Remember when I said to complete all the information Google asks for?
Well, firstly, make you have.
Google Business Profile Posts
Google Business Posts are small adverts or promotional posts that show up in Google search in your Google Business Profile listing or in the Knowledge Panel and on Google Maps.
To grab the searcher’s attention, include an image in your Post, but remember that on Google Maps, the image can get cut off.
Book button feature
Google’s Booking button feature can really help your business stand out.
People can now book an appointment with your business directly from your Google Business Profile listing. This can make it even easier to get new customers as they don’t have to leave Google to book an appointment with you.
Google Business Reviews
Google actively encourages businesses to ask customers for honest reviews. Those reviews appear on your Google Business Profile and are often one of the first things potential customers see when deciding whether to click, call or visit your website.
Reviews do more than improve your visibility in local search. They help answer one of the biggest questions every prospective customer has:
“Can I trust this business?”
A healthy stream of genuine, recent reviews can increase confidence before someone even reaches your website. They also send positive signals to Google that your business is active, trusted and relevant within your local area.
BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 highlights just how influential reviews have become:
- 97% of consumers read online reviews before choosing a local business.
- 41% say they always read reviews when researching local businesses, up significantly from the previous year.
- 85% are more likely to choose a business after reading positive reviews.
- 77% are put off by negative reviews.
- 74% only consider reviews written within the last three months to be relevant.
- 31% will only consider businesses with a 4.5-star rating or higher.
- 80% are more likely to choose a business that responds to every review.
- 89% expect businesses to reply to customer reviews.
- 94% are willing to leave a review, and 78% said a business had asked them for one during the previous year.
Collecting reviews should never be a one-off exercise. The businesses that perform best make requesting feedback part of their everyday customer journey.
Fresh reviews, thoughtful responses and a consistently high rating all help demonstrate that your business is active, trusted and committed to customer service.
Google Business Profile Optimisation
Remember, Google is always looking for engagement: engagement from searchers and you, as the owner. The more interaction, the better your chances of ranking higher in the local three-pack and organic rankings in general.
That means you need to keep optimising your Google Business Profile listing to get the most out of it. And as new features come out, use them to keep your Google Business Profile listing fully optimised.
Do you have a Google Business Profile Optimisation?
At the end of the day, when people talk about SEO, they think about their website.
My first question is always: “Do you have a Google My Business listing?”
If you don’t, it really is the quickest and most straightforward way to start getting customers to your website. I did this for a client of mine recently (I didn’t even design his site), and his words sum this up perfectly:
“I contacted Stuart at Creative Sprout as I had created a website myself and wasn’t getting the rankings I required on google and bing. Since then, Stuart has done what he does best, got my site high up in the rankings and edited my website so it looks very professional.
85% of my business is now taken through the website, all down to Stuart at Creative Sprout.”
M.Harvey – Carpets and Flooring
I haven’t added that to brag – it simply outlines the effect that an optimised Google My Business page can have. Have a go and see how you get on.
(I also created and optimised a Bing Places for Business page, but that’s another story!)
Need some help with your local SEO?
We can help improve your local search rankings and bring you more of the customers you want.
Get in touch to find out how.
