Local SEO Basics for Service Businesses

Building a fast, clean website for a local plumber is essential. The site should have proper headings, a tidy contact form, and score high on Lighthouse. However, three months after launching, the plumber may still not appear in map search results. This issue is not solely due to the website; Google Business Profile and website details play a crucial role in local SEO for small businesses.

There are two main types of local search results: map pack and local organic results. The map pack features three businesses on a map, powered by Google Business Profile. The website supports the map results. Local rankings are based on relevance, distance, and prominence. There's no way to pay for better local rankings on Google.

Google Business Profile is an essential aspect that developers often overlook. It requires verification, an accurate primary category, relevant secondary categories, hours, services, attributes, and plenty of photos. For service businesses, there are additional rules. Service-area businesses should hide the business address and list up to 20 service areas, with the overall area not extending beyond about two hours' drive.

Each service-area business should have its own profile. The business name on the profile should be the real business name, without added keywords.

Your website should have one strong page per core service. Don't create a single "Services" page with multiple services listed. Each core service should have its own page with detailed information, photos, and answers to common questions. Location pages can help with service-area businesses, but avoid creating doorway pages. Keep the business name, address, and phone number in one source of truth in your code. Add accurate LocalBusiness structured data and tag the profile's website link for measurement.