What is local SEO?

The map pack is the prize

For most local searches, Google shows a map with three businesses above the organic results. That block takes the majority of the attention and most of the calls.

Being fourth in that list means being invisible unless someone expands it, which most people do not.

Relevance, distance, prominence

Google describes local ranking in terms of three factors. Relevance is how well your Business Profile matches what was searched. Distance is how far you are from the searcher. Prominence is how well known your business appears to be.

Distance you cannot change. Relevance you control almost entirely, through categories, services and profile completeness. Prominence is built slowly through reviews, mentions and links.

Most local SEO effort should go into relevance first, because it is the fastest to move and the most commonly neglected.

Your profile matters more than your website

This is the part businesses find hardest to accept. For local search, the Business Profile usually does more work than the site. Category selection alone moves rankings more than most on-page changes.

The website still matters. It supports the profile and it wins the organic results below the map. But if your map visibility is poor, the profile is where to start.

Results vary by street

Local rankings change with the searcher's position. Checking from your office tells you almost nothing, because you are standing at the centre of your own service area.

Any serious local ranking check samples multiple points across the area you actually serve.