Local search engine optimization is a marketing strategy for local businesses that has the potential to influence rankings in local search results, primarily on a search engine like Google.
By creating a Google Business Profile and adding your business to Google Maps, you can potentially increase the amount of traffic and conversions you receive from local keywords.
In this post, I cover what local SEO is, why it’s important and how to use it.
What is Local Search Engine Optimization?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving the structure, content and performance of a web page in hopes of increasing its ranking for certain keywords.
The ultimate goal of SEO is to rank on the first search engine results page (SERP) for your chosen keyword. At best, you’d rank in one of the top three positions, which receive the majority of clicks.
Local SEO is the same, except it specifically applies to what are called “local search results.”
If you type “italian restaurants” into Google, you’ll see local results for restaurants that are close to you under a heading labeled “Places.” They also show up in Google Maps.
You can also add a location to your search query, such as “italian restaurants near me” or “italian restaurants nyc.”
The top three results on a regular Google SERP are called the “local pack.”
You might also see localized search results, which are local search results that take the place of regular search results outside of the Places section.
These results, whether they’re localized or show up in the Places section, aren’t randomized. Google has an algorithm that determines the ranking of local search results.
Ranking factors include the number of positive reviews you have on Google, how often you receive reviews and how often you update your profile.
Local SEO helps you optimize your business to increase your chances of showing up in local search.
Here are a few examples of local SEO tactics:
- Managing and optimizing a Google Business Profile
- Claiming business listings on sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor
- Creating web pages marketed toward the area(s) you serve
- Having a strong review marketing strategy
Why is Local SEO Important?
Local SEO is only important if your business serves customers who live in the same location as you. This means you’re a “local business.”
If you are a local business, local SEO is very important for you.
According to a study by SOCi, businesses that show up in the local pack earn 126% more search traffic and receive 96% more interactions.
A survey conducted by ReviewTrackers revealed that 42% of millennials who search for local businesses will visit the business most of the time while around 30% reportedly visit half of the time.
Note: Millennials are between the ages of 30 and 45 in 2026. They’re the second generation who spends the most money (the first being Gen X), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And while it’s an old statistic from 2018, it’s still noteworthy: 46% of Google searches have local intent, according to an attendee at the Secrets of Local Search conference hosted by Google.
However, ReviewTrackers’ report revealed that 58% of businesses don’t optimize for local search, which means a lot of you don’t understand the value of local SEO.
These statistics prove that businesses who appear higher in local search earn more organic traffic, giving them a higher potential to earn more website conversions.
Furthermore, having more positive reviews and up to date business information on Google can earn you more foot traffic.
Local SEO helps you optimize your marketing strategy to help you appear in local search more often for keywords that are relevant to your business.
Why is Google So Important for Local SEO?
It’s simple: as long as Google is the world’s most popular search engine, Google will be the most important search engine for local SEO.
Google currently has an 89% market share in the search engine industry with the second largest share belonging to Bing at 4%, according to StatCounter.
Even in the United States, where Bing has a larger market share, Google still has a large majority share at 85%.
Google’s influence only grows when you sort the stats to only show mobile results, which shows that its global market share is 94%.
Plus, Google has invested a lot into local search between the Places section and Google Maps. It’s clear that local search is as important to Google as informational search is.
For local businesses, you’ll be glad to hear that local search is often far less affected by changes to Google’s algorithm than regular search is.
How Local SEO Works On Google
As I said, local search results show up in a few different places on Google:
- Places
- Google Maps
- Localized organic results
Google personalizes results for each user based on that user’s Google search history.
For example, if you visit Reddit a lot, you’re likely to see more results from Reddit on Google than other users.
Similarly, Google personalizes search results by location. If it suspects your search query has local intent, it’s going to display the Places section and show results for local businesses.
Each business on Google has a profile that’s either created by the business themselves or by Google.
You can create or claim a business profile on Google by creating a Google Business Profile account.
These are the elements of a business profile on Google:
- Main section – business name, average review score (and number of reviews), short description and featured images
- Call-to-action buttons*
- Website: URL you can set up to increase traffic to your website or Facebook page
- Directions: Creates a GPS path from the user’s current location to your business in Google Maps
- Call: Initiates a phone call to your business number from the user’s phone app
*Certain businesses might also have “Order online,” “Reserve a table” and “Book online.”
The next section is broken up into two subsections:
- Overview – Summary of your business, location description (plaza, mall, etc.), physical address, hours of operation, phone number and website
- Reviews – Customer reviews, which use a standard star rating system and usually have accompanying text and images/video
When a user is interested in purchasing something from a local business, they open Google and enter search terms related to it, such as “italian restaurants” or “bookstores near me.”
If Google detects the keyword has local intent, meaning the user entered it for the sole purpose of finding local businesses, it’ll display local results to the user in the ways I explained earlier: the Places section and localized search results.
The user will see a variety of different results that are filtered and sorted in the following ways:
- Relevancy – Google only shows results for businesses that relate to the user’s search query
- Proximity – Google does its best to show results that are closest to the user’s current location
- Ranking – After Google’s search engine bot filters the results you see by relevancy and location, it uses its algorithm to sort the remaining results by ranking. This is what local SEO helps with
Local SEO Ranking Factors
Relevancy and proximity hold a lot of weight when it comes to what shows up in local search results. But how does Google rank the rest of the results once it filters by these two factors?
Reviews are a major ranking factor for local search. Google wants to see positive reviews, and it wants you to receive those reviews on a consistent basis rather than here and there or all at once.
According to a statistic from Localo, which I reported in my article on statistics for Google Business Profile, businesses that rank in one of the top three positions in local search have around 240 Google reviews on average.
Google is also more likely to promote businesses that have complete profiles, including businesses who add website links to their profiles and keep the information up to date, especially operating hours.
Images help as well. According to Localo’s data, businesses that rank in one of the top three positions in local search have over 250 images added to their profiles on average.
Local SEO Tips for Google
Now that you know more about what local SEO is and how it works, at least on Google, you probably have a pretty good idea about how to optimize your business for it: by optimizing Google Business Profile.
According to Localo’s study, businesses that rank in one of the top three positions of local search have:
- Complete profiles
- More than 240 reviews
- More than 250 images added to their profiles
You can complete your profile on your own. Just be sure to choose appropriate categories for your business, and use local keywords throughout your profile.
Be sure to use your business category in your description as well.
Reviews and images are mostly generated by customers. You can add images yourself, but you’ll need your customers to add their own images in order to reach 250 naturally.
According to a statistic from BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review survey, the majority of customers choose not to leave a review for a business because they feel the experience they had with that business was not noteworthy enough.
Source: Online Review Statistics You Need to Know
This means the most effective way to receive more reviews and customer images on Google is by ensuring your customers have experiences that far surpass what they get from your competitors.
You can also ask for reviews. Use a plugin like Starfish Reviews to include asking for reviews in your marketing funnel.
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