Local SEO · 14 August 2026 · 6 min

Local SEO that survives a sceptical Google profile

The map pack is won by consistency and proof, not by stuffing the city into every heading.

For any firm people visit — in Birmingham, Dubai, Toronto or Sydney — the Google Business Profile is a second homepage you do not fully control. Categories, reviews, photos and the questions block often decide the click before your website gets a chance.

One identity

The name, address and phone on the profile, the website footer and the major directories should match. Old suite numbers, a tracking number that was never registered, and a 'keyword | brand' title are how listings get suspended or ignored. We start by making the record boring and true.

Pages for places you actually serve

A location page needs something a swapped city name cannot fake: the people, the parking, the jobs you did there, the photos of that street. Service-area businesses should say so, and resist the temptation of a virtual office in every borough. Google has become openly hostile to that pattern, and customers were never fooled for long.

Reviews as an operation

Ask after a finished job, from the person who did the work or the desk that booked it. Reply like a human, including to the awkward ones. Never buy them, never gate them so only happy customers are invited, and never put words in a customer's mouth. Velocity you can explain is an asset. Velocity you cannot is a liability.

Track a small set of terms on a grid around the real premises, not a laptop in the office. Staff searches are not the market, and a ranking check from the wrong country is not a strategy.