The short version
Local search has two halves. The listings half is your Google Business Profile, your reviews, the directories you appear in and how you answer when someone gets in touch. The website half is the pages that answer what people in your towns search for and ask AI assistants.
- 1Set up your Business Profile properly. Real name, the most specific category, your services, your areas, current hours.
- 2Ask every customer for a review. With your direct link, soon after the job, and reply to each one.
- 3Make your details match everywhere. Same name, address and phone on Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp and your trade's directories.
- 4Catch every enquiry. A tappable number, a clear way to get a quote, and a reply the same day.
Short on time? Do the category check in step 1. It takes one search, and it shows whether your profile sits in the same category as the businesses at the top of the map.
The website half you can hand off. The last section shows an agent that publishes an article about your work, in your towns, to your site every day.
Set up your Google Business Profile properly
What it covers
The listing that shows on Google Maps and in the map results when someone searches for what you do near them.
Why it matters
For a search like “plumber in [your town]”, the map results often sit above everything else. Your profile is what people see and tap there, often before they ever reach your website.
Do it by hand
- 1Claim and verify it at business.google.com. Search for your business name first: if a profile already exists, request access to it rather than making a second one.
- 2Use your real business name, exactly as it appears on your sign, van and invoices. Google's guidelines don't allow extra keywords or town names in the name, and adding them can get a profile suspended.
- 3Pick the most specific primary category. “Plumber”, not “Contractor”. Then add secondary categories for the other work you actually do.
- 4Set your address or your service area. If customers come to you, show your address. If you go to them and don't serve customers at your address, Google asks you to hide it and list the towns or postcodes you cover instead.
- 5List every service and write a plain description: what you do, who for and where. This is where your services and towns belong, not in the name.
- 6Keep hours current, including holiday hours. A customer who drives over to find you shut won't try again.
- 7Add real photos of your work, your team, your vehicles or your premises. No stock photos.
- 8Link your website, and tag the link so visits from your profile show up on their own in Google Analytics.
Free tool: UTM Builder to tag your profile's website link, so you can see how many visits it sends.
The category check
Open Google Maps and search [your service] in [your town]. Open the top three businesses. Each one's category is shown just under its name. If theirs is more specific than yours, or describes your main work better, change your primary category to match what you actually do.
Ask every customer for a review
What it covers
The star rating and written reviews on your Business Profile, and your replies to them.
Why it matters
Reviews are what people read when choosing between the three businesses in front of them. A recent, honest review answers “are they any good?” better than anything you can say about yourself.
Do it by hand
- 1Get your review link. In your Business Profile, choose the option to ask for reviews and copy the short link Google gives you. It opens straight onto the review box.
- 2Ask every customer, soon after the job, while it's fresh. A text works best for most trades. Keep it to one line and the link.
- 3Reply to every review, good and bad. Thank people by name and mention the job. For a bad one, stay calm, don't argue in public, and offer to sort it out directly.
- 4Save the message as a text shortcut or template, so asking takes seconds after each job.
Hi [name], thanks for choosing [your business] for [the job]. If you have a minute, a short Google review would really help us: [your review link] Thanks, [your name]
Hi [name], thanks for taking the time to write this. I'm sorry [the problem] happened. That's not the standard we aim for. I'd like to put it right: please call me on [number] or reply to [email], and I'll sort it out personally. [your name], [your business]
Make your details match everywhere
What it covers
Your business on the other sites that list local businesses: maps apps, review sites, social pages and the directories for your trade.
Why it matters
Not everyone uses Google. Apple Maps is the default on iPhones, and plenty of people check Yelp or a trade directory first. When your name, address and phone match everywhere, whoever finds you gets the right number.
Do it by hand
- 1Write your details once in a note: exact business name, address (or service area), phone number and website. Copy and paste from it every time, never retype.
- 2Start with the big four in the table below.
- 3Then the directories for your trade: your trade association, the sites your customers actually use to find someone like you, and your local chamber of commerce or business group.
- 4Hunt down old listings. Search your business name with an old phone number or old address. Claim and correct what you find, or ask the site to remove it.
- 5Keep a simple sheet: site, login, date last checked. When your details change, you'll know every place to update.
| Where | Why it's worth it | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Bing Places | Bing's maps and local results. | It can import your Google Business Profile, so setup is quick. |
| Apple Business Connect | Apple Maps, the default maps app on iPhone. | Claim your place card and check the category and hours. |
| Yelp | A review site many customers check before they call. | Claim the listing even if you never ask for reviews there. |
| Facebook page | Where locals ask friends for recommendations. | Use the same name, phone and hours as your Google profile. |
Catch every enquiry
What it covers
What happens when someone finds you and tries to get in touch: the call, the quote request, the booking.
Why it matters
Every step above ends here. A missed call or a quote form nobody answers sends the job to the next business on the list.
Do it by hand
- 1Make your number tappable on every page of your site, so someone on a phone can call in one tap. Use the same number as on your profile.
- 2Give a clear next step on every page: a “Get a quote” button, a short form or a booking link. If you use a booking tool, add its link to your Business Profile too.
- 3Answer new enquiries the same day. If you can't pick up during a job, leave a voicemail greeting that says when you'll call back, and call back.
- 4Track where the work comes from. Your Business Profile's performance report shows the calls, website clicks and direction requests it sent. Ask every new customer “how did you find us?” and write the answer down.
The other half
Your website, handled by your agent.
The four jobs above settle down once they're set up. The website half never does: there is always another service and town people search for, another question to answer, another check on where you rank. Done by hand, that's a job for every week.
SEOLadders is an SEO agent for your website. You tell it the areas you cover; it researches what people search in those towns, publishes an article to your site every day, and tracks whether Google and AI assistants name you.
What it does on your website
| Job | What your agent does |
|---|---|
| Local research | Research runs on search data for your towns, not national numbers no local firm can win. It builds topic clusters around your services. |
| Articles, every day | Articles that answer what your customers ask, naming your business and where you work, with business markup that lists your areas. They publish on their own once your site is connected (WordPress, Ghost, Notion, Webflow, Framer, Shopify, Wix or webhook), or switch on Review mode to approve each one. |
| Google rankings | Where you rank on Google, tracked. |
| Google Maps | Once you confirm your listing, it checks every week where you show on Google Maps for your services, from each town you serve, and who sits above you. It tracks your rating and review count and drafts a reply to each new review for you to post. It never changes your profile. |
| AI answers | Questions like “who is a good plumber near me?”, with your towns in them, put to six AI engines and rechecked throughout the week, showing whether you come up or a competitor does. |
| Link targets | It finds the best-of lists and the pages AI cites when locals ask, finds a contact and drafts the pitch. You send it. We never send email for you. |
| Site check | A weekly check of the site itself, with a list of what to fix. |
What it leaves alone
Everything in steps 1 to 4. It tracks where your listing shows on Google Maps, how your rating and reviews move, and drafts replies to new reviews, so you can see whether your side is paying off. But your Business Profile, reviews, directory listings and calls stay with you. It never changes or posts anything there, and we'd rather say so here than have you find out later.
Tell it your towns when you sign up, and it starts on the website half.
More on how it works for local businesses: SEO for local businesses
Straight answers
Can SEOLadders manage my Google Business Profile or reviews?+
No. It works on your website: the research, the articles, your rankings and what AI assistants say about you. It also tracks where your listing shows on Google Maps and drafts replies to new reviews, but it never changes your Business Profile or posts anything. Managing the profile, reviews and directory listings stays with you.
Should I add my town or service to my business name on Google?+
No. Google's guidelines ask for your real-world business name, the one on your sign, van and paperwork. Adding keywords or place names to it breaks those guidelines and can get a profile suspended. Put your services and areas in the categories, services and description instead.
I work at customers' homes. Should my address show on my profile?+
If you don't serve customers at your address, Google asks you to hide it and set a service area instead: the towns, cities or postcodes you cover. If customers do come to you, show the address.
How many reviews do I need?+
There is no number that guarantees anything. What helps people choose is a steady flow of recent, honest reviews with replies from you. Ask every customer, not just the happy ones, and never offer anything in return.
Do I need a website if I have a Business Profile?+
You can appear on Google Maps with a profile alone. A website is where you answer what a profile can't: each service in detail, the questions customers ask before they call, the towns you cover. It's also the half SEOLadders works on.
I cover several towns. Does the agent handle that?+
Yes. You enter the areas you serve when you sign up and can change them any time. Its research and articles cover them, and the questions it puts to AI assistants include your towns.
Prefer to do the website half by hand too? See all free tools