How local search works
Two Ways People Find Local Businesses on Google
Search for a local business and Google can show a map with a handful of businesses near the top, then the ordinary website results underneath. Fixing the Google listing does not automatically fix the website, and getting the website ranking does not automatically put you on the map.
Google Maps
Your Google Business Profile is the starting point, so I look at the listing alongside everything else Google can find about the business.
Category, services, business information, opening hours, service area, photos and reviews all feed into it, and so does how far you are from the person searching.
I look at whoever is appearing above you as well, though there is little point copying a competitor's settings because they rank higher.
Organic Search Results
These are the ordinary website results underneath the map, and here your own pages do most of the work.
If you are a plumber chasing blocked drains, hot water systems and emergency callouts, one page called Plumbing Services is rarely the best answer. Sorting that out is most of what SEO for tradies turns out to be.
You can rank in the website results for towns you have no shopfront in. Doing the same in the map results is much harder, which is why the two need separate work.
What I Can Help With
The mix depends on the business. I don't run the same checklist for every client.
- Google Business Profile: the listing finished properly and built around the services you actually sell
- Service pages: a page for each thing you want work for, instead of one page covering everything
- Location pages: where you genuinely serve the place, and not otherwise
- Business information: your name, address and phone number agreeing wherever they appear online
- Reviews: a process for asking real customers, and answers to what they write
- Technical problems: whatever is stopping pages being crawled, indexed or loaded quickly, which is what an SEO audit is for
- Pages that already rank: improving what has visibility already, usually the quickest win on the list
- Competitor gaps: the searches where somebody else is picking up the visibility instead
- Reporting: where you rank, who arrived, and what changed
The map results
Why Google Ranks One Local Business Above Another
Google says local results are decided primarily by relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot move your business closer to the searcher, and prominence is not something to manufacture overnight. What is left is how clearly the business is represented and whether the information about you agrees wherever it appears.
| Relevance | does Google understand that your business is what the person is looking for? |
|---|---|
| Distance | how close you are to the searcher, or to the place they typed |
| Prominence | how established and well regarded the business appears to be |
Getting started
What Happens When We Start
We work out where you stand
I check the searches that matter, where you appear now, what the map results look like and what the businesses above you are doing.
We fix the obvious stuff
Technical problems, wrong business information, missing service pages and a half finished Google listing come first, where they are genuinely holding the business back.
We build from there
Once the basics are right, the work moves to wherever the best opportunity is, rather than polishing things that are already fine.
We keep an eye on the results
I track the searches and the local visibility that matter, so you can see whether any of it is moving. No 12 month contract to find that out.
Local SEO Shouldn't Mean Throwing Money at SEO Forever
For some businesses, a few important fixes make a noticeable difference.
For others, in more competitive markets, it takes longer and it takes ongoing work.
I'll tell you which one I think you're dealing with before you start. Local SEO starts at $199 a week, month to month.
See the pricingA real example
What Happened for a Northern Rivers Business
An equipment hire business in the Northern Rivers launched a new website on a new domain in August 2026, with no pages behind it and no search history at all. Inside three weeks it was on page one for the search that matters most to it, and it had moved into the top positions in the map results.
Questions
Local SEO FAQs
Ring me on 0418 291 227 if yours is not here.
What's the difference between local SEO and SEO?
Local SEO covers the searches where location is part of the decision, either because somebody types a place, such as plumber Byron Bay, or because Google already knows where they are. It takes in your Google Business Profile as well as the work on your website.
Can you help me if my business isn't in Byron Bay?
Yes. I'm based in Byron Bay, but your customers don't have to be. A business can sit here and sell across Australia, or cover half a dozen towns in the Northern Rivers. Where I am is why you can work with me directly. It is not a limit on where the work points.
Can I rank in a location where I don't have a physical address?
In the ordinary website results, yes, for places you genuinely serve. The map results are a different matter, because distance is a real part of how Google ranks them. Building a page for every town on the coast will not put you on the map in any of them.
Do I need a Google Business Profile?
If your business qualifies for one, it matters. Having the profile is not enough by itself. Your website and the information about your business elsewhere online carry the rest.
How long does local SEO take?
Some of it moves quickly, particularly where there are obvious problems to fix. Competitive organic searches take longer. I'll give you a realistic expectation once I've looked at the business and the searches you want to compete for, rather than a number picked to sound good.
How much does local SEO cost?
Local SEO starts at $199 a week, month to month. No setup fee and no minimum term.