Google ranks local results on 3 things, relevance, distance and prominence, and you can influence 2 of them. You cannot move your premises, so local SEO comes down to a complete Google Business Profile, a website that names the places you actually serve, identical details across directories, and a steady flow of genuine reviews. Here is the order we work in.
Last reviewed 14 October 2026.
How does Google decide which local businesses to show?
3 factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Google’s own help page, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, defines each one, and says plainly that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
| Factor | What Google means by it | Can you change it? | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well your profile matches what someone searched for | Yes | Pick the most specific category, describe every service, fill in attributes |
| Distance | How far your business is from the person searching | No | Set an honest service area; a fake address breaks Google’s rules |
| Prominence | How well known your business is, including links and reviews | Yes | Earn reviews, reply to them, get listed and linked from local and trade sites |
How do I set up my Google Business Profile properly?
7 jobs, in this order, and none of them costs money. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results, and that verifying tells Google you are authorised to represent the business.
- Claim and verify the profile
- Business name exactly as it appears on your signage and invoices
- Address, or a service area if customers never visit you
- Phone number, website and opening hours, including holiday hours
- The most specific primary category available, not a broad one
- Real photos of your work, premises and team
- A reply to every review, positive or negative
Where should local keywords go on my website?
3 places: the page title, the main heading, and the first 2 sentences of the page that sells that service. Write them the way a customer would say them, for example:
- “Electrician in Bromley, fixed-price quotes”
- “Affordable website design for Manchester businesses”
- “Wedding photographer covering Lancashire and the Lake District”
If you cover several areas, give a dedicated page only to the ones that genuinely bring you work, and write each one about that place. Pages that swap the town name and repeat everything else do not rank.
Which directories should a UK business be listed in?
5 to start with, before any trade directory: Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Yell and Yelp. Your business name, address and phone number (NAP) should be identical on every one.
- Google Business Profile, for Google Search and Maps
- Bing Places, for Bing search and Bing Maps
- Apple Business Connect, where Apple invites you to claim your location on Maps
- Yell.com
- Yelp
- Then your trade body’s member search and any local business directories that are actually used in your area
Do Google reviews affect local rankings?
Yes. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, and that replying shows customers you value their feedback. Ask happy customers straight after the job and send a direct link to your review page.
Never buy or fake them. Under paragraph 13 of Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, submitting or commissioning a fake consumer review, posting an incentivised review that hides the incentive, and publishing reviews in a misleading way are all banned practices.
Can I pay Google to rank higher in the local map results?
No. Google’s help page says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Anyone selling a guaranteed map pack position is selling something Google says does not exist.
Do I need local schema markup?
Yes, though it will not rank you on its own. It is a small block of code that tells search engines your business name, address or service area, phone, hours and what you do, in a format they read directly. It removes guesswork, and AI answer engines lean on structured data when they summarise local businesses. We add LocalBusiness schema to every site we build.
How much does local SEO cost?
£299 a month for our SEO Foundation plan, which covers Google Business Profile, local SEO and schema. The profile itself is free, so if budget is tight, do the 7 jobs above yourself first, or ask us to audit your local presence.
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