Local SEO: how to get found in your own region

Local SEO comes down to four things: a complete Google Business Profile under your real name, reviews you ask every customer for, one strong page per service and per real location, and the same business details everywhere. Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence, and there is no way to buy a better position ^[1].

Whether you work with an SEO agency or do it yourself, the basics are set out in black and white in Google's guidelines. Many tips get them wrong, such as adding a keyword and a place name to your business name ^[2], while that is exactly what Google prohibits ^[3].

Get your Google Business Profile in order

Unnecessary information in your name can lead to your profile being suspended ^[3]. Calling yourself "Loodgieter Janssens Mechelen" (Plumber Janssens Mechelen) when your business is simply called Janssens puts your whole profile at risk, not just one position.

Also fill in your opening hours, including special hours on public holidays, and add photos of your premises and your work ^[1]. To manage your profile and reply to reviews, it has to be verified ^[5].

Ask for reviews, within the rules

Reviews count towards your prominence ^[1] and convince the customer who is still in doubt. Create a link or QR code from your profile to request reviews, and ask every customer at the moment the job is done ^[6]. Reply to negative reviews too: briefly, personally and professionally, without the reviewer's private information ^[7].

The Google Maps policy prohibits, among other things ^[8]:

• a reward in exchange for a review, such as a discount or a free product;
• discouraging negative reviews, or asking only satisfied customers for a review;
• reviews that stem from a conflict of interest, such as those from employees or family;
• posting content about a competitor to damage their reputation.

The European Omnibus Directive also prohibits traders from posting fake consumer reviews or having them posted. If you show reviews on your own site, state whether and how you check that they come from real customers ^[9].

Build one page per service and per real location

One page per service. The plumber who does drain unblocking, sanitary installations and heating needs three pages, not one page with everything. Which words your customers use for them, you find through keyword research.

A page per real location, not per municipality. Google calls dozens of near-identical city pages that funnel visitors to one page doorway abuse, and a block listing every municipality you want to rank in keyword stuffing ^[10]. If you have something specific to show for a municipality, such as projects or a dedicated offer, a page can work.

The same details everywhere. Keep your name, address and phone number identical on your site, your profile and the sites that mention you. With structured data of the LocalBusiness type you give Google your opening hours and other details, with name and address as required fields ^[11]. Google doesn't recommend adding review stars about your own business in that markup ^[11].

Bilingual: one profile, two languages on your site

In Brussels and along the language border, your customers search in two languages. Don't create a second profile in that case, and don't repeat your name in two languages. Google explicitly lists repeated bilingual names as not allowed, "even if it appears this way on physical storefront signage" ^[3].

The second language belongs on your website, with a French-language page per service and its own keywords, not a literal translation.

Measure what it delivers

1. Your profile's performance report shows searches, views, direction requests, calls and website clicks, among other things ^[12]. Those figures also include Google Ads, and Searches is only updated once a month ^[12].
2. A UTM code on your website link shows in Google Analytics which visits and enquiries come from your profile. How to build those codes consistently is explained by my colleague Cédric in UTM codes explained.
3. Search Console shows which searches your site appears for and gets clicks from ^[13]. Filter on a municipality or on "near me".

Where your site stands today is shown in the free SEO scan: technology, content, internal links and your visibility in Google and in AI answers. We only need your URL.

When Google Ads comes in

Local SEO mainly costs time. If you need enquiries sooner, add a local search campaign, with the location setting "Presence" if you only work in your own region ^[14]. How to set it up is covered in Google Ads for SMEs; what local SEO costs if you outsource it is in how much does SEO cost per month.

You can't buy distance: in a big city you won't win everywhere. Choose the neighbourhoods and municipalities where you actually work, and spend fifteen minutes a week on your profile and reviews rather than doing one big clean-up a year.