Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile is one of the most important elements of local SEO.
You will learn how to create, claim and optimise a business profile and understand how the information it contains can influence the way a business appears across Google Search and Google Maps.
We look at important elements including business categories, contact information, opening hours, services, photographs and other profile information.
Reviews
Online reviews can influence both potential customers and a business's visibility in local search.
You will learn why the number, quality and recency of reviews matter, how businesses can legitimately encourage customers to leave reviews and why responding to reviews is an important part of managing your online reputation.
We also look at why genuine reviews are considerably more valuable than attempting to manipulate ratings.
Local Ranking Factors
Local search results aren't determined in exactly the same way as conventional organic search results.
You will learn about the principal factors Google uses when deciding which businesses to display for a local search, including relevance, distance and prominence.
Understanding these factors helps explain why two people searching for exactly the same service from different locations may see completely different results.
Service Area Businesses
Not every business operates from premises that customers visit.
Plumbers, electricians, builders, cleaners and many other businesses travel to their customers instead.
You will learn how Google handles service area businesses, how service areas should be configured and how businesses can target the locations they genuinely serve without creating misleading profiles or unnecessary location pages.
Citation Management
A local citation is an online reference to a business, typically including information such as its name, address and telephone number.
You will learn how citations help establish a business's presence online and why accurate and consistent information across important directories and other websites matters.
We also look at how to identify incorrect or outdated listings and why citation quality is generally more useful than simply appearing in as many directories as possible.
Local Landing Pages
Businesses serving several locations often need dedicated pages targeting individual towns, cities or areas.
You will learn how to create useful local landing pages that genuinely serve people searching within those locations.
We look at how to make each page relevant and distinctive rather than simply creating dozens of near-identical pages with the place name changed.
Why Local SEO Matters
For a local business, ranking nationally may be far less important than being visible to the right person in the right place at the right time.
Someone searching for a plumber, solicitor, restaurant, dentist or roofing company nearby is often looking for a business they can contact or visit immediately.
Google therefore uses location alongside relevance and prominence when deciding which businesses to display.
And local visibility isn't confined to traditional organic results. A business can appear through Google Maps, the local pack, its Google Business Profile and conventional search listings.
That makes local SEO particularly important for businesses whose customers are concentrated within specific geographical areas.
What You Should Be Able to Do After This Module
By the end of the Local SEO module, you should understand how Google determines which businesses appear in location-based searches and what can be done to improve local visibility.
You should be able to optimise a Google Business Profile, understand the importance of reviews and citations, recognise the main local ranking factors and plan appropriate landing pages for businesses serving multiple locations.
Most importantly, you should understand how to help a local business become more visible to potential customers in the areas it actually serves.