Local SEO for SMEs: getting found in your region

What is local SEO and how does it differ from regular SEO?

Local SEO is the optimisation of your online presence for geographically bound searches, such as 'plumber Utrecht' or 'accountancy firm Maastricht'. The difference from regular SEO is that Google weighs the location of the searcher and the business in addition to relevance and quality. The result is the Local Pack: the map block with three businesses that Google shows above ordinary search results. Research shows that 76% of people who search locally on their smartphone visit that business within 24 hours (Google Consumer Insights). For SMEs that depend on local customers, the Local Pack is therefore a direct revenue source.

Pillar 1: Google Business Profile (GBP)

Google Business Profile is the foundation of local SEO. A complete and verified GBP profile significantly increases the chance of appearing in the Local Pack and Google Maps. Ensure at minimum: your exact business name, category (as specific as possible, e.g. 'Web design agency' rather than 'IT company'), address or service area, phone number, website, opening hours, description (answer-first, 750 characters) and three or more photos (logo + cover photo + atmosphere images). Respond to all reviews within 24 to 48 hours. Publish a Google Post monthly to keep your profile active. See the article Setting up Google Business Profile: step by step for a detailed guide.

Pillar 2: NAP consistency

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. Google uses the agreement of your NAP data across different platforms as a trust signal. If your business appears on one website as 'Delahaye Solutions' and on another as 'Delahaye Solutions B.V.', or if the phone number format differs (+31 6 vs. 06), Google interprets this as inconsistency. Inconsistent NAP weakens your local ranking. Check and correct your NAP on your website (footer and contact page), Google Business Profile, Chamber of Commerce listing, social media and all directories where you appear. Use exactly the same spelling, including capitalisation and abbreviations.

Pillar 3: Local citations and directories

A local citation is any online mention of your NAP data, even without a clickable link. The more authoritative platforms that correctly list your details, the stronger the trust signal to Google. Prioritise the following platforms (check for current availability):

• Bing Places for Business: crucial for ChatGPT visibility, as ChatGPT web search indexes via the Bing search network.
• Apple Maps: for iPhone users with Siri or Maps navigation.
• Yelp, TripAdvisor: depending on industry.
• Industry-specific directories: e.g. Thuiswinkel.org (webshops), Independer.nl (insurance, finance), Zocdoc/Zorgkaart (healthcare).
• Local news sites and blogs: a mention in a regional news article with NAP is both a citation and a backlink.

Reviews: quantity and quality as a ranking signal

Reviews are one of the three main factors for the Local Pack (alongside relevance and distance). Google weighs the total number of reviews, the average score and recency. A profile with fifty reviews averaging 4.5 typically ranks higher than a profile with five reviews averaging 5.0. Proactively ask for a review after each project via the direct GBP link (found in business.google.com under 'Get more reviews'). Respond to all reviews, including negative ones: responses show Google that your profile is actively managed. Never buy reviews or incentivise them with discounts, as Google detects and removes fake reviews and can suspend your profile.

Local SEO on your website: schema and location signals

In addition to off-site signals (GBP, citations, reviews), on-site factors also play a role. Add LocalBusiness schema (schema.org/LocalBusiness) to your website code with your exact business name, address, phone number, opening hours and URL. Ensure your footer and contact page contain your NAP in the same spelling as your GBP. Include the city or region name in your page titles and H1 headings where relevant ('Web design agency in Maastricht — Delahaye Solutions'). Create separate service pages per region if you serve multiple areas. Internal linking to your contact page strengthens the discoverability of your location signals.

Local SEO and AI search engines (ChatGPT, AI Overviews)

ChatGPT uses the Bing search network for web search. Therefore, also claim and verify a Bing Places for Business profile. Perplexity and Google AI Overviews crawl regular web pages and extract entity-rich, answer-first passages. Ensure your contact page and service pages contain a clear sentence such as: 'Delahaye Solutions is a web design agency in Voerendaal (Limburg), reachable at hallo@delahayesolutions.com.' That is the exact snippet form that AI engines cite. See also the article Getting found in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews for an in-depth approach.