Local SEO 101: How to Grow Your Service Area Business Online

Did you know that according to The State of Local Marketing Research 2020 by Brandmuscle, "only 58% of partners have claimed their Google My Business Listing [now Google My Business Profile]"? They say, "Searches with local intent make up 46% of all Google inquiries and over 2 billion direct connections with local businesses." That's a lot of potential customers searching for businesses like yours! The SEO Tribunal says that "97% of people learn more about a local company via the internet."

You may be thinking, "Okay, self (no shame if you actually talk to yourself), how do I get found for these types of searches?" The bigger question is, are you ready to take the plunge into the world of local SEO? Maybe you've just started your business or realized your existing one isn't showing up well online. Or perhaps you've taken on a new role at a local service business that's been struggling because no one on the team has experience with digital marketing, and now they're counting on you to save the day.

Don't panic! This article is here to throw you a lifeline by answering some of the most common questions service area business owners have when searching the web. I'll guide you through the key concepts step-by-step so you can confidently navigate local search for your service area business. So, put on your floaties, and let's jump in!

1. What Is Local SEO and Why Does It Matter for Service Area Businesses?

Local search engine optimization (local SEO) encompasses a variety of strategies to help businesses be more visible online to potential customers in their service areas.

For service area businesses, local SEO is like waving a flag to your community that says, “We’re here to help!” In the physical world, you take all kinds of steps to reach customers, like wrapping your vehicles, seeking referrals from happy clients, and training your team to deliver excellent service on every job. You do all this to attract business and build a stellar local reputation.

Local SEO lets you accomplish these same goals online. It empowers you to create a digital representation of your business that broadcasts your service area, offerings, reputation, expertise, and commitment to customer care.

When executed effectively, local SEO convinces search engines like Google that your business deserves to be prominently featured to nearby consumers looking for the services you provide.

Google considers several key factors to determine the local relevance of a business:

• Category Selection: Choosing a primary category that best represents the business and being specific helps Google match the business to relevant searches.
• Attribute Selection: Highlighting specific services or amenities customers search for with attributes like "free delivery" boosts relevance.
• Keyword Usage: Incorporating relevant local keywords in the business website's titles, headings, and content helps Google assess relevance to local searches.
• Local Content: Website content that mentions the city name, local neighborhoods, events, or landmarks reinforces local relevance in Google's eyes..
• On-Page Signals: Using local keywords in title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt text sends relevance signals.
• Listing Completeness: Having complete and accurate business information in Google Business Profile makes it easier for Google to match the business to relevant searches.

(Sources: Uberall and Indispensable Marketing)  

2. How Can Service Area Businesses Tell if They Need Local SEO?

So, what guidelines determine whether investing in local SEO is the right move for your particular service area business?

Suppose your business serves customers in specific neighborhoods, cities, or regions, and you need to be found by people searching online in those areas. In that case, local SEO is a must to maximize your customer base and profitability. 

However, qualifying for a full local SEO campaign depends on:

• The specific structure of your service area business
• Google’s policies regarding how your business type can utilize their local platforms

Take these steps to uncover your local search opportunities:

Identify Your Business Model

Google recognizes several distinct business structures for local SEO:

• Service Area Business (SAB) that visits customers at their locations
• Brick-and-mortar business customers can visit, like a retail shop
• Hybrid business, like a restaurant that offers sit-down dining and delivery
• Home-based businesses open to the public, like an in-home daycare
• Mobile businesses operating from a vehicle, like a food truck
• Other less common models

Determine which category best aligns with how your service area business operates.

Study Google’s Guidelines Related to Your Model

Invest a few minutes to read through Google’s Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google, paying special attention to the rules that specifically pertain to the structure you’ve identified for your business.

These crucial guidelines spell out exactly what you can do. They can’t do to market your service area business on Google’s platforms. Violating Google’s policies can lead to suspensions and removal of your information from their system - a catastrophic outcome to avoid.

In case you're curious about the heavy emphasis on Google, it's because their platforms dominate where local businesses are listed online and where consumers go to find local services. According to the BrightLocal 2023 Local Consumer Review Survey, “87% of consumers used Google to evaluate local businesses in 2022, up from 81% in 2021.” Google accounts for around ninety percent of the search market share, putting them at the heart of your local SEO efforts. While a holistic local SEO strategy involves much more than just Google, they undeniably set the tone for how local businesses should approach online visibility.

To recap, before we move on if getting found online by local customers is a priority, if your business serves people face-to-face in your service area, and your model is among those Google supports, then both needing and being eligible for local SEO is a slam dunk.

3. What Does the Local SEO Process Involve for Service Area Businesses?

Your next step is grasping exactly what it entails. Let’s break down the core components of local search optimization and unpack a starter checklist of tactics.

Understanding the Local Search Ecosystem

Google is a search engine - a sophisticated “answer machine” built to discover, interpret, and organize online information in order to deliver the most relevant answers to searchers’ queries. Search Engine Roundtable says that “46% of all searches in Google have ‘local intent.’ ”

To power local search results, Google collects data about service area businesses from various sources like:

• Google Business Profile listings you create and verify for your business.
• Your company’s website.
• Other reputable websites that reference businesses like yours or link to you.
• Public input Google receives about your business in the form of reviews, user-suggested listing edits, and more.
• Possible partnerships with additional business data providers and indexes.

Your Google Business Profile is information you directly provide to Google. Still, they also actively “crawl” the web for other mentions of your business, then store and organize everything they find into a local search index. A 2019 Bright Local research study states that “the average business receives 1,009 customer searches each month, with 84% of these coming from discovery searches, and the remaining 16% from direct.” When Google deems a search query to have local intent, it taps into this index and uses complex, proprietary algorithms to determine which businesses to display.

(Image Source: Bright Local)

As a service area business owner, one of your chief local SEO goals is demonstrating to Google that you deserve to be prominently featured when people search for terms relevant to your services in the areas you serve. A November 2021 research by Reviewtrackers found that “42% of millennials who perform a local search will visit the business most of the time.” Now, if they are likely to visit a brick-and-mortar, then chances are they will very likely reach out to your service area business as well. 

(Image Source: Reviewtrackers)

If your local SEO efforts succeed in proving your relevance to Google, you can appear in several valuable placements, including:

Local search results are often referred to as:

• Google Local Packs
• Google Business Profiles
• Google Local Finders
• Google Maps
• Localized organic results

Scoring high visibility in these local results translates to grabbing the attention of potential customers precisely when they're searching for the services you offer. Marketix Digital says, "92% of searchers will choose businesses on the first page of local search results.” 

Executing Local SEO for Service Area Businesses

So, what specific tasks go into local SEO? While the possibilities are vast, a basic starter kit for service area businesses will usually consist of these four components:

1. A Customer-Centric Business

Begin with an in-demand service that fills a real need in your local market and prioritizes delivering amazing customer experiences at every touchpoint.

2. A Google Business Profile Listing

Proactively create and verify a Google Business Profile for your service area business. Fill out as many fields as possible, add engaging photos, select applicable service area zones, and keep your listing updated as your information changes.

Pro Tips

The applicable service area zones you can specify on your Google Business Profile are cities, counties, zip codes, or the overall metro area - but they must be consistent zones within one metro region, up to a maximum of 20 zones listed. Properly setting these is crucial for service area businesses to show up in local search results for their target areas. In other words, don’t try to set your area to an entire state or the continental US.

Fill out as many fields as possible, add engaging photos, select applicable service area zones, and keep your listing updated as your information changes. “Businesses with more than 100 photos on Google My Business [Google Business Profile] get 520% more calls and 2717% more direction requests.” (Source: Marketix Digital)

According to Google, “Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if they find a complete Business Profile on Google Search and Maps.” They say, “Customers are 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with a complete Business Profile.”

3. A Well-Optimized Website

Build a user-friendly website that communicates who you are, where you serve, and what problems you solve for customers. HubSpot states, "61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site.” And Marketix Digital states that “60% of local searches on mobile devices result in a conversion within one hour.”

Pro Tip

Follow these best practices for integrating local keywords:

• Optimize title tags, headings, body content, and image alt text with location-based keywords.
• Create dedicated city/neighborhood pages (geographical landing pages), local service pages, and area guides targeting specific locales.
• Combine geo-modifiers like city and neighborhood names with niche service keywords (e.g., "Asheville emergency plumbing")
• Monitor and refine your local keyword usage over time based on performance data.

4. A Steady Stream of Customer Reviews

Consistently earn and respond to reviews on your Google Business Profile and other popular platforms where customers provide feedback about your services. BrightLocal report says that “79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family.” Make review generation an integral part of your process.

5. In-Depth Competitor Research

Routinely audit your top competitors to reverse-engineer why they’re outranking you for valuable search terms. Identify gaps and opportunities to emulate their strengths and gain ground.

6. Local Link Building and Citations

Earn links and mentions (aka “citations”) from trusted local and industry websites when they mention your company online, increasing your service area business' authority in Google's eyes.

Pay attention to Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) consistency across all citations:

• Ensure your business NAP is exactly the same on every platform
• Inconsistent NAP information can undermine your local rankings and confuse customers

7. Ongoing Education

Attend local search conferences, follow local SEO blogs, and connect with local search communities to stay current on new developments in the dynamic, ever-evolving world of local SEO.

8. Rigorous Tracking

Analyze your local search performance using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and local rank trackers to understand what's working and what to tweak. Monitor clicks to call, direction requests, website visits, and form fills stemming from your local SEO efforts.

Influencing Local Search Rankings

You may wonder how anyone can decipher Google’s secret algorithms to improve local search rankings. Decades of observations, testing by marketers, and leaks have allowed us to form some well-supported theories about the factors that most impact local search visibility.

Consider the example of Bug Off Pest Control, a pest control company in Charlotte, North Carolina, that wants to rank for “eco-friendly pest control” in their service area. Their website barely mentions this service, so they created a new page describing their natural pest control offerings and highlighting “Eco-Friendly Pest Control” in the page’s title tag, headings, and body content. A month later, both their organic and local pack rankings climb for relevant queries, and they see an uptick in leads coming from online searches.

This is local SEO in action - experiments like this have enabled us to distill Google’s local search algorithm into three core components:

• Proximity: How close a searcher is to a business
• Relevance: How well a business matches the searcher’s intent
• Prominence: A business’ overall online authority based on factors like links, citations, and reviews

In practice, if a Charlotte searcher looks for “eco-friendly pest control,” and Google finds Bug Off Pest Control’s highly relevant page, determines they serve the searcher’s location, and sees many other trusted websites mentioning their eco-friendly approach, that business has an excellent shot at ranking well.

While hundreds of mysterious factors drive Google’s algorithms, you can hang your hat on the proven concepts of making your service area business as relevant and prominent as possible to your local market. From there, Google will take care of the proximity piece by ranking you accordingly for searches coming from within your designated service zones.

4. What Can Service Area Businesses Gain From Local SEO?

The benefits of investing in local search optimization are impressive for service area businesses. While increasing profits by reaching more local customers is the ultimate aim, the perks go far beyond that, including:

• Expanded brand awareness in your community
• Increased phone calls, quote requests, and booked jobs from search.
• More high-quality leads and referrals
• Improved user experience and engagement with your online presence
• Greater trust and credibility with potential customers.
• Opportunities to showcase your expertise and customer service
• Important insights about your local market
• A stronger reputation that compounds over time
• Increased efficiency in your customer acquisition process
• Heightened competitiveness with other businesses in your service areas
• More revenue and ability to grow your team and fleet
• Clearer return on investment from your marketing spend
• Amplified word-of-mouth buzz and ability to impact your community

How much impact you can expect from local SEO depends on:

1. The depth of your investment in terms of time, budget, and strategic effort
2. How does your investment measure up to your top competitors’ local SEO commitment
3. The realistic customer volume your service area population can support

Imagine for a moment these two fictional companies, Impact Mechanical, a brand new HVAC company with a bare-bones website in North Wilkesboro, NC, may see dramatic ranking improvements and lead volume from a moderate local SEO spend. In contrast, a large, established pest control company, like Guardian Pest Services in the Raleigh-Durham area, will likely need a more aggressive strategy and budget to gain substantial local search share against entrenched rivals.

5. How “Local” Is Local SEO for Service Area Businesses?

Many business owners want to know, if they invest in local SEO, how wide of a customer radius they can expect to reach in local search results. Will they show up only for searchers on the same street as their office, for the entire city, neighboring cities, or even statewide?

The answer depends on Google’s interpretation of searcher intent and the competition level for a query. For example, a search for “plumber” in Raleigh yields very localized results clustered in a small radius:

However, a search for a more specialized service like “24 hour emergency plumbing” in the same area surfaces results distributed across a larger geography:

Meanwhile, searching for “water heater installation” with the location set to the entire state of North Carolina generates service area businesses scattered across a larger regional map:

This demonstrates that queries suggesting an urgent or nearby service need tend to yield a tighter local pack radius. In contrast, searches for less time-sensitive or more niche services often return wider-spread results, especially in less densely populated markets.

It's crucial to note these are general patterns only. Google's local search ecosystem is dizzyingly complex, with organic results often behaving differently than local pack results, desktop results differing from mobile, and Google's local interfaces (Search, Maps, Local Finder) displaying inconsistent data. A 2022 Local SEO Statistics and Trends Report by Review Trackers states, “57% of local search queries are submitted using a mobile device or tablet.” In addition, Google heavily personalizes results based on each searcher's unique location, search history, and activity, and it becomes clear that there is no universally "set" local search radius.

(Image Source: ReviewTrackers)

Suppose you're a service area business looking to cast a wider net in local search. In that case, your best approach is to think beyond your physical location and to frame your website and Google Business Profile around the broadest relevant service areas you serve. However, avoid the common mistake of trying to cover an area that is too broad. Instead, focus on dominating a realistic service radius before expanding further.

6. How Can Service Area Businesses Track Local Search Rankings?

Understanding where you stand in local search results is critical to evaluating your local SEO progress. However, as we covered above, local rankings are highly variable and personalized to each searcher based on factors like:

• The searcher’s precise physical location
• The exact phrasing of their search query
• The searcher’s previous search history and behavior
• The device they’re searching on (desktop vs. mobile)
• The time of day they’re searching
• The competitive landscape for the specific query

All this variability means it’s misguided to think of being “#1” for a search term because rankings fluctuate constantly. Instead, aim to get a general sense of how visible your service area business is for your priority search keywords across your target geographic markets.

One rudimentary way to gauge this is to search for your core terms from different devices at various locations around your service area, making note of where you show up. However, manually searching from a few spots only gives you a tiny glimpse of the full picture.

For more robust insights, options include:

• Using free tools like the GS Location Changer Chrome extension or Firefox add-on to check local rankings from assorted geographic vantage points
• Investing in paid local rank tracker tools designed specifically for service area businesses, such as Whitespark, BrightLocal, or LocalFalcon

While no tool is perfect, they can help you monitor your local search visibility more efficiently than one-off manual checks. The key is committing to a consistent tracking process to measure your local SEO progress over time.

However, remember that rankings are a means to an end. Earning customers is your ultimate goal as a local service area business. Put more energy into analyzing real-world results, like phone calls, contact form submissions, booked appointments, and monthly revenue. A #1 ranking means little if it's not helping you grow your bottom line.

Conclusion

Wow, we've covered a lot of ground in this local SEO adventure! Let's take a moment to catch our breath and reflect on the key takeaways:

• Local SEO is essential for service area businesses to get found by potential customers searching online for their services in specific locations.
• To determine if you need local SEO, consider your business model, target audience, and Google's guidelines for representing your business online.
• The local SEO process involves optimizing your Google Business Profile, website, and online presence to demonstrate relevance, prominence, and proximity to your target customers.
• Investing in local SEO can increase brand awareness, generate more high-quality leads, improve customer engagement, and, ultimately, increase profits for your service area business.
• The "local" in local SEO depends on factors like searcher intent, competition, and Google's interpretation of relevance, but focusing on your core service areas is a smart strategy.
• Tracking your local search rankings and performance is crucial. Don't forget that the ultimate goal is to convert those online searchers into real-life customers.

TL;DR; Local SEO is a must-have for service area businesses looking to attract more customers from online searches. By optimizing your Google Business Profile, website, and online presence, you can improve your local search visibility, engagement, and, ultimately, your bottom line. Focus on your core service areas, track your performance, and always prioritize converting online searchers into actual customers.

Ready to take your local SEO to the next level and dominate your service area? As a local SEO specialist, I'm here to help! Contact me today to schedule a FREE consultation and learn how I can help you create a custom local SEO strategy that drives results for your business. Don't let your competitors swim circles around you – let's work together to make a splash in your local market!