Published by Jet Leads | March 2025
If your business relies on local customers—think tradies, salons, clinics, or legal offices—then local SEO is your secret weapon. With Google's ongoing push toward helpful, localised results, this playbook helps you show up right when potential clients are searching.
Google is rewarding businesses that help searchers solve problems where they are. That means your suburb, city, or region has its own search battlefield—and this guide gives you the map.
Click through the stages to see how Google's local search has evolved.
In 2025, Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the most important factor for local visibility. Businesses with complete profiles get up to 7x more clicks than those with incomplete information.
More than 85% of consumers use Google to find local businesses, and most of these searches lead to a visit or purchase within 24 hours.
The quality, quantity, and recency of reviews directly impacts your local rankings. Businesses with 4+ star ratings receive almost 2x the conversions of those with lower ratings.
Google's algorithm now considers how businesses respond to reviews as a trust signal. Prompt, professional responses improve visibility.
Google now rewards businesses that create content specific to their exact service areas. "Near me" searches have grown over 300% in the past few years, with Google interpreting search intent locally even without location terms.
Creating specific landing pages for each suburb or district you serve has become essential for multi-location visibility.
Over 60% of local searches now happen on mobile devices, and voice search continues to grow. Optimizing for conversational queries and ensuring mobile responsiveness is critical.
Local businesses need to focus on fast loading times, clear directions, and quick contact options for the on-the-go searcher.
Local SEO now encompasses these essential components:
Your digital shopfront. Complete every field with accuracy, add photos, optimize descriptions, and enable customer interactions.
Your business name, address, and phone number must be identical across all online listings to avoid confusing Google and customers.
Target location-specific terms like "[Service] in [City]" naturally in your content and create dedicated pages for each service area.
Ask happy clients for reviews, respond professionally to all feedback, and build a positive online reputation that influences rankings.
Blog about local events, highlight customer success stories, and use schema markup to enhance your local visibility.
How well is your business optimized for local search? Answer these questions to receive a personalized assessment and recommendations.
Use these interactive tools to enhance your local search visibility.
Your Google Business Profile should include:
Photos and videos increase engagement by over 35%:
Enable and utilize all available features:
Follow this process to consistently gather positive reviews:
Create a simple follow-up survey after service completion. Customers who rate you 4 or 5 stars are prime candidates for review requests.
Request reviews while the experience is fresh—typically within 24-48 hours of service completion or at the point of highest satisfaction.
Send a direct link to your Google review form via text or email. QR codes on receipts or in-store cards also work well.
Thank reviewers personally within 24 hours. Address any concerns in negative reviews professionally and offer solutions.
Schema markup helps search engines understand your business data better. Select your business type to see recommended schema:
Basic schema for all local businesses, including name, address, phone, hours, and price range.
View Sample CodeFor service-based businesses to highlight specific services, service areas, and pricing structure.
View Sample CodeMarkup that displays your aggregate ratings in search results, potentially increasing click-through rates.
View Sample CodeDisplay frequently asked questions directly in search results, increasing visibility and search real estate.
View Sample CodeVisualize where your competitors are strongest and identify opportunities in your service area.
Understanding your competition is crucial for local SEO success. Here are key metrics to track:
Top local businesses typically have 3-5x more reviews than average. Set a goal to match or exceed your top competitor's review count.
Analyze competitors' content for their service areas. Create more comprehensive, useful pages for each area you serve.
Identify which directories your top-ranking competitors are listed in, and ensure you're present on all of them with consistent information.
Look for suburbs with high search volume but few quality providers. These represent your best expansion opportunities.
Local SEO is ongoing—not a one-time setup. Create your customized action plan below.
Select the options that best describe your current situation:
Based on your selections, here's your custom action plan to improve your local search visibility:
Let our local SEO experts analyze your current visibility and create a custom strategy to reach more local customers.
Book a Local SEO Audit NowJet Leads is a specialized SEO agency, dedicated to helping businesses improve rankings and drive sustainable growth.
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