What's included
A local campaign has one job: make your business the credible, relevant choice close to the searcher. That requires more than editing a Google Business Profile once. We connect the profile, website, reviews, citations and local authority signals, then keep them accurate as competitors, services and search behaviour change.
- Google Business Profile optimisation and management. We fix categories, services, photos, attributes, hours and conversion details, then manage posts and profile changes.
- Review generation and response. We build a compliant request process, improve response speed and help your team answer positive and negative reviews in its real voice.
- Citation building and NAP cleanup. We correct conflicting name, address and phone data, remove duplicates and build listings on directories that matter in your market.
- Location and service-area pages. We write useful pages around real services, customer questions and local proof instead of swapping city names in thin templates.
- Local link building. We earn relevant links through associations, suppliers, local publications, sponsorships and partnerships that make sense beyond SEO.
- Local schema markup. We add structured business, service and location data so search engines can connect each page with the right entity and branch.
- Grid-based rank tracking. We measure map positions from multiple points around each service area, exposing street-level gaps that one postcode check hides.
- AI visibility for local queries. We check how assistants cite and describe your business, then improve the source information they use for local recommendations.
Priorities come from the audit, not a fixed checklist. A clean profile with weak local links needs a different plan from a 15-location brand with duplicate listings and competing location pages. You see the reason, owner and expected effect for every task before we do it.
The operating detail matters. We record profile ownership, approval contacts, holiday-hour sources and the exact format of each location's name, address and phone number. That prevents well-meant edits from creating new inconsistencies. It also gives a new branch manager a clear process when staff, opening times or services change.
How it works
We organise the work around a 90-day plan, but we do not make you wait 90 days for action. Access, tracking and obvious profile errors get handled first. Content and authority work follow once the foundation is reliable.
- Week 1-2: audit. We benchmark grid rankings, profile health, reviews, citations, local pages, links, competitors and conversion tracking. The output is a prioritised plan, not a 70-page error export.
- Week 3-4: foundation. We correct profile data, categories, tracking, duplicate citations, schema and high-impact website issues. We also set review workflows and agree who approves profile edits.
- Month 2 onwards: content and links. We build or improve location and service pages, publish locally useful content and pursue links that can strengthen prominence in target areas.
- Ongoing: measure and adjust. We compare grid coverage, calls, direction requests, website actions and lead quality. Work shifts by location when a competitor moves or one market stalls.
You receive a short monthly report and a working session focused on decisions. If calls rise while one keyword slips two positions, we say so. If rankings improve without enquiries, we inspect search intent, profile conversion and landing pages instead of celebrating an empty win.
Every task stays in a shared campaign log with its date, location and outcome. This makes tests easier to read. When grid coverage improves after a category change, page revision or new local link, we can separate likely causes from coincidence. When nothing moves, we stop repeating the same task and test another constraint.
Free scan: your local visibility in Google and AI search
See where you appear in the map pack and whether assistants mention your business for local queries.
Who this is for / who it is not for
Local SEO fits businesses that win customers in defined places: clinics, law firms, home service companies, hospitality groups, professional practices, dealers, retailers and multi-location operators. You need a real service area, enough capacity to answer new enquiries and someone who can confirm operational details.
A strong fit
You are a strong fit when calls, bookings or store visits matter more than national traffic. The model works for one established location and for brands that need repeatable governance across 20 or more branches. It also suits service-area businesses that visit customers, provided the profile follows Google's address and service-area rules.
Local SEO also needs operational participation. Someone must tell us about changed hours, new services, closed branches and recurring customer questions. Your front desk or sales team should label lead quality where possible. Ten extra calls have little value if eight ask for a service you stopped offering last year.
When another service is the better answer
This is not the right engagement for an online-only company chasing national non-local demand, a business using a virtual office it cannot legitimately represent, or a team seeking guaranteed map positions. Choose technical SEO services when crawling, rendering, indexing or site architecture is the main constraint. Choose ecommerce SEO services when category, product and merchandising visibility drives sales across regions. We will tell you when local work would be the wrong use of budget.
Pricing
Monthly retainers start at $750 for one location, $2,000 for 2-20 locations and $6,000 for franchise or enterprise programmes with 20 or more markets. The final scope depends on listing condition, competition, approval complexity, content needs and the number of profiles we actively manage.
Use these bands to set a working budget. We confirm the exact scope after checking your profiles, markets and website.
| Single location | Multi-location | Franchise / enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | $750/mo | $2,000/mo | $6,000/mo |
| Locations | 1 | 2-20 | 20+ |
| Grid tracking | Yes | Per location | All markets |
| AI visibility | Optional | Yes | Yes |
A five-location group does not automatically pay five times the single-location fee. Shared systems, templates and reporting create efficiencies, while difficult listings or separate approval teams add work. The local SEO pricing guide explains setup costs, common retainers and the factors behind each band. Media spend, directory fees and paid sponsorships are quoted separately, and we ask before committing any third-party cost.
Budget should follow market value, not location count alone. A branch with strong demand, weak grid coverage and enough staff to take more bookings deserves earlier investment. A branch at capacity may only need profile protection and accurate hours. We map that difference before assigning equal content and link quotas everywhere.
What makes us different
Most local reports reduce an entire market to one ranking captured from one device. That hides how map results change block by block. We use grid tracking to show where top-three coverage expands, where it disappears and which competitor owns the weak area. The next month's work follows that evidence.
We also track local visibility in AI answers. People now ask assistants for a dentist open on Saturday, a lawyer serving a specific district or a contractor with strong recent reviews. We check which companies appear, what sources support the answer and whether your services, location and reputation are described accurately.
Rankings still matter, but they are not the final score. Reports lead with calls, direction requests, website actions, booked enquiries and qualified lead notes where your systems support them. A green ranking chart cannot pay wages. We would rather explain a flat month honestly, diagnose it and change the plan.
We also refuse shortcuts that put the asset at risk. That includes keyword-stuffed business names, fabricated offices, review gating and copied city pages. Some of those tactics can produce a brief jump. They can also trigger edits, filtering or suspension, leaving your team to repair a profile that already generated real customers.
Proof
One anonymised three-location home services client came to us with mismatched listings, overlapping pages and almost no visibility outside a tight radius around each office. Only 18% of tracked grid points ranked in the top three for the agreed high-intent terms. Profile calls averaged 94 per month across the group.
We consolidated duplicate citations, rebuilt the service and location page structure, corrected categories, introduced a review request process and earned 14 locally relevant links. After six months, top-three grid coverage reached 61%. Monthly profile calls rose to 173, direction requests increased from 37 to 82 and the three locations added 112 genuine customer reviews.
Those numbers came from Google Business Profile performance data, call tracking and the same grid configuration used at baseline. They are not a promise that every market will move at the same rate. Competition, proximity, reputation, website quality and operational follow-through all affect the result. The useful proof is the chain from work to visibility to customer action.
The first useful signal was not the final call total. Within eight weeks, previously weak grid points started moving around pages we had rebuilt, while untouched areas stayed flat. That pattern told us where to continue. It also stopped the client from funding generic weekly posts that had shown no measurable local effect.
Frequently asked questions
How much do local SEO services cost?
Our local SEO services start at $750 per month for one location. Multi-location work starts at $2,000 per month, while franchise and enterprise programmes start at $6,000. Price changes with the number of profiles, citation problems, page production, review support, competition and reporting needs. A straightforward clinic with one verified profile costs less than a 12-branch group with duplicates and separate approval teams. We quote after a visibility audit so the fee reflects work you need, not a bundle padded with routine tasks. Any paid directory, sponsorship or media costs sit outside the retainer and require approval.
How long does local SEO take?
Expect foundational fixes during the first four weeks and meaningful directional evidence within two to three months. Competitive map pack gains often take three to six months, especially when a profile has few reviews, weak local links or a new website. Timing also varies by area because proximity and established competitors affect each searcher's results. We set a baseline before making changes, then compare the same grid points and conversion actions each month. Fast movement can happen after correcting a suspension risk or wrong category, but durable growth usually comes from repeated improvements rather than one profile edit.
What is the difference between local SEO and regular SEO?
Local SEO targets searches tied to a place and works across both Google Maps and organic results. It puts heavier weight on Google Business Profile data, proximity, reviews, citations, local pages and geographic authority. Regular SEO usually targets broader demand through site content, links and technical quality without managing map listings. The two overlap because a fast, crawlable and authoritative website strengthens local performance too. The practical difference sits in the desired action: local campaigns optimise for calls, bookings, visits and directions in service areas, while national campaigns often optimise for online enquiries or sales regardless of the searcher's location.
Do you manage our Google Business Profile directly?
Yes. With manager access, we can update categories, services, hours, attributes, photos, posts and other agreed fields. We never ask you to hand over the primary owner account, and we document major changes before publishing them. Your team remains the source of truth for holiday hours, service availability and regulated claims. We can also prepare review responses or publish them under an agreed policy. Access matters because unmanaged edits, Google updates and public suggestions can alter a profile without warning. We monitor those changes and raise anything that needs operational confirmation instead of guessing.
How do you handle multiple locations?
We create one shared operating system, then measure every location separately. The shared layer covers naming rules, categories, templates, tracking standards, review policy and approval steps. Each branch still gets its own competitor set, grid, profile work, local proof and page priorities. That balance prevents two common failures: publishing near-identical city pages and treating every market as if it has the same problem. Monthly reporting highlights locations that gained, stalled or need intervention. For larger groups, we can phase work by revenue potential and listing risk rather than trying to change 50 profiles in the same week.
Can you help if we have no physical address?
Yes, when you operate as a legitimate service-area business and meet Google's eligibility rules. Plumbers, mobile technicians and other businesses that visit customers can hide their address and define service areas on the profile. We will not create listings for virtual offices, rented mailboxes or cities where you have no eligible operation. Those tactics create suspension risk and rarely build durable visibility. For an online-only company with no face-to-face customer contact, a Google Business Profile is generally not eligible. In that case, national organic SEO or paid search is a better route than forcing a local setup.
What happens to our profile if we stop?
You keep your Google Business Profile, website content, citation accounts and any assets created for the campaign. We remove our manager access and provide a handover showing active listings, tracking and recommended next actions. Rankings do not switch off on the cancellation date, but competitors keep earning reviews, links and profile activity, so visibility can soften over time. Your team should continue updating hours, answering reviews and checking public edits. Call tracking numbers also need a planned transition so citation consistency and customer access do not break. We explain those dependencies before the final month closes.
Do you track AI search visibility for local queries?
Yes. We test agreed local prompts in relevant AI search and assistant products, record which businesses they recommend and inspect the sources behind those answers where available. Tracking includes brand mentions, factual accuracy, cited pages, review themes and competitor appearance. AI responses vary by wording, location, personalisation and product version, so we do not pretend one prompt produces a fixed rank. We use repeated prompt sets to spot patterns and source gaps. The findings then inform profile copy, location pages, structured data, review strategy and third-party listings, while calls and bookings remain the commercial measures that matter.
Related guides
Book a free local visibility audit
Share the location list and current listings. We will show where the grid is weak, what we would fix first and whether local SEO is the right spend.