If you run a local business — whether you are a plumber in Manchester, a solicitor in Toronto, or a dentist in Austin — local SEO is the single highest-ROI marketing channel available to you in 2026. The logic is simple: when someone searches for a service you offer in the area you serve, you want your business to appear. Not on page two. Not buried in a list of directories. Right there at the top, in the Google Maps Pack, with your phone number, reviews, and directions one tap away.
Local SEO has evolved significantly over the past few years. Google's algorithm is smarter, AI-powered search results are changing how people discover businesses, and the competition for Maps Pack placements is fiercer than ever. This guide covers everything you need to know to build a local SEO strategy that delivers results in 2026 and beyond.
Understanding the Google Maps Pack
The Maps Pack (sometimes called the Local Pack or the 3-Pack) is the block of three business listings that appears at the top of Google search results for queries with local intent. It includes a map, business names, star ratings, addresses, phone numbers, and opening hours. For most local businesses, appearing in this Pack is worth more than ranking first in the organic results below it.
Research consistently shows that the Maps Pack receives between 42% and 44% of all clicks on the search results page for local queries. The first organic result below the Pack receives roughly 29%. The implication is clear: if you are not in the Maps Pack, you are losing nearly half your potential traffic to competitors who are.
Google determines Maps Pack rankings using three primary factors: relevance (how well your listing matches the searcher's query), distance (how close your business is to the searcher's location), and prominence (how well-known and trusted your business is online). While you cannot control distance, you can heavily influence relevance and prominence through strategic optimisation.
Google Business Profile Optimisation
Your Google Business Profile (GBP, formerly Google My Business) is the foundation of your local SEO strategy. Think of it as your shopfront on Google. A fully optimised GBP dramatically increases your chances of appearing in the Maps Pack and gives searchers the information they need to choose you over a competitor.
Start with the basics. Ensure your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are exactly correct and match what appears on your website and every other directory. Choose your primary category carefully — this is one of the strongest ranking signals Google uses. A plumbing business should select 'Plumber' as its primary category, not 'Home Service' or 'Contractor'. Add all relevant secondary categories as well.
- Complete every section of your profile — business description, services, products, attributes, and opening hours
- Upload high-quality photos weekly: your team, your work, your premises, before-and-after shots
- Publish Google Posts at least once per week with offers, updates, or tips relevant to your services
- Respond to every Q&A entry, and seed your own Q&A section with common customer questions
- Enable messaging so customers can contact you directly from the listing
- Keep your hours accurate, including holiday hours and special hours
Pro tip: businesses that post weekly to their Google Business Profile receive 520% more calls than those that do not post. It takes five minutes per week and is one of the simplest wins in local SEO. At Prism Digital Group, GBP management is included in every local SEO package.
Local Citation Building
A citation is any online mention of your business's name, address, and phone number. Citations appear on directories (Yelp, Yell, Bing Places, Apple Maps), social media profiles, industry-specific platforms (Checkatrade, Houzz, Avvo), and data aggregators. Google uses citations to verify your business information and assess your prominence.
The key to effective citation building is consistency. Your NAP must be identical across every platform. Even minor variations — 'Street' versus 'St.', '0161' versus '+44 161' — can confuse Google's algorithms and weaken your local ranking signals. Before building new citations, audit your existing ones and fix any inconsistencies.
We recommend building citations on at least 50 relevant directories. Start with the major platforms (Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook), then move to country-specific directories (Yell and Thomson Local in the UK, Yelp and YellowPages in the US), and finally industry-specific directories relevant to your trade. Each citation is a signal to Google that your business is legitimate, established, and trustworthy.
The Review Strategy That Actually Works
Reviews are one of the most powerful local SEO ranking factors. Businesses with more reviews, higher average ratings, and recent review activity consistently outperform competitors in the Maps Pack. But reviews are not just an SEO signal — they are also the primary trust factor that determines whether a searcher clicks on your listing or a competitor's.
The most effective review strategy is systematic, not sporadic. Rather than hoping customers leave reviews on their own, build a process that asks for a review after every completed job or transaction. The best time to ask is when the customer is happiest — immediately after a successful outcome.
- Send an automated SMS or email within two hours of completing a job, with a direct link to your Google review page
- Follow up once more after 48 hours if no review has been left
- Respond to every review, positive and negative, within 24 hours
- Never offer incentives for reviews — this violates Google's guidelines and can get your reviews removed
- Use negative reviews as an opportunity: a professional, empathetic response often impresses future customers more than the negative review detracts
We helped a roofing company in Leeds go from 14 Google reviews to over 200 in eight months using automated post-job review requests. Their Maps Pack ranking improved from position 8 to position 2, and inbound calls increased by 340%.
On-Page Local SEO
Your website needs to send clear, consistent local signals to Google. This starts with your title tags and meta descriptions — every key page should include your primary service keyword and your location. For example, 'Emergency Plumber in Manchester | 24/7 Call-Out | [Business Name]' is far more effective than 'Home | [Business Name]'.
If you serve multiple areas, create dedicated location pages for each one. These are not thin doorway pages with swapped city names — they are genuinely useful pages with unique content about your services in that specific area. Include local landmarks, nearby areas you serve, and specific information relevant to customers in that location. Internal linking between location pages, service pages, and your homepage creates a strong topical cluster that Google rewards.
Schema markup is essential. Implement LocalBusiness schema on your homepage and location pages, Service schema on your service pages, and FAQPage schema on any page with frequently asked questions. This structured data helps Google understand your business, and it can earn you rich results like FAQ dropdowns and star ratings in the search results. Every website we build at Prism Digital Group ships with full schema markup as standard.
The Role of GEO in Local SEO
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of optimising your content to be cited by AI-powered search engines — Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others. In 2026, this is no longer optional for local businesses. When someone asks ChatGPT 'Who is the best plumber in Manchester?', you want your business to be in the answer.
AI engines favour content that is authoritative, well-structured, and rich in specific, citable data points. To optimise for GEO, include statistics, specific claims backed by evidence, clear service descriptions, and structured FAQ content on your website. AI models are more likely to cite a page that says 'We have completed over 3,000 boiler installations in Greater Manchester since 2015 with a 4.9-star average rating' than one that simply says 'We are experienced plumbers'.
GEO and traditional local SEO are not competing strategies — they are complementary. The same content that ranks well in Google Maps also tends to get cited by AI engines. Structured data, authoritative content, and strong review signals benefit both channels. Our local SEO and GEO visibility service covers both from day one.
Link Building for Local Businesses
Backlinks remain one of the strongest ranking signals in Google's algorithm, and this applies to local search as well. However, local link building is different from general SEO link building. The most valuable links for a local business come from other local organisations, industry associations, local news outlets, and community directories.
- Sponsor local events, charities, or sports teams — these often result in a link from the organisation's website
- Get listed in your local Chamber of Commerce or trade association directory
- Contribute guest articles to local news websites or industry publications
- Build relationships with complementary local businesses for reciprocal referrals and links
- Create locally relevant content (neighbourhood guides, local tips, community resources) that naturally attracts links
Quality matters far more than quantity. A single link from your city's newspaper website is worth more than 50 links from random directories. Aim for 10 to 15 high-quality, relevant links per month, and you will see measurable ranking improvements within 8 to 12 weeks.
Measuring Your Local SEO Performance
Track the metrics that matter. For local SEO, the most important indicators are: Maps Pack ranking for your target keywords, Google Business Profile views and actions (calls, direction requests, website clicks), organic traffic to location and service pages, the number and average rating of new reviews, and most importantly, the number of qualified leads and enquiries generated.
Use Google Business Profile Insights for GBP performance data, Google Analytics 4 for website traffic, and a rank tracking tool for keyword positions. Review these metrics monthly and adjust your strategy based on what the data tells you. Local SEO is not a one-time project — it is an ongoing process of optimisation, content creation, and reputation building.
Getting Started
Local SEO is not complicated, but it does require consistent effort across multiple fronts: GBP optimisation, citation building, review generation, on-page SEO, link building, and now GEO. The businesses that commit to this process systematically are the ones that dominate their local market.
If you want expert help building your local visibility, Prism Digital Group offers a comprehensive local SEO and GEO service that covers every element described in this guide. From GBP management and citation building to link acquisition and AI engine optimisation, we handle the entire process while you focus on running your business.