You probably know what search engine optimization is, even if you don’t know how it works (SEO). That’s how you get your website to rank high in Google for relevant search phrases. There is a slight twist to local SEO. You won’t just focus on your website. Instead, you’ll also pay attention to your Google My Business profile page. For many locally-focused search terms, Google shows business pages along with a map showing where the businesses are located. Search for “dentist near me,” for example, and you’ll see what I mean. There will be a map in the upper right corner, and the dentists’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and reviews will be at the top of the first page of Google. That information comes from the Google My Business page for each business. So, the main difference between local SEO and regular website SEO is that to compete in local SEO, you need to optimize both your website and your Google My Business profile page.

With local SEO, where your office or store is located is a big part of how it ranks. Again, try to see things from the searcher’s point of view. If I’m looking for coffee on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, it doesn’t help to see places that are a long way away. Google knows this, which is why a big part of local SEO is where the person searching is in relation to where the business is. That means your Google ranking will be better when potential customers search near your business location. The farther away a prospect is when they search, the less likely it is that you’ll be on the first page. It’s not impossible to rank in cities other than where you live. For example, you can make pages on your website for your target cities. However, you should know that local SEO is a tough battle. If everything else is the same, the business that is closer to the person searching will probably win.