Local SEO
In short
Local SEO is the work of being found when people search for a service nearby, in Google Maps and in the map in the search results.
Local SEO applies to anyone with customers in a particular area: the hairdresser, the dentist, the electrician who drives out to jobs. When someone searches "dentist Lillestrøm", or just "dentist" on a phone, Google often shows a map with a few businesses before the ordinary results. That spot is what local SEO is about.
What Google looks at
Google itself names three main factors for local results. Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching. Prominence is how well known the business is, based on things like links, reviews and ratings.
You cannot do anything about distance. The other two you can influence. And you cannot pay for a better local ranking, which Google also states plainly.
What you can do today
Check that your Google Business Profile has the right category, opening hours, phone number and address, and that the same details are on your website. Send a neutral review request to every customer from the past month, not just the ones you think are happy, and reply to what you get. Google prohibits asking only satisfied customers for reviews. Google writes that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. Links from local websites, see backlinks, count too.
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