Local SEO: how to get found by clients in your city
For a hair salon, a dental practice, a repair service or a shop with a window display, the most important search is the one with the city name: “dentist in [your city]”, “AC repair [your city]”. Here you are not competing with the whole country, just with a handful of local businesses.
1. Google Business Profile
It is free and often brings more calls than the website itself. Fill it in completely:
- exact business name, address, phone and opening hours,
- the right primary category and additional categories,
- photos of your premises, team and work,
- services with short descriptions and a link to your website.
2. Reviews
The number and freshness of reviews affect both your ranking and the customer’s decision. Ask happy clients to leave a rating, and reply to every review, especially the bad ones, calmly and specifically.
Codema tip Create a short link or QR code to your review page and put it on receipts, business cards or the email you send after the service.
3. A website that confirms your location
Your website should state clearly where you work: the address in the footer, a map on the Contact page and, if you cover several areas, separate pages for the main cities with real content, not a copy of the same text.
4. The same details everywhere
Your name, address and phone number should be written the same way on your website, Google profile, social media and business directories. Inconsistencies confuse both people and search engines.
What we measure
Calls and direction requests from the Google profile, visits from local search and enquiries from the website. After a few months it is clear which steps bring in clients.