What is local SEO?
Local SEO (local search engine optimization) is the work of helping a business appear in search results for people looking for its services in a specific area. For a moving company, that means searches such as "movers near me" or "long distance movers" plus a city name.
"Local SEO" is an industry term. Google's help pages talk about local results instead: "When a customer searches for a business or place near their location, they'll find local results on Google Maps and Search."
Those local results include the map pack, the short list of businesses shown with a map. In an MMAI check on October 4, 2026, the map pack was the first block of results for "movers near me" in Columbus, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia on mobile.
How is local SEO different from general SEO?
General SEO aims at the list of web pages Google shows for a search. Local SEO also covers the Business Profile and the map results, which Google ranks on three main factors. Google says local results "are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity":
- Relevance: "how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for."
- Distance: "how far each business is from the customer who's searching."
- Prominence: "how well-known a business is," based partly on "how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have."
The two overlap. Google builds Business Profiles partly from "crawled web content (e.g., information from a business' official website)," so the website affects both. For more on each factor, see Google Maps ranking factors.
What does local SEO include?
The work falls into five areas:
- The Business Profile. Verify it and fill it in. Google says "businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results."
- Reviews. Ask customers for them and reply. Google says "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking."
- The website. Pages that describe the services and areas the business serves, written for customers. Google's ranking systems are designed to prioritize "helpful, reliable information that's created to benefit people." Local business structured data can describe the business to Google in code.
- Business details across the web. The name, address, and phone number on directories and other map platforms, such as Bing Places for Business. These are called local citations.
- Links from other websites, which Google names as part of prominence.
Distance depends mostly on where the searcher is, so it's the factor a business controls least.
Can a business pay for better local rankings?
No. Google says: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google."
The Business Profile itself is free. Google says "creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free." Paid placements, such as Local Services Ads, appear separately from the unpaid local results.
Does local SEO only apply to Google?
No. Bing and Apple run their own map listings, and a business manages them separately. Microsoft says Bing Places for Business lets a business add or change "information about your business in Bing Maps search results." The same business details should appear on each platform.
What can't local SEO guarantee?
Local SEO can't guarantee a ranking position. Google says it keeps "the search algorithm details confidential," and the searcher's location changes the results. A moving company can rank well near its office and lower across town for the same search.