Local SEO: how to set up and optimise your Google Business Profile

What is local SEO, and who needs it?

Local SEO is the part of search optimisation that helps you win searches with a place attached, whether the searcher types the place (“physio Sukhumvit”) or Google infers it from their location (“physio near me”). For these searches Google usually shows a map with a short list of businesses before the ordinary results, and the same listings power Google Maps.

It matters most for businesses that serve customers in person or within an area: clinics, gyms, law firms, restaurants, salons, hotels and trades that visit customers at home. If most of your customers live or work within a short journey of you, the map listings are often where they first meet you, before they ever see your website.

Local results also behave differently from ordinary web results. Two people searching the same words a few streets apart can see different businesses, because Google weighs where each searcher is. And the listing itself often does the selling: people compare star ratings, photos, opening hours and the distance shown, then call, ask for directions or tap through to your website. That makes your profile part of your shop window, not just a directory entry, and it is worth maintaining with the same care as your website.

How does Google rank businesses in local results?

Google states that local results are based mainly on three factors: relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot move your premises, but you can influence the other two.

Google also says that your position in ordinary web results contributes to prominence. That is why a good website and a good profile work best together.

How do I set up a Google Business Profile step by step?

Setting up a profile takes an hour or two of work, plus whatever time verification needs. Follow these steps:

1. Search for your business on Google Maps first. A listing may already exist, created by Google or a customer. If so, claim it rather than making a duplicate.
2. Sign in with a business Google account that you control long term, not a personal account belonging to one employee or a former agency.
3. Enter your business name exactly as it appears in real life, on your signage and documents. Do not add keywords or locations to the name.
4. Choose your primary category, the single category that best describes your core business, then add a few accurate secondary categories.
5. Add your address or service area. If customers visit you, show your address. If you visit them, set a service area and hide the address.
6. Add your phone number and website, linking to the most relevant page, such as a location page if you have several branches.
7. Verify the profile. Google chooses the method, which can include a video recording of your premises, a phone or email code, or a postcard. Follow its instructions exactly.
8. Complete everything else: opening hours, holiday hours, services with descriptions, a business description of up to 750 characters, attributes and photos of the outside, inside, team and work.

Which Business Profile settings make the biggest difference?

Your primary category, your reviews and the completeness of your profile do most of the work. Pay particular attention to:

• Primary category. “Dental clinic” and “Cosmetic dentist” trigger different searches. Pick the one that matches the work you most want, and review it if your business changes.
• Services list. Add each service with a short, plain description. This helps your profile match specific searches.
• Accurate hours. Out-of-date hours frustrate customers and can lead to edits suggested by the public. Set special hours for holidays.
• Photos. Real, recent photos of your premises and team help people recognise you and decide to visit. Skip stock images.
• Booking or appointment link. Point it straight at your online booking page so a searcher can act without hunting.
• Updates. Posting offers, news and events keeps the profile current and gives people another reason to choose you.

Avoid tactics that break Google’s guidelines, such as stuffing keywords into the business name, listing an address you do not operate from, or creating extra profiles for the same location. These can get a profile suspended, which costs far more than it could ever gain.

How should I get and handle Google reviews?

Ask every satisfied customer, make it easy, and reply to every review, good or bad. Reviews feed prominence and, just as importantly, they are what searchers read before choosing between you and the business next door.

• Ask at the right moment, straight after a good outcome, with a direct link or QR code from your profile.
• Ask everyone, not just the happy ones. Google’s policies prohibit selectively asking for positive reviews and discouraging negative ones.
• Never offer incentives such as discounts in exchange for reviews, and never post or buy fake ones.
• Reply to negative reviews calmly, acknowledge the issue and offer to resolve it privately. Future customers judge you on the reply as much as the complaint.

Our separate guide to a Google reviews strategy covers the scripts and timing in detail.

Beyond the star rating, the words customers use in reviews matter. A review that mentions the treatment, class or service someone received, and the neighbourhood they came from, describes your business in natural language that both people and search systems can read. You cannot tell customers what to write, but you can ask a specific question, such as “How did you find your first consultation?”, which tends to produce more useful reviews than a generic request.

How does your website support your local ranking?

Your website confirms and expands what your profile says. Google cross-checks the two, and a strong site adds to your prominence. Make sure your website has:

• The same name, address and phone number as your profile, written identically in the footer and on the contact page.
• A contact or location page with your address, opening hours, directions, nearby landmarks and an embedded map.
• Service pages that mention the area you serve naturally, in headings and copy, without stuffing.
• LocalBusiness structured data describing your address, hours and phone in a format machines can read. See our schema markup guide.
• Consistent listings elsewhere: directories, industry associations, social profiles and booking platforms should all match.

Firms that compete hard on local searches, such as the Bangkok law firm behind our Kingdom Law Group project, need a search-ready website as much as a strong profile. At PJW Partners, we build both to tell the same story. If you want help with your local presence, tell us where you are and who you serve.

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