Service 2 · Local presence
Local SEO for Huntington Beach businesses
Local SEO is the work on the results people compare when they look for a business near them: the map, the list of businesses beside it, and the pages Google reads to decide what to show. We do it from our office in Huntington Beach.
The parts
What a local result is made of
When a search is about something nearby, Google often shows a map with a short list of businesses beside it.
The map
The area the search is about, with the businesses Google chose to show marked on it.
The markers
One mark per business in the list, each tied to that business’s Google Business Profile.
The list
Each business’s name with a few details from its profile, such as its category. Tapping one opens the whole profile.
The work
What local SEO involves
Local SEO is search engine optimization for businesses that serve people in a particular area. Its subject is the local results: the map and the list of businesses Google shows when a search is about something nearby, and the ordinary results under them. Google says it ranks local results mainly on three things: relevance, which is how well a listing matches the search; distance, which is how far the business is from the place being searched; and prominence, which is how well known the business is, including what the web says about it. A business can’t change its distance, so the work is on the other two: a complete and accurate Google Business Profile, a website that says clearly what the business does and where, and the same name, address and phone wherever the business is listed online.
What we work on for your business is agreed in writing before we start. We don’t promise rankings, because no one can: Google decides the order of its results, and says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.
What we need from you: access to your Google Business Profile and your website, and accurate details about the business and the places it serves.
Questions
Questions about local SEO
What is the difference between local SEO and Google Ads?
Google Ads places paid results marked Sponsored, and the advertiser usually pays when someone clicks. Local SEO works on the results Google does not sell: the map, the listings and the ordinary results. Many businesses use both, and they have separate pages here because they are separate work.
Can you guarantee first place on Google Maps?
No. Google decides the order of local results, mainly by relevance, distance and prominence, and says no one can pay for a better local ranking. A guarantee of a position is a promise about something the person making it does not control.
Does my street address have to be on my profile?
Not if customers are not received there. Google lets a business that serves customers at their own location show a service area instead of a street address.
Why do some people see my business and others don’t?
Distance is one of the things Google weighs, so the same search made from two places can show different businesses. Results can also change with the exact words searched.
Do listings on other websites matter?
Google says prominence is also based on what it knows about a business from across the web, such as links, articles and directories. Keeping the same name, address and phone on the sites where the business is listed keeps that information consistent.
In the same group
The other service that works on how a business shows up in local results.
Local presence
1–2
- Google Business Profile management
The profile card with your name, address and phone, and the buttons to call you or get directions.
Talk to us about local SEO for your business
Call or write, and tell us where your customers are.