Guides
Local search, explained
Practical guides on local SEO, Google Business Profile, and digital marketing — written for business owners who want more customers.
Local Citations
Best Citation Sites for Service Businesses in the US
This page covers where to list. These cover the rest — what citations are, how to find the ones you already have, and how to fix the ones that are wrong.
March 7, 2026
- What is a local citation?The plain definition, and why a mention without a link still counts.
- Getting NAP consistency rightWhat counts as a mismatch, and which inconsistencies actually hurt.
- How to find the citations you already haveThe searches that surface listings you never knowingly created.
- How to build citations, step by stepThe order to work in so you are not submitting the same data twice.
- Fixing wrong listings and duplicatesClaiming, merging, and what to do when a directory will not respond.
- How many citations do you actually need?Why the count matters far less than which sites and how consistent.
- Unstructured citations — do they count?Mentions in articles and blogs, and what weight they carry.
- Should you pay someone to do this?An honest read on when DIY wins and when it stops being worth your time.
Google Business Profile
Optimize Your Google Business Profile: A Complete Guide
This page is the overview. These go field by field — categories, description, photos, posts, Q&A — plus what to do when something goes wrong with the listing.
March 6, 2026
- What a Google Business Profile actually isThe listing that puts you in Maps and the local pack — and what it is not.
- Creating and claiming your profileStart here if the listing already exists but you have never had access to it.
- Getting verifiedThe verification routes, and what to do when the postcard never arrives.
- Choosing your primary categoryThe single most important field on the whole profile.
- Writing the business descriptionWhat the 750 characters are actually for, and what Google ignores.
- Photos that do somethingWhat to shoot, how often to add, and which images customers actually open.
- Using the services sectionAn underused field that surfaces you for more specific searches.
- What to post aboutPost types that suit a service business, with examples.
- How the Q&A section worksAnyone can answer questions on your listing. Here is how that works.
- Can anyone edit your profile?Yes — suggested edits are real. How to catch them and reverse them.
- Fixing wrong informationCorrecting hours, address, phone and name, including when Google resists.
- If your profile gets suspendedWhat triggers a suspension, and the reinstatement process step by step.
- Reading your profile insightsWhich numbers point at something you can act on, and which are noise.
Google Reviews
How to Get More Google Reviews: A Repeatable System for Service Businesses
This page covers asking for reviews. These cover what reviews do for your rankings, how to reply to them, and what to do about the ones that are not genuine.
March 24, 2026
- How many reviews do you need?The count matters less than recency and how you compare locally.
- Does your star rating matter?Its effect on ranking, versus its much larger effect on click-through.
- Should you reply to every review?Where replying is worth the time, and where it stops paying off.
- Responding to negative reviewsA reply is for everyone who reads it later, not for the reviewer.
- Removing a fake reviewWhat Google will and will not take down, and how to make the case.
- When a competitor leaves fake reviewsHow to document a pattern, and what escalation actually achieves.
- What review gating isThe tactic that screens for happy customers, and why it breaks the rules.
- Do Yelp and Facebook reviews count?Whether reviews away from Google do anything for local search.
Local SEO Fundamentals
Local SEO: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Pays
This page defines the work, what it consists of, and whether it pays. These cover where the results appear, what a near-me search is really asking, and how long any of it takes.
March 3, 2026
- The local pack and Local FinderThe three map results and the list behind them, and how Google picks who appears.
- Why you cannot rank for “near me”It is a location signal, not a keyword. What decides it instead.
- How long does local SEO take?Realistic timelines by starting point, without the usual hedging.