Local businesses are leaving money on the table. I see it every day – companies complaining about visibility while ignoring the local SEO opportunities that are right under their noses.
The problem isn’t that local SEO is complicated or expensive. It’s that most businesses can’t be bothered to do the work. They want the quick fix, the magic button, the overnight solution that doesn’t exist.
Meanwhile, their competitors who are willing to put in consistent effort are eating their lunch.
The Local SEO gap
Most local businesses approach SEO with wildly unrealistic expectations:
What they expect: Update their Google Business Profile once, rank immediately for “best [service] near me” searches, and watch customers flood in.
The reality: Local SEO success comes from consistent effort across multiple fronts – none of which are particularly difficult, but all of which require actually doing the work.
This gap between expectation and reality is your competitive advantage. While others are looking for shortcuts or giving up entirely, you can implement the strategies they’re too lazy to use.
The Local SEO opportunities your competitors are ignoring
Regular Google Business Profile updates
Your Google Business Profile isn’t a “set it and forget it” tool. It’s a dynamic marketing channel that needs regular attention.
Most businesses create their profile, fill out the basics, and never touch it again. Then they wonder why they’re not showing up in local searches.
What lazy businesses do: Complete the basic profile fields and disappear.
What smart businesses do:
- Post updates at least weekly (Google loves fresh content)
- Add new photos regularly (businesses with recent photos get more engagement)
- Create Google Posts for promotions, events, and news
- Update service descriptions seasonally
- Respond to all reviews promptly (yes, all of them, even the shitty one from that customer you don’t remember…)
- Add new services and products as they become available
A client of mine in the home services industry started posting weekly updates and service photos to their Google Business Profile. Within three months, their profile views increased by 64% and their website visits from Google Business Profile increased by 38%.
The effort required? About 20 minutes per week.
Location-Specific landing pages that actually add value
Creating location pages for each area you serve is standard practice. But most businesses do it so poorly they might as well not bother.
What lazy businesses do: Create near-identical pages for each location, changing only the town name and maybe a sentence or two. These pages offer zero value to visitors and minimal value to search engines.
What smart businesses do:
- Include area-specific information that demonstrates local knowledge
- Add location-specific case studies or testimonials
- Mention local landmarks, challenges, or characteristics relevant to their services
- Include area-specific pricing or service variations if applicable
- Add location-specific FAQs addressing concerns common to that area
- Use local schema markup properly (more on that below)
A property management company I worked with created detailed location pages highlighting specific rental problems and issues for different towns they served. They included local market data, area-specific management challenges, and testimonials from landlords in each location. Their organic traffic from location-specific searches increased by 86% in six months.
The effort required? A few hours of research and writing per location, but with results that last for years.
Local Schema implementation
Schema markup is structured data that helps search engines understand your content better. Local business schema is particularly powerful for local SEO, yet most businesses either ignore it entirely or implement it incorrectly.
What lazy businesses do: Either skip schema completely or slap on basic organisation markup without the local-specific elements.
What smart businesses do:
- Implement comprehensive LocalBusiness schema (or an appropriate subtype)
- Include detailed service area information
- Add opening hours and special hours for holidays
- Include proper geo-coordinates
- Specify accepted payment methods
- Link to their Google Business Profile
- Use review and aggregate rating markup appropriately
A restaurant client added proper restaurant-specific schema to their website, including detailed menu item markup. Their appearance in local food-related searches increased by 41%, and they started appearing in Google’s local pack for specific dish searches they hadn’t ranked for previously.
The effort required? A one-time implementation that takes a few hours if you know what you’re doing, or a few hundred pounds if you hire someone.
Cultivating genuine Local Reviews across multiple platforms
Most businesses understand that reviews matter, but their approach is haphazard at best.
What lazy businesses do: Occasionally ask happy customers for Google reviews, ignore other platforms, and never develop a systematic approach.
What smart businesses do:
- Create a consistent review generation process for every customer
- Diversify reviews across relevant platforms (Google, Facebook, industry-specific sites)
- Make leaving reviews easy with direct links and clear instructions
- Respond thoughtfully to every review, positive or negative
- Incorporate review generation into their operational workflow
- Use reviews as content opportunities on their website
A small law firm implemented a simple review request email sequence that went out two weeks after client matters were closed. They provided direct links to their Google Business Profile and two industry-specific review sites. Within six months, they had tripled their review count and improved their average rating from 4.2 to 4.8 stars. Their appearance in the local pack for competitive terms increased from occasional to consistent.
The effort required? A few hours to set up the system, then just maintaining it as part of their regular workflow.
Local link building through community involvement
Links remain a ranking factor we should still pay attention to, but most local businesses approach link building in the most generic, ineffective ways possible.
What lazy businesses do: Either ignore link building entirely or waste money on spammy, irrelevant directory submissions and link packages.
What smart businesses do:
- Sponsor local events and organisations (with link opportunities)
- Participate in local business associations
- Create genuine relationships with complementary local businesses
- Provide expertise to local news outlets and publications
- Support local charities and community initiatives
- Host or speak at community events
A retail client sponsored three local community events and provided expert commentary for two local news stories about industry trends. These activities generated five high-quality local links, and more importantly, established relationships that continued to provide business and link opportunities in the future. Their organic traffic from local searches increased by 28% within three months.
The effort required? A few hours per month of genuine community involvement, which has business benefits far beyond just SEO.
Locally-focused content that serves your community
Content marketing works for local businesses too, but most either skip it entirely or produce generic content that could be about any business anywhere.
What lazy businesses do: Publish occasional blog posts on generic industry topics that don’t differentiate them or provide specific value to their local audience.
What smart businesses do:
- Create content addressing location-specific challenges or opportunities
- Develop local resource guides relevant to their industry
- Cover local events or changes that affect their customer base
- Interview local figures or complementary businesses
- Create content answering questions specific to their locality
- Build location-specific FAQs based on actual customer questions
A home services contractor created a guide to local building regulations and permit requirements for each town they served. This seemingly boring content became one of their biggest sources of qualified leads, as homeowners planning projects found it when researching requirements.
The effort required? A few hours per month to create genuinely helpful local content.
Mobile experience optimisation
Despite mobile searches accounting for the majority of local searches, many local business websites still provide sub-optimal mobile experiences.
What lazy businesses do: Have a technically responsive site that’s functionally awful to use on mobile.
What smart businesses do:
- Ensure critical business information is immediately visible on mobile
- Make phone numbers tap-to-call
- Ensure forms work properly on small screens
- Optimise button sizes for thumbs rather than mouse pointers
- Test the entire customer journey on multiple mobile devices
- Prioritise mobile page speed
A client in the copywriting industry simplified their mobile contact form, made their phone number prominent with tap-to-call functionality, and improved their mobile page load time from 6 seconds to under 2 seconds. Their mobile conversion rate increased by 43%.
The effort required? A few days of focused work or professional help, with benefits that last until your next redesign.
Why these opportunities remain untapped
If these strategies work so well, why aren’t more businesses using them? After working with hundreds of local businesses, I think I’ve identified the main reasons:
Lack of consistency
Most local SEO tactics aren’t difficult, but they require consistent effort over time. Many business owners would rather try a “silver bullet” solution that promises quick results than commit to ongoing work.
No patience
Local SEO improvements can take 3-6 months to fully materialise. Many businesses give up after a few weeks when they don’t see immediate results.
No Local SEO education
Some business owners simply don’t understand how local search works, so they focus on the wrong activities or get distracted by tactics that sound impressive but deliver minimal results.
Who should do it?
Many business owners know what they should be doing but struggle to delegate these tasks effectively or find reliable help to implement them.
How to gain the Local SEO advantage
The good news? These challenges create your opportunity. Here’s how to capitalise on the local SEO advantage:
1. Create systems, not one-off efforts
The key to consistent execution is creating systems:
- Set a regular schedule for Google Business Profile updates
- Create templates for gathering location-specific information
- Build review generation into your customer service process
- Schedule regular local content creation
2. Focus on customer value, not just SEO
The best local SEO strategies also improve customer experience:
- Better location pages help customers find relevant information
- Improved mobile experience makes it easier to contact you
- Local content answers real customer questions
- Review management improves your service quality
3. Measure what matters
Track metrics that actually indicate business success:
- Phone calls and contact form submissions, not just traffic
- Direction requests from Google Business Profile
- Conversion rates from local landing pages
- Appearance in the local pack for your target keywords
4. Start small, then expand
Don’t try to implement everything at once:
- Begin with Google Business Profile optimisation
- Then improve your most important location pages
- Add proper local schema markup
- Implement a review generation system
- Gradually expand to other strategies
The results speak for themselves
Businesses that consistently implement these “too much effort” local SEO strategies see remarkable results:
- Consistent appearance in the local pack for competitive terms
- Higher conversion rates from better-qualified local traffic
- Increased phone calls and direction requests
- Greater resilience against algorithm updates
- Stronger competitive advantage in their market
The best part? These results compound over time. While your competitors are chasing the latest SEO fad or giving up entirely, your consistent efforts build a local SEO foundation that becomes increasingly difficult to overcome.
The local SEO advantage isn’t about secret techniques or advanced technical knowledge. It’s simply about being willing to do the work that others won’t.
Are you ready to be the business that actually does the work?
If you need help with your Local SEO efforts, it might be worth taking a look at my SEO services page, then booking in a call.
