What Is Local SEO
For searches such as "web design Ostrava", Google may show local businesses in maps and organic results. Their layout and order depend on the query and the searcher's location.
Local SEO helps customers in your service area find and assess your business. First place cannot be guaranteed: Google names relevance, distance and prominence as the main factors.
Why It Matters
- Local queries may show both a map block and organic results.
- Accurate service and location information helps customers decide whether you can serve them.
- Measure actual contacts, not one ranking.
Google Business Profile, The Foundation
Google Business Profile is free for eligible businesses with in-person customer contact at premises or within a service area. Online-only businesses are not eligible.
How to Set It Up Correctly
Basic Info (NAP):
- Name, exactly as your business is called (don't stuff keywords)
- Address, real customer-facing premises; service-area businesses should hide a home address if customers are not served there
- Phone, main number
Category: Choose the most accurate available primary category. Add others only for services you actually provide.
Description and hours: Explain what you do, for whom and where. Keep regular and holiday hours current; filling every character is unnecessary. Online appointments do not make an online-only business eligible.
Photos: Use genuine, current images that help customers understand your premises or service. There is no useful universal minimum quantity.
Worked example: A local business as a concrete record
ORIGINAL EXAMPLE · FICTIONAL DATA
| Field | Fictional details |
|---|---|
| Name | North Workshop |
| Activity | Bicycle servicing |
| Location | Ostrava; visit by arrangement |
| Contact | service@example.com |
| Hours | Mon-Fri 9-17; verify holidays |
Choose the specific category from currently available options.
Reviews, Local SEO Fuel
Google names three main factors for local results: relevance, distance and prominence, and reviews count toward prominence.
How to Get More Reviews
Four rules for reviews
- Ask after completing a project, send an email with a review link
- Make it easy create a short link from Google Business
- Respond to every review, positive and negative; other customers read the replies
- Don't buy reviews it breaks Google's policies, and Google can remove fake reviews and restrict the profile
NAP Consistency
Keep your business name, address and phone accurate on the website, profile and directories you manage. Fix outdated details; different spacing in the same phone number is not in itself a problem.
Local Keywords
Think about how people actually search:
- web design Ostrava
- website price Ostrava
- e-shop development Moravian-Silesian region
Use them naturally in titles, headings, URLs and useful page content. Alt text should describe the actual image; mention a location only when relevant to it. I do the same on my own site: queries like "web design Ostrava" are answered by one page, website development in Ostrava, not by a copy for every town.
Local Content
Publish useful information for customers in your actual service area: documented local projects, relevant guides or event reports. There is no required annual article quota.
Structured Data for Local SEO
For an eligible local business, structured data should describe its real name, public address, contact, URL and current hours, matching visible website content. Do not invent premises or hours. Check Google's requirements; correct markup does not guarantee a rich result.
Tracking Results
What to track
- Google Search Console positions for local keywords
- Google Business Profile Performance profile views, call clicks and direction requests; clicks are not completed calls
- Rank tracker positions of "service + city" keywords
Worked example: Local interest and actual business
worksheet
| Signal | Source | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Search clicks | Search Console: specific URL | To record |
| Profile interactions | Profile performance export | To record |
| Website visits | Analytics: tagged link | To record |
| Qualified calls | Received-enquiry log | To record |
A profile interaction is not automatically a completed call or sale.
Local SEO Checklist
- Eligible Google Business Profile with complete relevant information
- Current, accurate photos of the premises or service
- Ongoing requests for authentic reviews and helpful responses
- NAP consistent everywhere online
- Local keywords in title, H1, content
- LocalBusiness schema on website
- Registration in Czech business directories
- Useful information about your actual service area
Local SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Measure qualified enquiries; a higher position alone does not guarantee business. If you need help, get in touch, local SEO is part of my offering. For a deeper technical view, read my technical SEO checklist and SEO guide for business owners.