If you're a service-based business, local SEO should be your best mate.



This isn't about competing with Amazon or massive corporations – it's about being found when someone in your area searches for what you do.

Start with the basics: ensure your business name, address, and phone number are consistent everywhere they appear online.

Your website, Google Business Profile, and social media accounts – they all need to match perfectly. Google gets confused easily, and confused Google means invisible you.

Create location-specific pages if you serve multiple areas. An Osteopath serving both Benfleet and Rayleigh should have dedicated pages for each location, not just a generic "we serve Essex" page.

Write about local landmarks, mention local events, and use the language your local customers actually use.

2. Write Content That Actually Helps People ✍️

Here's the thing about content – it doesn't need to be Shakespeare, but it does need to be useful.

Write about the problems your customers face every day. If you're a heating engineer, don't just write "we fix boilers."

Write about "Why your boiler keeps making that weird noise at 3 am" or "5 signs your boiler needs attention before winter hits."

Think about the questions you get asked repeatedly. Those are your content goldmines.

Every frequently asked question is a potential blog post that could bring someone to your website. And when they find genuinely helpful information, they're more likely to trust you with their business.

However, ensure that it remains conversational – write as if you're explaining something to a friend, not delivering a university lecture. ☕

3. Speed Matters More Than You Think ⚡

Nobody waits for slow websites anymore. If your site takes more than three seconds to load, people are already clicking back to Google to find someone else.

It's harsh, but it's reality.

Simple fixes can make a massive difference: compress your images before uploading them, choose a decent hosting provider (not the cheapest one you can find), and avoid loading your homepage with every widget and animation known to mankind.

Your website should work perfectly on mobile phones, too. More people browse on their phones than on computers now, so if your site looks rubbish on a mobile, you're losing customers every single day.

4. Build Relationships, Not Just Links 🤝

Getting other websites to link to yours is still important, but forget about buying dodgy links or spamming other sites. Focus on building genuine relationships within your local business community.

Join your local Chamber of Commerce, sponsor a local football team, or partner with complementary businesses.

A genuine link from your local business association's website is worth more than a hundred fake links from random websites.

Write guest posts for local publications or industry magazines. Share your expertise genuinely, and the links will follow naturally.

It takes longer than shortcuts, but it actually works in the long term.

5. Keep an Eye on What's Working 📊

You can't improve what you don't measure. Set up Google Analytics (it's free) and actually look at it regularly. Which pages get the most visitors? Where do people leave your site? What search terms bring people to you?

Don't get overwhelmed by all the data – focus on the basics.

Have more people found your website this month than last month? Are they staying longer on your website? Are they contacting you?

These simple metrics tell you if your visibility efforts are paying off.

Your Next Steps 🚀

Pick one strategy from this list and focus on it for the next month. Don't try to do everything at once – that's a recipe for doing nothing well.

Master one approach, see results, then add the next strategy.

Remember, your website's visibility isn't just about being found – it's about being found by the right people at the right time with the right message.

Focus on being genuinely helpful to your local customers, and the visibility will follow.

Your website deserves to be seen, and with the right approach, it will be. The question isn't whether these strategies work – it's whether you'll stick with them long enough to see the results. 💪