Local
Search Engine Land is your source for local marketing SEO news and content. You’ll find a variety of up-to-date and authoritative resources, including the latest news, tactic-rich tutorials, and the latest data to help you work smarter and make better decisions.
What you read here is written by our experienced in-house team, and subject matter experts from leading brands and agencies.
Don’t miss out! Get the Search Engine Land newsletter delivered daily to your inbox. Subscribe for free!
5 top tips to boost your local SEO efforts
Position your local business for success and connect with your target audience more effectively with these impactful local SEO strategies.
How to create local content that builds trust and drives sales
Fuel your local SEO strategy with compelling content that builds authority, answers objections, and drives sales.
Unleashing the potential of Google reviews for local SEO
Find out how to boost your business's credibility and influence local SEO rankings with authentic customer feedback.
How to respond to negative reviews harming your company’s reputation
Here's why responding to negative online reviews matters, plus tips for addressing dissatisfied customers' concerns.
How to use location-specific authority content for SEO
Boost visibility in the SERPs, increase trust, and bring in leads for your business with outstanding location pages and blog posts.
Local SEO in 2023: 5 simple ways to dominate local search
New to local search? Wondering where to start? Here are five tactics to help you kick off your local SEO campaign.
Google files lawsuit over fake review scams
Google said in this case the alleged scammers created 350 fraudulent Business Profiles and over 14,000 fake reviews.
Google Bard now can use your device’s precise location for more relevant local results
To enable this, manage your preferences in location settings.
Google Local Service Ads mass policy violations
Google is investigating if this is a bug or a new enforcement of some kind.
How Google Business Profile pre-defined services can impact local SEO
Looking to boost your local SEO rankings? Consider adding pre-defined services to your Google Business Profile listing. Learn more here.
The SEO hierarchy of needs for local businesses on a budget
Focus on the local SEO hierarchy of needs, and get the right foundations in place for a chance to compete in the SERPs. Here's how.
5 reasons your Google Business Profile might get suspended
Some “unwritten” rules can trigger your GBP's suspension and impact your local search visibility. Here are some violations to watch out for.
How to build an E-E-A-T strategy for local SEO
Develop a holistic strategy that emphasizes the quality of your organization's digital presence with this local SEO guide to E-E-A-T.
Google Maps can detect fake phone numbers in photos and remove them
Google also shared some states on how it fought fake reviews and content in local search.
2023 Survey: Local search ranking factors
Whitespark has surveyed dozens of local SEO experts to compile what they believe are the most important ranking factors for local search.
Optimizing for Bing Places: Is it worth it?
Despite its limitations compared to Google Business Profile, Bing Places can be a solid source of local organic traffic for some industries.
Breaking Bard: Google’s AI chatbot lacks sources, hallucinates, gives bad SEO advice
Google Bard suggests buying links, predicts the next Core Update and refuses to share links to its sources. We're off to a ridiculous start.
How ChatGPT can help with local SEO
From Google Business Profile to reviews and local link building, here are specific ways ChatGPT can (and can't) help in local SEO.
Optimizing local landing pages for search: 8 best practices
Done right, location-specific landing pages can build trust and authority for your business. Get better local SEO results with these tips.
Local search in 2023: Key trends and tactics for marketers
Learn the trends and factors impacting the local ecosystem and ways brands can deliver an engaging experience for local customers.
2 free tools for tracking your Google reviews
Monitoring reviews is a must for businesses with an online presence. Here are some tools to include in your local SEO toolkit.
How to manage and edit your Google Business Profile from Google search
Managing your GBP listing from Google search is the new norm. Here's an overview of the in-search experience features you need to know.
Google Maps removed policy-abiding reviews from Local Guides
Google is working on restoring the reviews over the next few weeks.
Google rolling out cars for sale in Google Business Profiles
US-based dealerships can now add all their inventory to their local business profile in Google.
Apple Business Connect: Your guide to getting started
With Business Connect, you can now customize the way your business information appears across Apple apps. Learn how to get started.
Apple Maps relaunches Apple Business Connect
Initially launched about a decade ago, now Apple is adding numerous features for businesses, including messaging.
Google Business Profiles to stop allowing price ranges on products on February 15
Also, Google will no longer support custom call to actions.
Google Local Service Ads are now available for dentists
This is the first new vertical Google has added to LSAs.
Arbitrage in Google’s Local Services Ads: What you need to know
Spam in the local search space appears to have moved into another area that Google is unable to police actively.
Top 5 search marketing trends and 3 must-haves for 2023
Here's a look at significant search, digital marketing and consumer trends, along with the must-haves for digital marketers in 2023.
4 main types of local links and how to earn them
Earning links for your local business starts with evaluating your organization’s values and making a genuine impact in your community.
How to make the most of the new Google Business Profile dashboard
Google's New Merchant Experience (NMX) has rolled out. Here's a rundown of the changes in GBP and how to get used to them.
Location pages in Google’s crosshairs after October spam update
Ranking drops and deindexed pages are plaguing service area business sites. Let's explore the potential cause and what local SEOs can do.
Google files lawsuit against company falsely promising Page 1 rankings
Google's lawsuit alleges that a company called G Verifier scammed and harassed hundreds of Business Profile merchants.
Don’t fall for fake ownership requests for your Google Business Profile
There are reports of an increase in fraudulent ownership requests, so be careful.
Report: Google Business Profiles bug causing reviews to disappear
A bug with automatically applied suggested edits leads to some businesses seeing all their reviews vanish from Google.
Yelp has created a new attribute, Business Fund, and Resource Hub for veterans
Searches on Yelp for veteran-owned businesses in the U.S. increased by 101% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to last year.
Google review guidelines say discouraging negative or selectively soliciting positive reviews is not allowed
Google is now being very explicit about this in their guidelines, so be careful.
How to turn your Google Business Profile into a revenue-generating channel
An enhanced GBP can drive more traffic, leads and sales to your local business. Focus on these areas when optimizing your Business Profile.