Local SEO

Local SEO is the part of SEO that gets you found by people searching for your services in your area: on Google Maps, in Google's local results and in searches like "dentist near me" or "plumber Milan". It works on two things at once: your Google Business Profile, the listing with your address, opening hours, photos and reviews, and your website.

On this page you will find who it is for, the problems it solves, what we do and deliver, how we work, timelines, what we don't do and what it costs.

Who it is for, and who it is not for

Local SEO is right for you if:

• you have a place where you receive customers: a shop, restaurant, hotel, medical practice, law firm, gym;
• you work at your customers' premises in a specific area: plumbers, electricians, cleaning companies, technicians;
• you have several locations or serve several cities and want to be found in each one, like a network of real estate agencies or a foreign brand with stores in Italy;
• your customers choose you after comparing listings, reviews and photos on Maps.

It is not right for you if you only sell online, nationwide, with no tie to a specific area: in that case you need standard SEO consulting. Nor is it right for you if you want to appear in a city where you have neither a location nor customers: inventing addresses breaks Google's rules.

The problems it solves

• You don't appear on Maps when customers search for your service nearby, while your competitors do.
• Your listing is incomplete or wrong: an imprecise category, outdated opening hours, few photos, details that differ from the website.
• You have few reviews, or reviews that go unanswered.
• Your website doesn't talk about your area: no pages for the cities or neighborhoods you serve, no structured data.

What we do and what we deliver

1. Google Business Profile. We check and complete the listing: the real business name, primary and secondary categories, opening hours, services, photos, attributes, service area. What we deliver: the optimized listing, or the changes to make if you manage it yourself.
2. Consistent data. Name, address and phone number (the so-called NAP) identical on the website, on the listing and in directories and industry portals. What we deliver: the list of citations to fix or create.
3. Local pages on the website. With local keyword research we choose the pages to create or improve, with copy written for local customers, not pages copied with only the city name changed. Where needed we work on the copy through SEO copywriting and add the business's structured data. What we deliver: the pages, or instructions for whoever manages the site.
4. Reviews. We help you ask all your customers for reviews in a simple, correct way and reply to them, negative ones included. What we deliver: the method for asking and reply templates.
5. Local competitors. With competitor analysis we see who appears ahead of you on Maps and why. What we deliver: the gaps to close.
6. Reporting. Calls, direction requests, clicks to the website and the searches you appear for. What we deliver: the monthly report.

How local ranking works

Google explains that local results depend on three factors: relevance, how well the listing matches the search; distance between the business and the searcher; and prominence, how well known the business is, based in part on the sites that link to it and on reviews. Google also states that you cannot pay for a better position in local results. Distance is out of anyone's control; relevance and prominence are not, and that is where we work.

How we work

1. Audit and data. We analyze your listing, website, citations, reviews and local competitors.
2. Strategy and keywords. We choose the local searches that bring customers and the areas to focus on.
3. Technical implementation and content. We fix the listing, the structured data and the local pages of the site.
4. Authority and multichannel. Reviews, citations in directories and industry portals, links from local websites and newspapers, and a blog with content about the area when it makes sense.
5. Measurement and iteration. Every month we read the listing and Search Console data and adjust course.

How long it takes

Some fixes to the listing, such as the category, opening hours and wrong details, can have an effect within a few weeks. Reviews, citations and local pages take longer: as a guideline, it usually takes a few months to see stable results. It depends on the competition in your area and on your starting point, which is why we don't promise positions on Maps.

What we don't do

• We don't add keywords or city names to your business name. Google's guidelines require the real name.
• We don't create fake addresses or listings for locations that don't exist. If you work at your customers' premises, the address is hidden and you indicate the area you serve.
• We don't buy reviews or trade them for discounts, gifts or other incentives. We don't ask only satisfied customers for reviews: Google's policies prohibit all of these practices.
• We don't promise the top spot on Maps: it also depends on the searcher's distance, which no one controls.

How much local SEO costs

Local SEO is part of monthly SEO consulting, which starts at €300 a month + VAT. The quote depends on how many listings and areas need to be managed, the state of the website and the competition in your industry. We build it around your project, after looking at your listing and your site.

Who runs the project

Your point of contact is Eugenio Tommasi, who has been doing SEO since 2009 and has worked in Milan, Prague, Spain and Rome. We work online, with businesses across Italy and abroad: local SEO is done on your area, not ours. If you want to know what an SEO agency should do and how to choose one, see our dedicated page.

The first step

Want to know how your listing and your website are doing? Contact us with your website and the areas you serve. You can write to us in English, Italian, Spanish, German or Portuguese, at info@seo.srl, or call +39 320 486 4478.

Sources

Pages consulted and verified on October 8, 2026.

• Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google" (relevance, distance, prominence).
• Google Business Profile Help, "Guidelines for representing your business on Google".
• Maps user-generated content policy, "Prohibited and restricted content" (fake and incentivized reviews).