1. How local ranking actually works

Google's local results have two surfaces, and they rank differently:

• The local pack / Maps — the 3 listings with stars and a map. Driven by GBP signals, proximity to searcher, prominence (reviews, citations, on-site signals).
• Organic results — the blue-link results. Driven by classic SEO: relevance, authority, content, on-page optimization.

You need both. Searcher behavior depends on intent: "plumber near me" = pack-dominant, "why is my drain slow" = organic-dominant.

Google has confirmed three ranking factors for local: relevance, distance, and prominence. You can influence relevance and prominence; distance is fixed (the searcher's location).

2. GBP audit and full optimization

If a client comes to you with no other SEO done, GBP is where you start. It moves rankings in 2–6 weeks, often faster than on-site work.

2.1 Audit checklist (run on day 1)

• Profile claimed and verified
• Primary category exact-matches the main service ("Plumber" not "Home services")
• 3–9 secondary categories
• Business name = legal name (no "Joe's Plumbing — Best in Phoenix!" — that's a guideline violation)
• Address visible vs. service-area only — choose based on storefront vs. mobile
• Phone matches the website footer exactly
• Website URL matches website's preferred domain
• Hours accurate, holiday hours scheduled out 12 weeks
• 15+ photos uploaded (logo, cover, interior, exterior, team, work, products)
• Services list with descriptions for each
• Products listed if applicable
• Q&A section seeded with 5–10 real questions
• Posts (offers / updates) cadence: weekly
• Messaging enabled if staffed
• Booking enabled if applicable
• UTM tags on the website link for tracking

2.2 The website URL UTM

Tag the website link on GBP so you can attribute traffic in GA4:

https://yourclient.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp

3. Geo keyword research with AI

Two kinds of keywords matter:

• Service + city — "plumber Phoenix", "emergency plumber Scottsdale"
• Service + neighborhood — "plumber Arcadia", "drain cleaning Tempe"

3.1 The 5-step process

1. Pull seed keywords from Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush, or free Ubersuggest.
2. Mine competitor sites for their geo-page URLs (/service-areas/...).
3. Use AI to generate combinations:

You are a local SEO researcher.

Generate a list of all geo + service keyword combinations for:
- Niche: {{ plumber }}
- Primary city: {{ Phoenix, AZ }}
- Service-area neighborhoods: {{ Arcadia, Tempe, Mesa, ... }}
- Top 8 services: {{ drain cleaning, water heater, ... }}

Output a CSV with columns: keyword, intent (commercial/info), 
priority (1-3, where 1 = highest local intent).

4. Validate with Keyword Planner volume data — drop anything < 10 monthly searches that isn't a longtail safety net.
5. Group by URL: each high-priority service-city pair gets its own page (more in Lesson 5).

4. On-page SEO for service pages

Each service page needs:

• Title tag: {Service} in {City} | {Brand} — 50–60 chars
• Meta description: 130–155 chars, mentions service + city + a clear value
• H1: mirrors the title with natural language, e.g., "Drain Cleaning in Phoenix"
• One H2 per supporting topic: "How we do it", "What it costs", "Areas served", "Reviews", "FAQ"
• 800–1,200 words for local service pages (more isn't better)
• One image with alt text using the keyword naturally
• Internal links to related services and the parent geo page
• Schema: Service, LocalBusiness, FAQPage if FAQs
• CTA twice on the page (mid + end)

5. Geo pages — building the grid

Geo pages are dedicated pages targeting "{service} {city}" combinations. Done well, they double or triple non-brand traffic. Done badly, they trip thin-content / doorway-page penalties.

5.1 The rules of geo pages

• Each page must offer genuine, unique value — local references, neighborhoods, photos, reviews from that area, project examples.
• Don't duplicate copy and swap the city name. Google catches that fast (see Google's "doorway pages" guideline).
• Aim for 700–1,000 unique words per page, including at least 3 specifically-local sentences.
• Embed a Google Map for that service area, not a global one.

5.2 The geo grid

Service → Area ↓	Drain cleaning	Water heater	Slab leak
Phoenix	/drain-cleaning-phoenix	/water-heater-phoenix	/slab-leak-phoenix
Tempe	/drain-cleaning-tempe	/water-heater-tempe	/slab-leak-tempe
Mesa	/drain-cleaning-mesa	/water-heater-mesa	/slab-leak-mesa

3 services × 3 areas = 9 pages. Don't ship them all at once. Publish 2–3 per month with real, edited content. The retainer pays for ongoing geo-grid expansion.

6. Citations and NAP consistency

NAP = Name, Address, Phone. The exact same string everywhere — same punctuation, same suite formatting, same area code style.

6.1 Tier-1 directories (priority)

• Google Business Profile
• Apple Maps via Apple Business Connect
• Bing Places
• Facebook Page
• Yelp
• Better Business Bureau
• Yellow Pages

6.2 Niche directories

Plumbers: Angi, HomeAdvisor, Houzz, Thumbtack. Lawyers: Avvo, Justia, FindLaw. Med spas: RealSelf, Vitals. Restaurants: TripAdvisor, OpenTable.

6.3 Tools

BrightLocal, Whitespark, or Yext to push citations once. Don't subscribe forever — push and hold.

7. Reviews: the system that compounds

Reviews drive local rankings, and more importantly, conversion. A 4.7★ business with 200 reviews beats a 5.0★ with 12.

7.1 Get the reviews

1. At job-completion, send a 1-line SMS with the GBP review link.
2. If no review in 48h, send a follow-up email with a 1-click link.
3. Train the field team to ask in person: "If you'd rate us 5 stars, would you mind leaving us a Google review? I'll send you the link right now."

Tools: NiceJob, GatherUp, Birdeye, or a free Make.com automation that triggers from the client's job-management system.

7.2 Respond to every review

Within 24 hours. Use the customer's name. Mention the service. Negative review? Don't argue — apologize, offer a private channel, fix the issue. Both Google and prospects are reading.

8. Schema markup that matters

For a local business site, you need three types of schema (JSON-LD):

• LocalBusiness on the homepage and contact page (with the right sub-type — Plumber, Dentist, etc.)
• Service on each service page
• FAQPage on any page with an FAQ section (still gets rich-result eligibility for many queries)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Plumber",
  "name": "Acme Plumbing",
  "image": "https://...",
  "telephone": "+1-602-555-0123",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main St",
    "addressLocality": "Phoenix",
    "addressRegion": "AZ",
    "postalCode": "85003",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 33.45, "longitude": -112.07 },
  "areaServed": ["Phoenix","Tempe","Mesa","Scottsdale"],
  "openingHours": "Mo-Sa 07:00-19:00",
  "sameAs": ["https://facebook.com/...","https://...gbp..."],
  "aggregateRating": { "@type":"AggregateRating", "ratingValue":"4.9", "reviewCount":"187" }
}
</script>

9. Local link building

Local links matter more than national ones for local rankings. Cheapest, highest-ROI tactics:

• Local chamber of commerce membership.
• Local newspaper / blog mentions (sponsor a Little League team, host a free workshop, donate, comment on local events).
• "Best of {city}" round-up listings.
• Vendor pages — your suppliers and partners often have customer/dealer directories.
• Industry-association memberships (BBB, niche trade groups).

10. Tracking and reporting

10.1 Tools

• Google Search Console — impressions, clicks, queries.
• Google Business Profile insights — calls, direction requests, website clicks.
• Local Falcon or BrightLocal — geo-grid rank tracking (where do we rank for "plumber" within a 5-mile grid).
• GA4 + UTM — actual website traffic split by source.
• Looker Studio — assemble all of it into a one-page dashboard.

10.2 The monthly report

Three numbers the client cares about (everything else is window-dressing):

• Calls from GBP this month vs. last month.
• Direction requests from GBP.
• Form submissions on the website.

Course 08 covers the full report layout.

What to do this week

1. Run the GBP audit on yourself or a friend's business. Fix everything in Lesson 2.
2. Pick one client and sketch their geo grid (services × cities).
3. Generate the full keyword list with the AI prompt in Lesson 3.
4. Push tier-1 citations using BrightLocal or by hand.
5. Set up Local Falcon for monthly geo-grid tracking.