Set up local search for a shop or service area
Use this when customers visit a place, or when the business travels to them. Your assistant lines up your Business Profile, your site, and your markup, so every listing shows the same name and phone, and the same address where customers visit a place.
Example
You ask
We run one dental clinic downtown. Set up local search for us, starting with the steps I do in Google Business Profile.
The assistant
Your assistant lists the profile steps for you: the real name, the most specific category, the verified address, and the hours. Then it checks that the site shows the same name, address, and phone, and drafts LocalBusiness markup for the clinic page.
Use it when
- The business has a shop, office, clinic, or service area.
- You ask about Google Maps, map results, or reviews.
- You plan location pages or a service-area page for the business.
You give it
- The business name, address, and phone, as they appear on the sign and receipts
- Whether customers visit the place or the business travels to them, and the area it serves
- Access to the Business Profile, or the person who can create and verify it
It returns
- Steps for the owner to set up the Business Profile: name, category, address, hours, and phone
- Matching name and phone (and the address for a place customers visit) for the site, LocalBusiness markup, and a list of other listings to update
- Honest review requests and draft replies for the owner to post
How the skill runs
Explain how local results rank
Google ranks local results by relevance, distance, and prominence. The owner cannot change distance. No one can pay for a better local ranking, so do not promise a map position.
Set up the Business Profile
The owner creates and verifies the profile. Use the real-world name with no city or keyword added, the fewest and most specific categories, and the real place customers visit. A service-area business hides its address and sets the area.
Match the site to the profile
Show the same name and phone on the site, written the same way, as text. Add an address only for a place customers visit; a service-area business leaves it off. After any change, update the profile, the site, and the markup together.
Add LocalBusiness markup
Use the most specific LocalBusiness type, with name and address. Add telephone, url, opening hours, and geo when you have them. Mark up only what the page shows, and do not add the business's own star rating.
Ask for reviews within the rules
Ask every customer for an honest review, with a link from the profile. Do not offer a reward, ask only happy customers, or write reviews through staff. Draft replies for the owner to post.
Build location and area pages
One page per real location, with its own address, hours, directions, and services. A service area gets a page only where the business really works. Pages that only swap the city name are doorway pages.
Measure local results
RankMySEO tracks normal results and does not record map positions. Filter Search Console queries by city. Ask the owner to read the profile's calls, direction requests, and clicks to your site each month.
Where it stops
- Your assistant cannot create or connect the Business Profile. The owner does that, and Google verifies it.
- Reviews must be asked for honestly. Offers for reviews, screened asks, and staff-written reviews break Google's policy, and Google removes those reviews.
- Google says no one can pay for a better local ranking. This skill does not promise a map position.
- A UTM tag on the link in the profile changes that link, so your assistant asks the owner before adding one.
Questions before you install
Do I need local search if my business is online only?
No. Use this skill only when customers visit a place or the business travels to them. An online-only business can skip it.
Can I ask my customers for Google reviews?
Yes, if you ask every customer honestly, with a link from the profile. Offering a reward, asking only happy customers, or pressuring customers to review on the spot breaks Google's rules.
Will local search put my business on the map?
No. This skill cannot promise a map position. Google ranks local results by relevance, distance, and prominence. You cannot change distance, and RankMySEO does not record map positions.