What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the practice of optimising your business to rank in geographically-relevant search results. For a trades business, that means showing up when someone in your service area searches 'electrician Auckland', 'plumber Remuera', or 'builder North Shore'.
Local SEO has two main components: the local pack (the map listing with three businesses at the top of the results) and the organic results (the traditional blue links below). Both matter — and both are achievable with the right strategy.
Step 1: Get your Google Business Profile right
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the foundation of local SEO. Without a verified, complete, and optimised GBP, you can't rank in the local pack regardless of how good your website is.
- Verify your listing — if you haven't verified your GBP, do this first.
- Choose the right primary category — this is the most important signal for local pack rankings.
- Write a keyword-rich description — include your main service, location, and key differentiator.
- Add all services — Webflow has a service list feature that adds structured signals to your listing.
- Keep hours accurate — Google prioritises businesses with accurate operating information.
Step 2: Build review velocity
Reviews are the second most important local ranking factor after GBP completeness. Businesses with more reviews and higher ratings rank higher — it's that direct.
Build a review request process into your post-job workflow. After every job, send a short message with a direct link to your Google review page. A simple, consistent review strategy can add 20–40 reviews per year to your profile.
Step 3: Optimise your website for local search
Your website should reinforce the same signals as your GBP:
- Include your city and service areas in page titles and headings
- Add your address and phone number to every page (typically in the footer)
- Create individual service pages for each major service — don't put everything on one page
- Add suburb-specific content if you serve multiple areas
Step 4: Build local citations
Citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across the web. Consistent NAP information across directories like Finda, Yellow Pages, and Localist reinforces your local credibility to Google.
The key word is consistent. If your address or phone number is listed differently across directories, it sends conflicting signals. Audit your citations and clean up any inconsistencies.
How long does local SEO take?
GBP optimisation can show results in weeks. Organic ranking improvements typically take 3–6 months to materialise. SEO is a long-term investment — but the compounding returns are unmatched by any other marketing channel.
