Local SEO
Local SEO Agency: Google Business Profile, Reviews and the Local Pack
A local SEO agency is a search engine optimization provider that makes a business visible in Google's local results: its Google Business Profile, its reviews and the local pack on Google Maps. The SEO Papers, an SEO and GEO agency, does this local SEO remotely, for businesses in every sector, from the three local ranking factors Google publishes, relevance, distance and prominence, and from two Google patents our agency has read.
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SEO Consulting: $99 / 45 min, credited toward your first retainer month. See the offer Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
This page covers, in this order, the role of a local SEO agency, the Business Profile, reviews, the local pack factors, hiring a provider, timelines and pricing.
Free check
Are you visible in Google Maps?
Type a customer's search (with the city) and your business name: see your position in Google Maps, live.
Google Maps results in the United States, first 20 listings. The same search is re-read at most once per 24 h. 5 checks per visitor per day.
Without the tool, check by hand: type a customer's search with your city into Google Maps, such as plumber Austin TX, count your position in the list, and note the rating and review count of the top three listings.
What does a local SEO agency do?
A local SEO agency gets a business found by nearby customers on Google Search and Google Maps, by working on its Business Profile, its reviews and its website.
Local SEO is the part of search engine optimization that targets searches tied to a place. The market gives this provider other names: local SEO company or local SEO firm, and local SEO expert or local SEO specialist when one person does the work. Where does this work show? On three Google surfaces: the local pack, the block of listings with a map on the results page; Google Maps; and the Business Profile itself.
This role breaks down into six deliverables, rests on search engine optimization and serves every business that meets customers in a given area.
What do local SEO services include?
Local SEO services include six deliverables, from the Business Profile to the website.
| Deliverable | What it changes in Google | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile optimization | Complete, accurate info makes the business more likely to show up | Google Business Profile Help |
| NAP consistency audit (name, address, phone) | Documents naming the business by name, address or phone are counted | Google patent US 8,046,371 |
| Review acquisition strategy | More reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking | Google Business Profile Help |
| Local citation building | The number of documents citing the business feeds prominence | Google patent US 8,046,371 |
| Location page optimization | How many websites link to the business counts in prominence | Google Business Profile Help |
| Local schema markup | Tells Google business hours, departments and more | Google Search Central |
A local SEO package bundles these six deliverables. The two patent rows describe what Google's system can do, not what it uses today. The fifth row explains why a local SEO agency starts from the website.
Why does a local SEO agency start from search engine optimization?
A local SEO agency starts from search engine optimization because Google bases prominence partly on how many websites link to the business, according to its Business Profile Help. Google patent US 8,046,371 lists as its first prominence factor the link-based score of the business's authoritative page, such as its home page: links and the website are search engine optimization work, not profile work alone. Does local SEO replace SEO? No: it builds on the same pages and the same links. This foundation holds for every type of local business, and our guide to search engine optimization explains how Google ranks pages.
Which small businesses need a local SEO agency?
The small businesses that need a local SEO agency fall into three cases, according to how they meet their customers.
- Storefront businesses serve customers at their address, which shows on their Business Profile.
- Service-area businesses visit or deliver to customers, such as cleaning services or plumbers: they remove their address and keep one profile for the whole area they serve.
- Hybrid businesses serve customers at their address and visit or deliver to them, such as a restaurant that delivers.
Every sector qualifies, from trades, law firms and medical practices to real estate agents, retail and restaurants. Google allows one profile per business and none for a virtual office. For each of these businesses, a local SEO agency starts with the profile.
How does a local SEO agency optimize a Google Business Profile?
A local SEO agency optimizes a Google Business Profile in five steps, from verifying the business to responding to reviews.
- Verify the business: verification tells Google you are authorized to represent it, so the business is more likely to show up in search results.
- Enter the business's real-world name, as used consistently on its storefront, website and stationery.
- Choose the fewest categories it takes to describe the core business, never categories used solely as keywords.
- Fill in the business address if customers visit it, or the service area if they do not, then the hours, including special hours, and the attributes.
- Add photos and videos of the business, then respond to customer reviews.
What we check: these five points on the client's profile, with the manager access the owner grants us. These steps condense the full Google Business Profile guide, and the name, address and phone they set must match the rest of the web.
Why must your name, address and phone number match everywhere?
Your name, address and phone number must match everywhere because the documents that refer to a business are identified by its name, its address or its phone number, according to Google patent US 8,046,371. Their total number is one of the location prominence factors the patent describes. A local SEO agency therefore runs a NAP consistency audit across directories, social profiles and the website, then corrects every mismatch. The patent describes what Google's system can do, not the factors Google uses today. After the profile and its citations come customer reviews.
How does a local SEO agency grow your Google reviews?
A local SEO agency grows your Google reviews by organizing a steady, honest flow of customer reviews, because more reviews and positive ratings can help a business's local ranking, according to Google Business Profile Help. Three practices frame this flow of reviews.
- Ask customers for reviews with a Google link or a QR code.
- Reply to every review, positive or negative, once the business is verified: Google requires verification before any reply to reviews.
- Refuse bought, filtered or forced reviews: Google prohibits incentives such as payment, discounts or free goods, selective solicitation of positive reviews and pressure on the premises, and removes incentivized reviews from Maps.
A mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy, according to Google, so a negative review followed by a reply is not a failure. Not every reviewer carries the same weight, however.
Why do reviews from local experts weigh more?
Reviews from local experts weigh more because Google patent US 9,792,330 identifies, per business category and geographic area, the reviewers who wrote the most reviews there, then ranks local results with their reviews. The patent filters spam and short reviews first, names as local experts, for example, the top 10 reviewers of a category in an area, and can leave out reviews older than a threshold age, two years in its example.
From this patent, our local SEO agency tracks who reviews a business: reviewers with a history in its category and area, the length of their reviews and their age. The patent does not confirm how Google weighs reviewers in local rankings today. These reviews feed prominence, one of the three local pack factors, and our page on local experts details the patent.
Which local pack factors can a local SEO agency influence?
A local SEO agency can influence two of the three local pack factors, relevance and prominence, but not distance. Google ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, according to its Business Profile Help. These three factors differ in what an agency can move.
- Relevance: how well a Business Profile matches the search; complete, detailed info raises it, and the agency works on it in the profile.
- Distance: how far the business is from the customer searching, estimated from what Google knows when no location is shared; no agency can change it.
- Prominence: how well known the business is, from the websites linking to it and its number of reviews; the agency builds it with citations, reviews and links.
There is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google, the company states. Google documents this ranking, and two Google patents our agency has read describe it further: that is what patent-based means here. How do you check your own position? Type a customer's search with the city into Google Maps, count your rank and note the top three listings' ratings and review counts; the order shifts with the searcher's location, and the tool above reads US-level results for the words typed.
Prominence, the factor with the most levers, rests on five signals.
How does a local SEO agency build location prominence?
A local SEO agency builds location prominence by working on the five signals described in Google patent US 8,046,371.
- Score of the authoritative page: links earned to the business's website.
- Number of documents that refer to the business: consistent NAP citations.
- Highest score among those documents: one mention of the business on a strong page in its sector or city.
- Number of documents with reviews: reviews of the business on several types of sites.
- Number of information documents, such as directories: business listings in the directories of its sector.
The patent describes what Google's system can do, not the signals Google uses today. The first signal leads back to the website, and our page on location prominence explains all five.
How do location pages support the local pack?
Location pages support the local pack because the website is the business's authoritative page, where each real location or service gets a page that answers it. A local SEO agency marks up these pages with LocalBusiness structured data, which tells Google about business hours, departments and more, according to Google Search Central. Google's spam policies count as doorway abuse the pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page, so the agency builds one page per real location or service only. Profile, NAP consistency, reviews, citations, links and location pages cover the two factors an agency can work on, relevance and prominence, and choosing who does that work comes next.
// faq
How do you hire a local SEO agency?
You hire a local SEO agency by checking six criteria, choosing between an agency and a consultant, then starting with an audit. Hiring an SEO is a big decision that can improve visibility and save time, with a risk of damage to the site and its reputation, according to Google Search Central: hence the checks below. Then come doing it yourself, GEO, remote work, near me, timelines, prices and the guarantee.
How do you choose the best local SEO agency?
You choose the best local SEO agency for a small business with six verifiable checks before you sign: the best is the one that passes all six.
- Profile ownership: Google requires a third party, such as an SEO company, to let clients keep ownership or co-ownership of their profile at all times and regain exclusive control within 7 business days of notice.
- Sourced method: every action traces back to Google's published factors or to its patents, not to a recipe.
- No #1 promise: Google Search Central states that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
- Announced measurement: the profile's performance report (views, searches, interactions) and read-only Search Console access, as Google advises.
- Clean reviews: reviews earned without incentives or filtering, as Google Maps policy requires.
- Published prices: rates visible before the first call.
These checks apply to any provider, ours included. Next comes the choice between an agency and a consultant.
Should you hire a local SEO agency or a local SEO consultant?
You should hire a local SEO agency or a local SEO consultant depending on who executes: an agency carries profile, reviews, citations, website and links in one plan, a consultant advises a team that executes itself. A local SEO freelancer follows the consultant's logic. At The SEO Papers, our local SEO agency runs the full plan, and the founder sells a 45-minute SEO Consulting session, a diagnosis and a roadmap, to teams that do the work themselves. How that session runs, for owners who would rather do the work themselves, is described on our SEO consultant page.
Can you do local SEO yourself?
Yes, you can do local SEO yourself: Google provides a Business Profile at no extra cost, and any owner can create one at business.google.com/add. What takes time is NAP consistency, a steady flow of reviews, links and location pages, the work a local SEO agency takes on. ChatGPT can draft a profile description; it cannot verify the business or reply to reviews, which requires a verified profile and an owner or manager.
Why start with a local SEO audit?
You start with a local SEO audit because it measures, before any work, where the Business Profile, NAP consistency, reviews and location pages stand. These are the four local levers our consulting page advises on. The Maps checker on this page reads one search; an audit covers every search the business targets, with its profile, citations and links. A local SEO agency that skips this step works without a baseline, whether the goal is Google Maps or AI answers.
Do you need a GEO agency on top of a local SEO agency?
No, you do not need a GEO agency on top of a local SEO agency: The SEO Papers sells SEO and GEO as one offer, and its Growth retainer covers "Ongoing SEO & GEO execution on your roadmap". GEO, generative engine optimization, is visibility as a cited source in answers from ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews; in our reading, the same reviews, mentions and pages serve both. Our GEO agency page covers generative engine optimization in full.
How does a remote local SEO agency work with US businesses?
A remote local SEO agency works with US businesses by video call and in writing: The SEO Papers, an SEO and GEO agency, is based in Paris, works with US clients remotely and has no US office. Our office, 122 rue Amelot, 75011 Paris, France, receives no clients on site; work runs in English or French, directly with the founder, with prices in US dollars. The agency's location does not enter its clients' local ranking, since Google measures distance between the business and the searcher. The work follows four steps.
- A free SEO and GEO audit, then a 30-minute call to walk through the findings.
- Owner or manager access to the profile, with the client remaining its owner.
- Monthly execution on the roadmap.
- Monthly reporting tied to revenue and leads.
This remote model is how our agency built on patents works with every client.
Do you need a local SEO agency near you?
No, you do not need a local SEO agency near you: Google measures distance between your business and the customer who searches, not between you and your agency. Near-me searches therefore favor businesses close to the searcher, while a local SEO agency works on the profile, reviews, pages and links remotely, with manager access to your Business Profile instead of a meeting. How near-me searches rank businesses is a question of local SEO itself.
How long does a local SEO agency take to show results?
A local SEO agency shows results on Google's timeline for any change: from a few hours to several months, according to Google's SEO Starter Guide, which advises waiting a few weeks before assessing an effect. On a retainer, our first measured checkpoint is month 3, the guarantee check, since measurable gains within 3 months are what our guarantee is built on. Distance and local competition change with each search, so we read results in Search Console and the profile's performance report, not from one position. That monthly reading is part of what a retainer pays for.
How much does a local SEO agency cost?
A local SEO agency such as The SEO Papers has no separate local SEO price: its offers cost $99 for 45 minutes of SEO Consulting, $1,389 per month for Growth with no commitment, and from $3,289 per month for Scale. The $99 is credited toward your first retainer month.
Prices in USD. No VAT added (French micro-enterprise VAT exemption, art. 293 B of the French tax code).
On the wider market, local SEO costs $1,557 per month on average, and agencies typically charge $1,819 for it, according to an Ahrefs poll of 439 people updated on August 15, 2024. What moves SEO agency pricing is explained on our pricing page.
Can a local SEO agency guarantee the top spot on Google Maps?
No, a local SEO agency cannot guarantee the top spot on Google Maps: Google states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and distance depends on the searcher. Our guarantee on a Growth or Scale retainer, under 4 conditions, covers measured traffic, not a position: +33% non-brand Google clicks in 3 months in your Search Console against the same 3 months last year, or we refund the gap, capped at the fees paid.