Guides

Plain-English definitions and how-tos for local SEO — short, structured, and to the point. More guides are added regularly.

Basics

Short, plain-English definitions for the core terms.

The practice of optimizing a business's online presence so it ranks higher in location-based search results.

The free listing that controls how a business appears on Google Search and Google Maps.

Name, Address, and Phone number — the identity data that must match exactly everywhere online.

The block of three map-linked listings Google shows above organic results for local searches.

Step-by-step walkthroughs and reference checklists.

A step-by-step walkthrough of creating and verifying a profile, plus a first-week checklist.

Google's own documented factors — relevance, distance, prominence — and which claims are myths.

Identity, completeness, photos, reviews, posts, Q&A, and monitoring — the manual version, done right.

NAP, embedded map, title tags, page speed, schema markup, and more, for the page your profile links to.

What's actually reportable, how to report it, and what to expect from Google's review process.