Someone types “loodgieter Middelburg” (plumber Middelburg, a town in the Netherlands) into their phone, with a leak that needs fixing now. That person wants to call someone right away. Local SEO decides whether your number is at the top, or the competitor's two streets away. This guide shows what you can take on yourself today, and which part is ongoing work after that.
Local SEO is just SEO for your own area
Local SEO is making your business visible to people searching in your surroundings. Think of “kapper in de buurt” (hairdresser nearby), “tandarts Middelburg” (dentist Middelburg) or “aannemer bij mij in de buurt” (contractor near me). For searches like these, Google shows a small map at the top with three businesses beneath it. That block is called the local pack. Together with Google Maps, it is where local customers pick a business, and so it is where you want to be.
It is the same discipline as ordinary search engine optimization, just with a geographic lens on it. That often makes it more rewarding work: your competitors are the handful of businesses doing the same thing in your town or region. A good local position is therefore often quicker to reach than a top spot across the whole Netherlands. And people who search “near me” usually want to get something sorted today.
Start with your Google Business Profile
If you only take on one thing, take on this. Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) largely decides whether you show up in that local map. It is free, you claim and verify it through your Google account, and then you fill it in as completely as you can. A complete profile answers searchers' questions right away, and Google counts that in your favor.
Is your profile still half filled in? Then go through these points:
- The right primary category. Pick exactly what you are (“plumber,” not “handyman company”). The category steers which searches you compete for.
- Correct business details. Name, address, phone number and opening hours must be exactly right, including around holidays.
- Your own photos. Show your premises, your team and the work you deliver. A profile with your own images looks more trustworthy than an empty one.
- Services and a clear description. Say what you do in the words your clients use themselves.
- Posts and updates. Keep your profile alive with posts about recent work, news or changed opening hours.
- Responding to reviews. Reply to every review, the negative ones too. More on that in the next section.
Reviews count for Google and for your customer
Reviews carry a lot of weight in local SEO, and they work on two levels. For Google they are a sign that you really exist and that people are satisfied, which helps your position in the local pack. For the searcher they often make the difference: if you see two plumbers with a similar profile, you will probably call the one with the most recent, positive ratings.
You get more reviews by asking at the right moment: just after you've finished a job and the customer is happy. Make it easy for them with a direct link to your profile, so it takes two taps. And respond to what comes in. A polite reply to a critical review shows future customers how you handle problems. Don't buy fake reviews: Google removes them, and a customer who realizes they're fake won't trust you afterwards.
NAP consistency: exactly the same details everywhere
NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone number. Google collects your business details from all kinds of places on the web: your own site, Google Maps, industry directories, social media. When those all match, it is clear to Google who you are and where you are. If one place has an old address, another an abbreviation and a third a wrong number, doubt creeps in, and that can cost you rankings.
Those mentions on external sites are called citations. They resemble backlinks, but with citations the mention itself counts, even without a link: your name, address and number, written exactly as on your own site. Start with the big ones: your Google Business Profile, your social media and the well-known industry directories. Then clean up old or duplicate listings, and use the same spelling everywhere.
Local landing pages: one strong page per town
Do you work in several towns? Then a page of its own for each town can broaden your findability considerably. The pitfall is making twenty pages that are identical except for the town name. Thin pages like that work against you, because Google recognizes them as copies without content of their own. A local landing page has to be really about that town: a project you did there, a testimonial from a local client, the neighborhoods you work in, a question that comes up there.
So give every town page its own angle and a text you really write for that town. How to write such a page is covered in SEO copywriting. If you then want to tie the separate pages into one whole, the approach from content clusters helps: one solid main page about your service, with the town pages linked around it.
Local keywords: the words your customer types
Your customer doesn't type marketing language. They type service plus town (“dakdekker Alkmaar”, roofer Alkmaar), or “near me”, or a problem followed by a location (“cv-ketel lekt Middelburg”, boiler leaking Middelburg). Those words belong in your page titles, your headings and your text, in ordinary sentences. Say clearly what you do and where, without repeating the same term fifteen times.
How people search differs per trade. A construction company needs different keywords than a dentist; for an example of how that looks in one field, see the page about SEO for construction companies. That difference shows up in the site itself too. With a website for a hair salon it is about a free slot in the calendar, while a website for a plumber depends on urgency and a phone number that is visible right away. Start with the two or three searches you are sure your customers use, and build your page around them.
ChatGPT and Perplexity recommend local businesses too
More and more often, a question like that goes to an AI assistant: “wie is een goede loodgieter in Middelburg?” (who is a good plumber in Middelburg?). ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews simply answer it, with business names included. Those systems rely largely on the same signals you are already working on: a complete Google Business Profile, details that match everywhere, recent ratings from customers and a website that says clearly what you do and where. If you have that in order, such an assistant has enough to be able to name you.
AI search changes every month, so there is no fixed dial to turn. How to prepare for that shift now is covered in the future of SEO is GEO.
Where doing it yourself ends
You can put the basics above in place yourself, and it is worth the effort. The difference is in keeping it up: bringing in reviews every month, keeping details accurate, sharpening pages based on what works and keeping up with changes at Google and the AI search engines. My own Vizibly System takes that ongoing work off your hands. It measures every month how you are found locally and improves what can be better. I don't promise a ranking. What you do see after every round is what the work delivered.
Want to know where you stand before you outsource anything? You can. The SEO approach of Vizibly always starts with an analysis of your current position, your Google Business Profile and your competition in the region. Then you know where you can gain the most before anything changes.
Frequently asked questions about local SEO
How long before local SEO pays off?
Often faster than national SEO. If you complete a half-filled Google Business Profile, it can bring noticeably more views and phone calls within a few weeks. A solid position in the local pack and on harder keywords takes a few months of consistent work: reviews that keep coming in, pages you sharpen and details that match everywhere.
Does local SEO work without a physical address?
Yes. If you go to the customer's home or location, you set up your Google Business Profile as a service area business. You then hide your home address and list the towns or regions where you work instead. That way plumbers, gardeners and HVAC contractors without a shop can still be found locally.
How many reviews do I need?
There is no fixed number. More important than a big pile of old reviews is a steady flow of recent ratings: it shows that you are active now and that customers are satisfied. Look at how many reviews the competitors ranking around you have and make sure you get past them. Respond to everything that comes in and keep asking, even when things are going well.
Is local SEO the same as “lokale SEO”?
Yes. “Local SEO” is the English term and “lokale SEO” the Dutch one. In the Netherlands you come across both, and they are about the same work: making sure people in your area find you when they search for your service.
What does outsourcing local SEO cost?
That depends on your region and how fierce the local competition is. In a quiet market less work is needed than in a big city where ten businesses fight for the same spot on the map. What you pay and what you get for it, you can see on the pricing page. After a short analysis of your situation, I'll draw up a proposal that fits your region.
First see where you stand locally
Start with the free SEO checker: it shows where your site is leaving opportunities on the table. If you then want the work done, I'll look at it with you and draw up a proposal for your region.
