What Is Local SEO Strategy 2020 and Why Does It Matter

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a business's online presence to rank higher in location-based searches—the moments when someone searches "plumber near me" or "best coffee shops in Austin." It's the convergence of Google My Business optimization, location-specific keyword targeting, localized content creation, and managing citations across local directories. For agencies and web designers, local SEO represents a significant revenue opportunity because most small and medium-sized businesses—your actual clients—depend on local customers to survive. A dental practice, law firm, HVAC company, or restaurant doesn't care about ranking nationally; they need customers within 5-20 miles of their location. This fundamental difference from traditional SEO means local SEO requires distinct strategies and delivers measurable ROI that clients can directly tie to foot traffic and phone calls.

The reason local SEO matters for your agency is straightforward: it's where the money is. While enterprise companies might hire large SEO firms for competitive national keywords, local businesses need accessible partners they can afford. They also have urgent, recurring needs—maintaining Google My Business listings across multiple locations, managing reviews, optimizing for local intent keywords, and tracking local rankings. These aren't one-time projects; they're ongoing services that generate recurring revenue. Additionally, the barrier to entry is lower than national SEO. You don't need to compete with massive domains or decades of backlinks to help a local plumber rank on page one. The competition is regional and often includes agencies doing mediocre work, which means solid execution stands out immediately.

Practically, here's how you start using local SEO in your agency. First, audit your client's Google My Business profile as if it were a website. Verify the business, complete every field, add high-quality photos, encourage reviews, and monitor Q&A sections. This single asset often generates 50-70% of local search visibility. Second, identify the specific local keywords your clients should target—not just "accountant" but "accountant for small businesses in Denver" or "tax preparation near Capitol Hill." Create location-specific landing pages or service pages that answer these queries with genuine local relevance. Include the city name naturally, mention local landmarks or neighborhoods, and cite local statistics where relevant. Third, build citations (mentions of the business's name, address, and phone number) on local directories like Yelp, Apple Maps, Nextdoor, and industry-specific directories. Consistency matters enormously here; any variation in how the business name or address appears across the web confuses Google's ranking algorithms.

For web designers specifically, local SEO changes how you structure websites.