A connected course guide
22,788 words of teaching, with 38 glossary terms and 27 sources in the complete guide.
Open the course wikiOnline · Self-paced · By Bow Tie Kreative
Local SEO course
Help nearby customers find accurate answers.
Make the path from a local search to a real visit or enquiry more dependable. Learn to maintain business information, handle exceptional hours, support useful reviews, and audit what a customer encounters.
Included in both lifetime memberships. Already a member? Open this course.
82 visual lessonsWiki + PDF + workbook
- Lessons
- 82
- Course guide
- 110 pages
- Workbook
- 117 pages
- Glossary
- 38 terms
The idea, made clear
What is local SEO?
Local SEO helps relevant nearby customers discover and evaluate a business. Useful work includes accurate business records, clear location or service information, consistent routes to contact, and regular maintenance. Visibility is valuable when it supports a realistic customer action.
What you’ll learn to do
Create a reliable record of business identity, location, contact, and services.
Write a location page that helps someone plan a visit or enquiry.
Maintain special hours and use reviews as feedback without manipulation.
Audit customer routes and measure useful local actions.
Your learning path
Inside the 82 lessons
Each lesson connects a focused idea to practice and an explanation. Chapter links open the matching course wiki section. Sign in with course access to read the complete guide.
- Wiki chapter
Support the real visit
Keep location, availability, and the customer’s immediate question aligned.
- Wiki chapter
Maintain useful evidence
Keep local information current and interpret customer feedback carefully.
- Wiki chapter
Build a reliable local information record
Maintain the facts a customer needs before visiting.
- Wiki chapter
Represent the real business accurately
Describe the business and service without inventing locations or attributes.
- Wiki chapter
Create a page that helps someone arrive
Combine directions, hours, and practical conditions into a useful location page.
- Wiki chapter
Plan for exceptions to normal hours
Publish special hours and temporary changes with a clear scope.
- Wiki chapter
Use reviews as service evidence and feedback
Respond to customer accounts without fabricating or pressuring reviews.
- Wiki chapter
Understand local visibility without ranking promises
Distinguish controllable business information from factors you cannot guarantee.
- Wiki chapter
Measure useful local actions
Separate listing interactions from confirmed visits and purchases.
- Wiki chapter
Run a local information audit
Test the complete path from discovery to a realistic visit.
- Wiki chapter
Decide whether place changes the answer
Local search work serves customer decisions whose answer depends on a place or service area.
- Wiki chapter
Identify which page the customer can reach
A local search can expose a business through its profile, its website, or another publisher's page.
- Wiki chapter
Evaluate the route that already reaches customers
A relevant third-party platform can complement a business's own website as a customer-discovery route.
- Wiki chapter
Record where the search took place
Local results can vary with the searcher's location even when the query does not name a place.
- Wiki chapter
Work with geography without inventing control
Distance is one local ranking consideration, not a guarantee that the nearest business will rank first.
- Wiki chapter
Keep the website in the plan
Local search work complements the website's ordinary discoverability and usability work.
- Wiki chapter
Create a reliable record before distributing it
A maintained business fact record reduces contradictory updates across local channels.
- Wiki chapter
Plan for the second edit
A listing inventory makes later changes easier to coordinate and verify.
- Wiki chapter
Keep the inventory separate from the passwords
Listing credentials should be stored and shared through controlled access rather than an ordinary research spreadsheet.
- Wiki chapter
Claim the existing record when it is yours
A business should check for an existing profile before creating another record for the same location.
- Wiki chapter
Follow the verification route shown for the business
Google determines available verification methods, which are not limited to mailed postcards.
- Wiki chapter
Give access without giving away the account
Team access should use authorized account roles rather than sharing the owner's sign-in.
- Wiki chapter
Give every alert somewhere to go
Important profile changes and customer activity need a defined monitoring owner and response process.
- Wiki chapter
Check eligibility before chasing a format
Google Business Profile eligibility depends on the business's real operation, not on whether one test query displays a local pack.
- Wiki chapter
Keep the name faithful to the business
A profile name should reflect the business's real-world identity rather than extra targeting words.
- Wiki chapter
Describe the visit a customer can actually make
A storefront representation should describe a real place where the business receives customers under its stated conditions.
- Wiki chapter
Separate the operating base from the public visit address
A service-area business that does not receive customers at its base should not display that base as a customer address on its profile.
- Wiki chapter
Show both genuine ways to receive service
A qualifying hybrid business can describe both customer visits to its location and direct service or delivery to customers.
- Wiki chapter
Reject the address that only receives mail
A mailing address alone does not qualify a business for a customer-facing Google profile at that location.
- Wiki chapter
Write for the visitor who arrives halfway in
A service landing page should provide enough context and a clear next step for someone who has not read the rest of the site.
- Wiki chapter
Do not make a visitor restart at the homepage
Visitors should be able to find the relevant public contact and location information from the page where they arrive.
- Wiki chapter
Make contacting the business a clear task
A contact page should make the customer's relevant next action easy to identify and complete.
- Wiki chapter
Offer a contact route that works on the device
A usable contact form can offer an alternative when opening an email client creates friction.
- Wiki chapter
Use a map to help someone arrive
A map can help customers find a real location, but its presence alone does not establish a ranking improvement.
- Wiki chapter
Separate services when the customer task differs
A distinct service merits its own page when customers need a substantively different explanation or decision path.
- Wiki chapter
Give each real branch a useful destination
Distinct physical locations can benefit from their own useful pages when customers need location-specific information.
- Wiki chapter
Keep the selected branch in view
Each eligible location's profile should lead to a website destination that represents that same location.
- Wiki chapter
Help people choose among many branches
A location directory can organize many branches while retaining a useful destination for each one.
- Wiki chapter
Explain coverage without inventing a branch
A coverage page can describe a place the business serves without claiming an office there.
- Wiki chapter
Add a real reason for the page to exist
Changing only a place name does not make a copied local page meaningfully useful.
- Wiki chapter
Investigate the need behind a zero
A zero estimate in a keyword tool does not by itself establish that no local customer needs the information.
- Wiki chapter
Connect the explanation to useful help
Supporting local content should link to a service page when that destination helps the reader's next relevant decision.
- Wiki chapter
Cover the event your audience has a reason to care about
Original coverage of relevant local activity can serve an audience when it connects the event to their real interests.
- Wiki chapter
Learn from one useful coverage page
A limited local-page pilot can provide evidence before a business expands the same approach broadly.
- Wiki chapter
Choose the category that fits the operation
Profile categories should describe the real core business rather than unrelated searches the owner wants to capture.
- Wiki chapter
Write the description for a customer decision
A business description should explain the real offer clearly without relying on an unverified ranking effect.
- Wiki chapter
Make the service understandable before the call
Available service fields can clarify actual offerings with accurate descriptions and price conditions.
- Wiki chapter
Verify the feature before selecting it
Business attributes should be selected only when they accurately describe the customer's experience.
- Wiki chapter
Publish the hours the customer can use
Regular opening hours should match when customers can receive the represented service.
- Wiki chapter
Prevent the holiday trip to a closed door
Holiday and exceptional schedules need explicit updates when they differ from regular hours.
- Wiki chapter
Verify a date before making it public
An opening date entered in a business profile should describe the real opening rather than a convenient demonstration value.
- Wiki chapter
Test the route from the customer's side
Published contact links should lead to the intended business location and a working next action.
- Wiki chapter
Keep the identity recognizable
A current authentic logo helps customers recognize the business's identity across its public presence.
- Wiki chapter
Show the visit before the visit
Accurate business photos can help customers recognize the location and understand what to expect.
- Wiki chapter
Plan for more than one displayed image
Selecting a cover photo does not guarantee it will be the first image Google displays.
- Wiki chapter
Check the specification before exporting
Media uploads should be prepared against current platform limits rather than specifications in an old tutorial.
- Wiki chapter
Identify the record before counting it
A local citation is a published business reference that may include identifying contact details, with or without a link.
- Wiki chapter
Keep different evidence types separate
An unlinked business mention should not be reported as an actual backlink or a guaranteed equivalent ranking signal.
- Wiki chapter
Choose the maintenance route for the source
Directory records and editorial mentions often require different correction or contribution workflows.
- Wiki chapter
Start with a correction you can complete
Important managed listings can be a practical starting point for citation work because their update process is usually explicit.
- Wiki chapter
Choose the places customers can actually use
Directory selection should reflect audience relevance and accurate eligibility rather than maximum listing count.
- Wiki chapter
Use public identifiers to find research leads
A competitor's public phone number can help locate candidate business references, but each result needs identity and relevance checks.
- Wiki chapter
Investigate the shared source
Shared referring sources among competitors can suggest research candidates without proving that the same placement is available or valuable.
- Wiki chapter
Compare the maintenance workload before buying
The value of a listing-maintenance service depends partly on the number of records and the frequency of material changes.
- Wiki chapter
Understand what happens when the contract ends
A listing-service decision should include verified exit, ownership, and maintenance terms rather than price alone.
- Wiki chapter
Check what the distribution service actually changed
A business-data distribution service can coordinate updates, but downstream records still need verification.
- Wiki chapter
Choose a review-monitoring scope you can sustain
Review-monitoring priorities should follow the platforms relevant customers actually use.
- Wiki chapter
Use reviews as evidence, not a ranking formula
Review volume and positive ratings can contribute to local prominence, but no review target guarantees a ranking.
- Wiki chapter
Protect the independence of the review
Reviews should reflect genuine, independent customer experiences rather than fabricated or conflicted endorsements.
- Wiki chapter
Invite feedback without screening for praise
Google review invitations should not be selectively restricted to customers expected to leave positive feedback.
- Wiki chapter
Build a fair routine instead of a review target
A review-request routine should follow genuine customer activity rather than a prescribed numerical quota intended to influence detection or ranking.
- Wiki chapter
Leave the review in the customer's hands
Reviewers should control whether and how they submit feedback without on-premises pressure or business-directed content.
- Wiki chapter
Make follow-up expected and easy to decline
A follow-up request should use a contact route the customer reasonably agreed could be used for that purpose.
- Wiki chapter
Respond to the issue for everyone reading
A public review reply should address the issue calmly while showing future readers how the business handles concerns.
- Wiki chapter
Distinguish criticism from a policy violation
A business can report reviews for policy violations, but dislike of a review does not give it the right to remove or rewrite the customer's words.
- Wiki chapter
Give a time-sensitive update a clear next step
Profile posts can communicate timely offers or events when their dates, terms, and destination are accurate.
- Wiki chapter
Choose a cadence you can justify
A publishing cadence should be justified by useful customer information rather than an unverified guaranteed ranking effect.
- Wiki chapter
Offer a channel the team can actually answer
A business should offer a contact channel only when it is currently supported and the team can respond reliably.
- Wiki chapter
Keep the answer when the feature changes
Frequently needed business answers should remain accessible when a platform question-and-answer workflow changes or disappears.
- Wiki chapter
Check what a paid campaign will inherit
An authorized Business Profile connection can supply location information for Google Ads location assets.
- Wiki chapter
Read the query instead of trusting an old bucket
Reported search terms can reveal how a profile is being found without establishing a complete account of customer intent.
- Wiki chapter
Name the action the metric really counts
A recorded profile action is evidence of that action, not automatic proof of a completed visit, conversation, or sale.
A small decision. A useful connection.
Try the thinking for yourself.
Read the situation and pause before opening the explanation. You don’t need an account for this example.
Fictional teaching example. Your response is not recorded.
Prevent the wasted journey
A fictional shop updates its holiday hours on social media but leaves its website and business profile unchanged. A customer arrives to a locked door. What should the team change?
Show the explanation
Maintain one verified record and check every place publishing those hours. Assign an owner and a review date for exceptions. The task is accurate customer expectations across surfaces, not simply another promotional post.
Put the course to work
A local information record and a repeatable location-page and hours audit.
Keep the idea within reach
Read it. Check it. Apply it.
Your course resources are digital and included with membership. Move from a question to the wiki chapter, or take the PDF and workbook with you.
A guide you can keep nearby
A 110-page PDF brings the course together in one document, with linked sources to follow when you want more context.
Find the course PDFSpace to make it your own
A 117-page workbook helps you turn ideas into written decisions, check your assumptions, and plan what to try next.
Find the workbookSources to explore
Selected references from the course guide. Research supports particular ideas in context; it does not guarantee a marketing result or a learning outcome for every person.
- Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com
- Learning from the Crowd: Regression Discontinuity Estimates of the Effects of an Online Review Database
- Fake It Till You Make It: Reputation, Competition, and Yelp Review Fraud
- Guidelines for representing your business
Find the complete reference list in the course wiki sources.
Does this cover Google Business Profile?
Yes, alongside website information and the real customer journey. The guide links to official business-representation rules, and platform instructions should be checked when you make changes.
Will I rank first in the map results?
No course can guarantee that. This course focuses on accurate representation, useful evidence, and maintenance you can control.
What happens if I answer a practice question incorrectly?
You receive a teaching explanation and a worked example, with another opportunity to practice. Correct answers also lead to an explanation so you can understand the reason behind your choice.
Does access include every Program Reset course?
Yes. Both lifetime options include all 13 courses in this library, their wiki guides, PDFs, and workbooks. Community and the separate 200+ course vault are included in the Community & Vault bundle. Access lasts while the platform operates. See the access terms.
One membership. A connected library.
Learn this. Then connect the dots.
Local SEO course is included in both Program Reset lifetime access options. Move between visual lessons, the linked wiki, PDF guides, and workbooks as your questions change.
Keep building your understanding.
10 lessons · Self-paced
SEO course for beginners
Connect a useful question with a page that answers it.
Explore the course
10 lessons · Self-paced
Content marketing course
Make every piece of content earn its place.
Explore the course
10 lessons · Self-paced
Web analytics course
Turn reports into decisions you can explain.
Explore the coursePublished by Bow Tie Kreative · Calgary, Alberta, Canada · Course page reviewed .