Local SEO for New Zealand businesses: the complete guide

How Google decides who appears locally

Google says local ranking is based mainly on three factors:¹

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what the person is looking for. Google recommends giving thorough, detailed business information.
• Distance: how far each business is from the searcher, using whatever location information is available.
• Prominence: how well known you are. Google says this reflects how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.

Google is also explicit that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.¹ That is worth remembering the next time someone offers to sell you one.

Distance is the one you cannot change, so the work is in relevance and prominence.

Step 1: claim and verify your Business Profile

Google lists verification, confirming you are authorised to represent the business, as the first improvement.¹ If you work from home or travel to customers, you can choose not to show your address and list a service area instead. In that case your profile shows only the service area.² Verification still needs an address Google can find, even if the public never sees it.² My guide to setting up a service-area profile walks through this.

Step 2: make the profile complete and accurate

Google recommends keeping your information current and complete, including address (or service area), hours, category and relevant attributes.¹ In practice:

1. Pick the right main category. It is one of the strongest signals of what you do. Add secondary categories only if they are genuinely true.
2. Use your real, everyday business name, the one customers know you by, rather than adding keywords to it.
3. Write a clear description of what you do, who for and where, in plain words.
4. List your services one by one, each with a short description.
5. Keep hours and contact details current, including any holiday changes.
6. Add photos and videos of your work, your team or your premises.¹

Step 3: build prominence with reviews

Reviews are one of the two things Google ties to prominence.¹ Google's advice is to ask customers to leave reviews using a link or QR code, and to respond to all reviews.³ It is equally clear about what is forbidden: offering discounts, free goods or payment in exchange for reviews is prohibited.³ For the practical side, read how to get more Google reviews the right way.

Step 4: build prominence beyond Google

Because prominence includes how many websites link to you,¹ links from other reputable sites matter. For a New Zealand business the realistic sources are:

• Your supplier, client and partner websites, where they are happy to list you.
• Industry associations, chambers of commerce and local business directories.
• Local news, podcasts and community organisations that mention what you do.
• Your own LinkedIn and social profiles, linked to your website.

A few relevant links beat dozens of irrelevant ones. Start with the people who already know you.

Step 5: make your website agree with your profile

Your website, your Business Profile and your other listings should all say the same thing: business name, services, contact details and area. Google's SEO starter guide recommends unique, clear page titles and short, unique descriptions for every page,⁴ and including your business name or location in titles where relevant.⁴ A page for each main service, each with a clear heading and a clear next step, gives Google more to match to local searches.

If you want a checklist, see my SEO basics guide.

Step 6: consider local business structured data

Google supports LocalBusiness structured data, which lets you tell it about opening hours, departments, reviews and more.⁵ Its documentation lists the business name and address as required, and recommends details such as opening hours and telephone number, all in JSON-LD.⁵ Two cautions for service-area businesses:

• The address is a required property, so only add this markup if you have an address you are happy to make public.
• Check it with Google's Rich Results Test before publishing, and allow time for Google to recrawl the page afterwards.⁵

Common mistakes

• Keyword-stuffed business names. Use the name customers actually know you by.
• Inconsistent details. A different phone number or name on different sites confuses both people and Google.
• Fake or incentivised reviews. Against Google's rules, and can get your profile restricted.³
• Leaving the profile untouched. Out-of-date hours or services lose customers.
• Ignoring bad reviews. A calm, helpful reply shows prospective customers how you treat people.
• Expecting instant results. Local changes can take weeks to show, so be patient and keep going.

How to know whether it is working

1. Search for your main services in your area, ideally in a private window, and see whether your profile appears.
2. Check the calls, website clicks and direction requests shown in your Business Profile.
3. In Google Search Console, watch the searches that bring people to your site.
4. Track enquiries with Google Analytics, as in my guide to tracking website enquiries.

A simple 30-day plan

• Week 1: claim and verify your profile, fix your category, description and services.
• Week 2: add photos, check every detail matches your website, and fix your page titles.
• Week 3: ask your ten happiest customers for a review, with a direct link.
• Week 4: contact five relevant sites about a link, and set up tracking.

I set up local search as part of my website work. If you want a hand, say hello.

References

1. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google. Google Business Profile Help.
2. Manage your business address. Google Business Profile Help.
3. Tips to get more reviews. Google Business Profile Help.
4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide. Google Search Central.
5. Local business (LocalBusiness) structured data. Google Search Central.