Funmike
29 March 2025
As a small business owner, local search ranking is something you should take seriously because it directly impacts your business. If Think about it, you own a beauty business, but people in your locality cannot fid you when they type ‘beauty salon around me’ into Google – It’s not great for your business.
So, if you’ve already optimised your website for keywords but are still struggling to rank on Google, there could be several reasons why. Here are some key issues that might be holding your website back:
For local searches, having a well-optimized Google My Business profile is crucial. If your business is not appearing in Google’s local pack (the map listings), make sure you:
✅ Have created and verified your Google My Business profile
✅ Have updated your business name, address, phone number (NAP) correctly
✅ Have added photos, business hours, and a business description
✅ Are actively collecting customer reviews, as they help with local SEO
Even with keyword optimization, if your website has few or low-quality backlinks, it will struggle to rank. Backlinks act as “votes of confidence” from other websites.
✅ Get local backlinks by partnering with local businesses, joining local chambers of commerce, or getting mentioned in news articles.
✅ List your business on high-quality directories relevant to your industry.
✅ Consider guest posting on local blogs to gain credibility
Even if you’ve optimized for keywords, your on-page SEO might still be lacking. Ensure you:
✔ Use long-tail keywords that include your city or region (e.g., “best plumber in Manchester” instead of just “best plumber”)
✔ Have unique and helpful content on your website (not just promotional pages)
✔ Use title tags and meta descriptions with location-based keywords
✔ Optimize images with alt text that includes your keywords
Google prioritizes websites that offer a great user experience. If your website has issues like:
🚨 Slow loading times
🚨 Not being mobile-friendly
🚨 Broken links or errors
🚨 No SSL certificate (HTTPS)
… then Google may rank other businesses above you.
👉 Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Google Search Console, and Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and fix these issues.
Offering valuable products and services is great, but of what use is it, if your ideal cannot find you?
If local competitors are doing better SEO than you are, people who need your services wouldn’t get to contact you, because you are at the bottom of the search page in a search engine. If your competitors are ranking higher than you, check what they’re doing differently. Use tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to analyze their backlinks and keyword strategies.
🔍 Look at their Google My Business profiles to see what they are doing better (more reviews, more photos, better descriptions, etc.).
Ranking locally on Google requires a combination of keyword optimisation, local SEO tactics, backlinks, and technical SEO. If you help with your website’s optimisation our team of experienced SEO specialists are available, we would take your business from ‘unknown’ to ‘known’ on the search engine,