Local SEO in practice
Local SEO is the part of SEO that deals with searches with a geographic intent: «hairdresser near me», «accountant Porta Venezia», «restaurant open now». For these searches Google shows a map with a few businesses at the top and only then the websites. To get in, what counts is the Google Business Profile listing, the website and your online reputation, starting with reviews.
For businesses with local customers (restaurants, medical practices, shops, tradespeople) it is often the channel that brings the most contacts, because it reaches people who need a service now and a few minutes away. You do not need to beat the big national websites: you just need to be the clearest, most reliable choice in your neighbourhood.
An example: for Studio Colonna24, a dental and aesthetic medicine practice in the Chiaia district of Naples, we worked on local SEO together with a dedicated page for each of its 21 services. That way, people looking for a specific treatment in the area land straight on the right page, not on a generic home page.
The basics to get right: name, address and phone number identical on the website, the Google listing and online directories; the correct primary category; up-to-date opening hours, holidays included; real photos; reviews requested consistently and always answered. On the website, state your address and service area clearly and add local business structured data. Avoid copy-paste pages for twenty cities that only change the name: Google recognises them as duplicate content.
