Local SEO & GEO: A Guide for Small Businesses

When someone needs a local plumber, accountant, show shop, you name it, one of the first things they’re likely to do is search online. Traditionally, that meant heading to Google and typing something like “accountant near me” or “best plumber in Liverpool”. Today, there’s another option gaining popularity, which is asking AI platforms such as ChatGPT for recommendations.

For small businesses, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge. You don’t necessarily need the biggest advertising budget or the most expensive website to attract local customers, but you do need to make sure people can find you when they’re looking for the services you offer.

That’s where local SEO and local GEO come in. Although they sound rather technical, the principles behind them are actually surprisingly straightforward, and there are plenty of improvements business owners can make themselves.

What’s the Difference Between Local SEO & Local GEO?

Local SEO, or search engine optimisation, involves improving how your business appears in local search results like Google. For example, if you run a cleaning company in Leeds, local SEO helps you compete for searches such as “office cleaners Leeds” or “commercial cleaning near me”.

This includes traditional Google search results as well as Google Maps, where customers can find nearby businesses, read reviews and get directions.

Local GEO, short for Generative Engine Optimisation, is a newer term describing efforts to improve your business’s visibility in AI-generated answers. Rather than searching Google for a list of local accountants, someone might ask ChatGPT, “Can you recommend a reliable accountant in Bristol who works with charities in the health sector turning over 1m?”

Instead of presenting a traditional list of websites, an AI assistant may recommend particular businesses and explain why they’re relevant.

The important thing to understand is that local SEO and GEO aren’t competing strategies. Much of the work that helps search engines understand your business can also make it easier for AI platforms to find accurate information about you.

1. Get Your Google Business Profile Right

If you’re only going to make one improvement to your local online presence this month, we’d recommend starting with your Google Business Profile.

This is the free business listing that can appear in Google Search and Maps, displaying information such as your business name, services, opening hours and customer reviews.

Google explains that local rankings are primarily influenced by relevance, distance and prominence above all else. In simple terms, it wants to recommend businesses that match what someone is searching for, are geographically suitable and have signals indicating they’re established and credible.

You can’t control how far away somebody is when they search, but you can improve the information Google has about your business.

Start by checking that your business category accurately reflects your main service. Complete the relevant sections of your profile, add genuine photographs and make sure your opening hours are correct. If you serve customers at their properties rather than from a shop or office, configure your service area appropriately.

You can manage your listing through Google Business Profile.

An incomplete listing is a little like opening a shop but forgetting to put your opening hours on the door. Customers might still find you, but you’re making their decision unnecessarily difficult.

2. Make It Obvious Where You Operate

One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is assuming that search engines already understand which areas they serve.

Your website might explain that you’re an experienced electrician offering domestic and commercial services, but never mention that you operate in Hull, Beverley and the surrounding East Yorkshire area.

That’s a missed opportunity, particularly when customers are searching for services in specific locations.

Make sure your website clearly explains where you’re based and which locations you cover. Your homepage is often a sensible place to introduce this, while your individual service pages can include more relevant geographical information where appropriate.

For example, a window cleaning business serving York and Harrogate might benefit from explaining its services and availability in each area.

However, avoid creating dozens of nearly identical pages simply by changing the town name. Each location page should provide genuine value, such as specific services, examples of local work or information relevant to customers in that area.

The objective is to make your geographical coverage clear, not to mention every Yorkshire town as many times as possible.

3. Build a Website That Answers Customer Questions

Search engines and AI assistants both need information to understand what your business does.

If your website contains little more than a company name and a contact form, you’re leaving quite a lot for them to work out themselves.

Imagine you’re a physiotherapist specialising in sports injuries. Your website should explain the treatments you offer, who they’re suitable for and what patients can expect when booking an appointment.

These details help prospective customers decide whether your business meets their needs. They also provide useful context for search engines and AI systems interpreting your website.

A good starting point is to write down the questions customers regularly ask before buying from you. These might concern pricing, appointment availability, service areas or how your process works.

Turn the most useful answers into clear website content, either on existing service pages or within a dedicated FAQ section.

There’s no need to write enormous articles about every possible subject. A genuinely helpful answer based on your experience will often be more useful than hundreds of words written simply to attract search traffic.

4. Take Customer Reviews Seriously

Reviews have become an important part of how customers evaluate local businesses, and they can also contribute to your visibility in local search.

Google confirms that review quantity and positive ratings can influence local prominence. Reviews are also a useful source of information for potential customers comparing businesses.

For example, somebody choosing between two local builders may feel more confident about the company with recent, detailed feedback describing completed projects.

AI assistants may also encounter customer feedback when researching businesses, although exactly how reviews influence recommendations varies between platforms.

The simplest approach is to make requesting reviews part of your normal customer service process. Once you’ve completed a job or delivered a service, ask satisfied customers whether they’d be willing to leave feedback.

Don’t offer incentives in exchange for positive Google reviews or attempt to manufacture feedback. Genuine reviews are considerably more valuable than an impressive rating that customers can’t trust.

It’s also worth responding professionally to reviews, including negative ones. How a business handles criticism can tell prospective customers quite a lot about how it operates.

5. Make Sure Other Websites Know You Exist

Your own website isn’t the only place search engines and AI platforms can learn about your business.

Business directories, local news websites, industry associations and other relevant publications can all provide useful information about who you are and what you do.

Think of it as your business’s digital reputation. You can tell everybody you’re the best accountant in town, but it’s much more convincing when other reputable sources recognise your business too.

For local SEO, relevant links from other websites can help search engines discover your content and understand your reputation. Google explicitly includes links and reviews among the signals associated with local prominence.

For GEO, independent information can provide additional context when AI systems research potential recommendations. However, appearing on a particular website doesn’t guarantee that an AI assistant will recommend you.

Focus on legitimate opportunities rather than paying to appear on hundreds of unrelated directories. Membership of a local chamber of commerce, coverage in a regional publication or a link from an organisation you’ve genuinely worked with can be worth considering.

Also check that your business name, contact details and website address are accurate across important online listings. Inconsistent information can create unnecessary confusion for customers and the platforms trying to understand your business.

6. Don’t Forget Bing and Other Search Platforms

Google understandably receives most of the attention when businesses discuss local SEO, but it shouldn’t be the only platform you consider.

Microsoft offers Bing Places for Business, which allows eligible businesses to manage how their information appears in Bing Maps and related search experiences.

It’s worth claiming and checking your listing, particularly if you’ve already spent time getting your Google Business Profile into good shape.

The same principle applies to relevant industry directories and review platforms. You don’t need to appear everywhere, but you should make sure important sources contain accurate, up-to-date information about your business.

This is particularly useful when thinking about GEO. Different AI platforms can use different search systems and information sources, so relying entirely on one listing or website isn’t a particularly robust approach.

7. Check Whether AI Actually Recommends Your Business

Here’s a practical exercise we’d encourage business owners to try.

Open ChatGPT and ask a question that a potential customer might realistically ask when looking for your services.

For example:

• “Can you recommend an accountant in Hull for a small business?”
• “Who offers commercial cleaning services in Leeds?”
• “What are some reputable independent garages in York?”
• “Where can I find a physiotherapist specialising in running injuries near me?”

Look at which businesses appear, how they’re described and whether the information is accurate.

You might discover that your competitors are regularly mentioned while your business is missing. Alternatively, you might find that AI systems know your business exists but misunderstand which services you offer.

Don’t draw conclusions from a single search, though. AI-generated recommendations can vary depending on the platform, the wording of the question and the user’s location.

For a more useful exercise, choose five or ten relevant questions and test them across ChatGPT, Gemini and another AI search platform. Repeat the same exercise monthly to see whether your visibility changes.

Record whether your business appears, which competitors are recommended and whether the answer includes a link to your website.

This won’t give you a perfect measure of AI visibility, but it can help identify opportunities that traditional SEO reporting might miss.

8. Measure Whether Your Local Marketing is Working

Improving your visibility is important, but there’s little point attracting visitors who never become customers.

Fortunately, you don’t need expensive software to start measuring performance.

Google Search Console can show which searches bring people to your website and which pages receive organic clicks. Google Business Profile also provides performance information, including relevant customer interactions.

If you’ve set up Google Analytics 4, you can investigate where website visitors come from and whether they’re completing important actions such as submitting enquiry forms.

For AI visibility, measuring performance is less straightforward. You can monitor traffic from identifiable AI platforms in your analytics and manually record how often your business appears in relevant recommendations.

However, not every AI interaction results in a website visit, and not every platform provides comprehensive reporting.

The most important measure is still whether your online presence is contributing to meaningful business outcomes. More traffic is encouraging, but more relevant enquiries and customers is considerably better.

Your Local SEO & GEO Checklist

You don’t need to implement everything immediately. If you’re running a small business, even setting aside an hour each week to improve your online presence can be a sensible starting point.

Use this checklist to work through the essentials:

• Claim and complete your Google Business Profile.
• Check your opening hours, contact details and business categories.
• Clearly explain your services and locations on your website.
• Add useful answers to common customer questions.
• Develop a consistent process for requesting genuine reviews.
• Check important business directories for accurate information.
• Claim or update your Bing Places listing.
• Test relevant local searches across Google and AI platforms.
• Set up Google Search Console to monitor organic performance.
• Review your progress each month, focusing on enquiries rather than visibility alone.

The way customers discover local businesses is changing, but that doesn’t mean everything businesses have learned about SEO is suddenly irrelevant.

In fact, many of the fundamentals remain the same. Search engines and AI platforms need accurate, useful information to understand your business, while customers need enough confidence to choose you over the alternatives.

Google’s own guidance on AI-powered search reinforces this point, explaining that established SEO best practices remain relevant for appearing in its generative search features.

For small businesses, that’s encouraging news. You don’t need to abandon your existing marketing strategy or invest in a complicated new set of tools simply because AI search is becoming more popular.

Start with the basics, make sure your online information genuinely reflects your business and build from there.

About the author

Joshua Pearson is the founder of Peaco Marketing, a Hull-based digital marketing agency specialising in SEO, PPC and website optimisation. Peaco works with UK businesses to improve their search visibility, generate relevant enquiries and adapt their marketing strategies to the changing ways customers discover businesses online.