Chapter 37: How to Do Local SEO

Last updated: November 1, 2026.

If you have a restaurant, a dental clinic, a hair salon, a repair service or any business that serves a specific area, the rules of SEO change a bit.

Because most of the time the user isn’t just searching “dentist”. They’re searching:

• dentist Istanbul
• dental clinic Sultanahmet
• breakfast places near me
• car inspection near me

Here, the question Google is trying to answer is no longer just “Which is the best web page?” It’s also:

“Which business is the best fit for this user?”

Google says clearly that it evaluates local results mainly on relevance, distance and prominence (Google Business Profile Help).

That’s why local SEO is a separate area of work where we add physical location and the business’s real-world presence on top of classic SEO.

1. Who is local SEO important for?

Especially for businesses that serve their customers in a specific city, district or service area. For example:

• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Hair salons
• Dental clinics
• Doctors
• Lawyers
• Auto repair shops
• Car inspection services
• Repair services
• Real estate agents
• Gyms
• Stores
• Private schools
• Veterinarians
• Plumbers

For a SaaS company, whether the customer is 3 kilometers from the office usually doesn’t matter. But if the user searches “vet near me”, distance is directly part of the business.

2. Local SEO is not just website SEO

One of the most common mistakes in local SEO is reducing all the work to the website. There are at least two big areas here:

• The website
• Google Business Profile

Through Google Business Profile, we can manage information like the business’s address, phone number, opening hours, category, photos and services.

In local SEO, the website can be very good while the Business Profile is poor. Or the other way around. You need to think about both together.

3. How does Google determine local rankings?

Google explains three main concepts here.

Relevance

How well does your business match what the user searched for?

The user searches “pediatric dentist”. If your profile is defined very generally as just “Dental Clinic”, Google may not clearly understand that the business offers pediatric dentistry.

That’s why it’s important for the business information to be accurate and complete.

Distance

How far is the business from where the user is?

A user running the same query in Sultanahmet and a user running it in Kadıköy can see different results. That’s why in local SEO, the question “Where do I rank for this keyword?” isn’t as simple as it is in classic SEO.

Prominence

How well known is the business, both in the real world and online?

Signals like these can matter here:

• Reviews
• Mentions on the web
• Backlinks
• Brand awareness
• The business’s history

I think the important point here is this:

In local SEO, we optimize the site, but what we’re really managing is the business’s entire presence in the digital world.

4. Google Business Profile should be as complete as possible

One of the first things to do is make sure the profile accurately represents the real business. For example, these should be correct:

• Business name
• Primary category
• Additional categories
• Address
• Phone number
• Website
• Opening hours
• Services
• Photos

The goal here is not to stuff in as many keywords as possible.

It’s to describe the real business to Google accurately.

5. Why is adding keywords to the business name risky?

For example, if the business’s real name is “ABC Dental”, writing the profile name as “ABC Dental Istanbul Best Dentist Implants Orthodontics” is not the right approach.

Google wants the business name on Business Profile to be consistent with the name used in the real world: on signage, on the website, on stationery and in branding. Unnecessary descriptions and keywords can even lead to the profile being suspended (Google Support).

If you really want to use a more descriptive brand or business name, rather than making it up just for Google, you need to align it with the real-world business name, signage, website and official documents.

For example, if your real, legally compliant business structure supports it, a name like “ABC Dental Dentistry and Orthodontics” can be used.

But you need to be especially careful in the healthcare sector.

Expressions that claim superiority, like “the best”, “the most successful” or “number 1”, can cause problems not only with Google but also under healthcare regulations. Turkey’s Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Health Services (Official Gazette, November 12, 2025) seriously restricts promotion that amounts to advertising and expressions that present a service as superior to others.

So in the healthcare sector:

Instead of adding keywords to the business name for SEO, you first need to look at the regulations and the real legal business name.

6. Choosing a category looks minor, but it’s very important

Category selection is very important for Google to understand what a business is.

For example, a restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a dental clinic, an orthodontist, a veterinarian and an auto repair shop are all different business types.

If possible, it makes more sense to choose the most specific primary category that really describes the business.

7. Address, phone number and opening hours are not minor details

The user found the business on Google. They called. The number was wrong. They went there. The business was closed.

At that point, ranking first in SEO doesn’t mean much.

It’s important to keep opening hours up to date, especially for religious holidays, public holidays, Sundays and seasonal hours.

8. The website and Google Business Profile shouldn’t contradict each other

If the business profile says “Istanbul” and the website says “Antalya”, that’s a problem. If the profile uses one phone number and the website uses another, that’s confusing too.

That’s why consistency in core business information matters.

9. Location information should be clear on the business’s website

I think writing an address on Google Business Profile and not mentioning the location anywhere on the website is incomplete.

Especially on contact or branch pages, information like this can be included:

• Address
• Phone number
• Opening hours
• Map
• Directions
• Service area

10. LocalBusiness schema

On local business sites, LocalBusiness can be used for structured data. For example, these can be defined:

• Business name
• Address
• Phone number
• Coordinates
• Opening hours
• URL

But again, there’s no such thing as “We added schema, so we’ll rank first on the map.”

11. How should city and district pages be prepared?

If a business serves more than one area, city or district pages can make sense. For example:

• air conditioning repair Istanbul
• air conditioning repair Sultanahmet
• air conditioning repair Kadıköy
• air conditioning repair Beşiktaş

But the big risk here is taking the same text and producing dozens of pages by only changing the district name. That’s not real local SEO.

Every location page should offer real value related to that area. For example, these can be used:

• The service provided in that area
• A real branch
• Address
• Phone number
• Opening hours
• Directions
• Jobs done in that area
• Real customer experiences

12. Should you create a page for every city where you don’t have a real branch?

It depends on the business model. You may not have a physical branch, but you may really serve that area.

For example, if an Istanbul-based repair service really goes to areas like Sultanahmet, Beşiktaş, Kadıköy and Üsküdar, it makes sense to describe these as service areas.

But an Istanbul company that doesn’t serve Antalya at all creating an “air conditioning repair Antalya” page is something else.

Inventing service areas that don’t exist for SEO isn’t healthy in the long run.

13. Multi-location businesses should be considered separately

For example, a brand has branches in Istanbul, Antalya and Izmir. It can be useful for each branch to have its own strong location page. For example:

/branches/istanbul/
/branches/antalya/
/branches/izmir/

These pages can include:

• The real address
• Phone number
• Opening hours
• Map
• Branch-specific images
• Services offered

14. Name and category consistency in multi-location businesses

In chain businesses, it’s not a good idea for each branch to change its name however it likes.

For example, instead of different structures like “ABC Istanbul Best Air Conditioning”, “ABC Antalya Cheap AC Repair” and “ABC Izmir”, it’s healthier to keep the real brand structure.

Google also wants real-world name usage to be consistent for multi-location businesses (Google Support).

15. Reviews are very important in local SEO

The importance of reviews isn’t just about rankings. It’s also about conversion.

The user sees these two businesses:

Even if their rankings are close, the user’s choice can change dramatically. That’s why reviews are both an SEO topic and a customer experience topic.

16. You need to make the review process easy

If we want real customers to leave reviews, we shouldn’t make it hard.

For example, a QR code that goes to the Google review page can be used at the table, at the checkout, at reception, on the invoice or at the exit. The user can scan the QR code with their phone and go straight to the review screen.

This simple practice can make collecting reviews much easier.

But the important point is the same again:

Real reviews from real customers.

Google doesn’t allow fake reviews or reviews produced in exchange for incentives (Google Support).

17. Negative reviews are not just a problem, they can be a big opportunity

Many businesses, when they see a negative review, only try to delete or hide it. I think sometimes the most valuable customer experience opportunity is right here.

If the customer really had a problem, these can produce very strong results:

• Responding quickly
• Understanding the problem
• Getting in touch
• Offering a solution
• Fixing the experience

Sometimes, when the problem is handled well, you can turn an extremely angry customer into one of your most loyal ones.

On top of that, other users see not just the negative review but also how the business responded to it.

That’s why the goal in review management is:

Not just collecting 5 stars, but actually solving the customer’s problem.

18. Why is responding to reviews important?

Especially with negative reviews.

A customer wrote, “My appointment was 30 minutes late.” If the business says, “That never happens here,” the problem can get bigger.

But a professional approach like “We’re sorry for the delay you experienced. We’d like to look into the details and get in touch with you.” sends a different message both to the customer and to the new user reading the review.

In local SEO, reputation management is an important part of the job.

19. Reviews are also content research

For example, restaurant reviews keep asking “Is it good for kids?” There’s no answer on the website.

At a dental clinic, people keep asking “Is there parking?” That information isn’t on the site.

Reviews show us what information customers are looking for when making a decision. We can use this in:

• The website
• FAQs
• Service pages
• Google Business Profile

20. Why do photos matter?

With a local business, the user is deciding whether to go to a physical place. That’s why real photos are very valuable.

Real images build trust: for a restaurant, the space, the tables, the food and the exterior; for a hotel, the rooms, the reception, breakfast and the pool; for a clinic, the waiting area, the clinic and the team.

21. The website still matters for local queries

Google Business Profile is very important, but that doesn’t mean there’s no need for a site.

The website gives us the ability to:

• Describe services in detail
• Create location pages
• Produce content
• Earn backlinks
• Measure conversions
• Build brand trust

Google Business Profile and the website complement each other.

22. Local keyword research

In local SEO, location is added to classic keyword research. For example, queries like these can be examined:

• dentist Istanbul
• dentist Sultanahmet
• dental implants Istanbul
• pediatric dentist Istanbul
• orthodontist Kadıköy

But you shouldn’t get stuck in the “service + city” pattern. Users can also use words like “near me”, “nearest”, “open now”, “24-hour”, “price” and “reviews”.

23. Do you need to write “near me” on the page for “near me” queries?

No.

Writing “best dentist near me” on the site 20 times is not local SEO. Google can evaluate distance based on the user’s location.

Our job is to clearly explain:

• Where the business is
• What services it offers
• What its real information is

24. Why are local backlinks valuable?

It’s natural for a restaurant in Istanbul to have links like these in its backlink profile:

• An Istanbul local news site
• A tourism guide
• The chamber of commerce
• A local event
• A local blog

Here I don’t just look at DR or DA.

Does this source have a real relationship with the business?

That question is more important.

25. Local events can bring natural backlinks and brand visibility

The business:

• Sponsors a local festival.
• Takes part in a university event.
• Supports a sports club.
• Joins an association.
• Runs a social responsibility project.

The goal of these shouldn’t be just backlinks. But real-world activities can naturally produce news, brand mentions, backlinks and branded searches in the digital world.

That’s one of the nice things about local SEO.

26. Business directories and local sources

Sources where the business really should be listed can be useful:

• Chamber of commerce
• Professional chamber
• Industry directory
• Tourism site
• Municipal resources
• Real local business directories

But automatically registering in hundreds of meaningless directories is something else.

27. Why is our competitor above us on Google Maps?

There’s no single answer. You may need to look at these together:

• Distance to the user
• Business category
• Quality of profile information
• Reviews
• Website
• Local content
• Backlinks
• Brand awareness
• The business’s relevance to the query

And distance in particular is one of the variables we can’t control. If your competitor is 200 meters from the user and you’re 8 kilometers away, it may not be possible to beat them for every user just by changing a title.

28. Measuring local rankings from a single point can be misleading

The business owner searches from the office in Sultanahmet and sees themselves in position 1. Then they say, “We’re already number one.”

But when a user runs the same query from Kadıköy, the result can change. That’s why it’s healthier to evaluate local rankings across different neighborhoods, different districts and different devices.

29. For multi-location brands, each branch’s performance should be measured separately

For example, a brand with 30 branches. Total traffic may be very good. But:

• The Istanbul branch may be strong
• The Antalya branch may be weak
• The Izmir profile may have the wrong phone number
• The Bursa opening hours may be out of date

Total brand performance can hide branch problems.

30. The duplicate content problem on local pages

You have 50 branches. Every branch page has the same text. Only the city name changes. The value of this for the user is very limited.

To differentiate branch pages, these can be used:

• Real branch information
• Photos
• The team
• Services
• Directions
• Parking
• Area-specific information
• Real customer experiences

We don’t have to write 1,000 words of SEO text for every city. But it should be clear that the page really belongs to that location.

31. What happens after the user finds the business?

The finish line of local SEO is not appearing on the map. Does the user:

• Call?
• Get directions?
• Book an appointment?
• Go to the website?
• Send a WhatsApp message?
• Make a reservation?

You need to look at these. SEO success isn’t just visibility.

It’s business results.

32. Phone calls and other conversions can be measured

On projects where it’s possible, actions like phone clicks, WhatsApp, appointment forms, directions and reservations can be tracked.

That way, instead of saying “Local traffic went up,” we get closer to saying “Local organic traffic generated 80 appointment requests.”

33. A checklist for local SEO

Preparing a separate checklist for local businesses is very useful. For example:

• Is the business name correct?
• Is the address correct?
• Does the phone number work?
• Are opening hours up to date?
• Is the website link correct?
• Is the category correct?
• Are there new reviews?
• Have negative reviews been responded to?
• Are the photos up to date?
• Does the information on the website match the profile?
• Are the branch pages working?
• Is the LocalBusiness schema correct?
• Is there a significant change in local rankings?

In multi-location setups, this needs to be systematized.

34. Ownership of the business profile should be set up correctly

Ownership of critical assets like Google Business Profile, Analytics or Search Console should be set up properly on the client’s side. The agency or employees can be given access as users.

When an employee leaves, we don’t want to be digging around asking “Which Gmail account was the profile on?”

In SEO, account management is part of operations too.

35. Local SEO is not just Google Maps

Local SEO is strong when these are considered together:

• Google Business Profile
• Website
• Content
• Reviews
• Local backlinks
• Brand awareness
• The real business experience
• Conversion

If you rank first on the map but the phone number is wrong, the site doesn’t load or the user can’t book an appointment, the business still loses the customer.

To sum up

In local SEO, just telling Google “I’m in Istanbul” isn’t enough.

What we need to say is:

“I’m in Istanbul, I offer this service, I’m a real business, my information is accurate, my customers know me and users can reach me for this need.”

The three concepts Google describes sum this up nicely:

Relevance + Distance + Prominence

We can’t always change distance. But we can improve:

• Our relevance
• Our business information
• Our website
• Our reviews
• Our content
• Our local visibility
• Our brand trust

And especially in highly regulated sectors like healthcare, when doing local SEO we have to look not only at Google’s rules but also at industry regulations.

I think the most important difference of local SEO is this:

The business on the web and the business in the real world can’t be different from each other.

Previous: Chapter 36: How to Do SEO for News Sites · Contents · Next: Chapter 38: How to Do SEO for Corporate and B2B Sites

This chapter was first published in Turkish on X (October 15, 2026).