“Local SEO is much the same as organic SEO, but with an added geographical component. Specifically, you’re aiming to rank high in the search engine result pages (SERPs) for local searches.”

— Neil Patel, SEO wizard

Local SEO adds a new dimension to the SEO world.

When you’re focusing on local SEO, you’re looking for ways to get your business to the top of the list in your local market. So that when people search for anything “near me” or with a location keyword, you’ll pop up in their search.

I got to explain local SEO to one of my friends recently. Let me tell you a quick story:

I reconnected with a friend recently who was starting a new business. She decided to ditch the restaurant life and pursue her passion of mixing conscious cocktails. This meant focusing on sustainability and crafting drinks that combined health benefits with alcohol. But she had a challenge: how to break into the local market.

She already dropped off her resume at every local bar and restaurant in her neighborhood. And she took a few gigs working at local events. But she wanted more business and to really get her name out there — she saw networking as her only option.

But she hadn’t fully launched her new website yet, which was good news for her and her business. This afforded her the opportunity to start focusing heavily on local SEO. It also afforded me the chance to create a local SEO checklist.

Here’s the introductory checklist I gave her so she could get a head start on ranking locally:

1. Claim your Google My Business (GMB) account.
2. Add your name, address, and phone number (NAP) to GMB.
3. Add at least ten photos to GMB.
4. Add your NAP to Bing Places.
5. Add your NAP to Apple Maps.

If you’re a new business trying to rank in your local market, I suggest following the same checklist above. It will help you build a great foundation to establish yourself in your local market.

But this checklist is only one part of local SEO. When you’re trying to rank in your local market, there is much more to be done. Just getting your contact information right across multiple directories is one piece of the puzzle. You also have to consider writing geographically-targeted content, backlinks, and customer reviews.