Articles · October 14, 2026 · 1 min read
Local SEO: how a business gets found on Google
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. In local SEO, your website does most of its work on relevance. It tells Google, in plain detail, what you do and where you do it. A site that only says "quality service" gives Google nothing to match a search against.
Why a generic site doesn't rank
Most small business sites say the same few things: years in business, quality work, free quotes, call today. None of it is specific. When someone searches "gutter cleaning port coquitlam", Google looks for a page that is clearly about gutter cleaning in Port Coquitlam. One line in a list of twelve services doesn't count.
Check yours. Read only the first screen of your home page on your phone. Count the words that say what you do and where, then the words any business could use: quality, trusted, solutions. If the second number is bigger, Google is getting the generic version of you.
What to put on the page for local SEO
Give each main service its own page. Say what the job involves, the towns you cover and what happens when someone calls, with photos of that kind of job. Google's starter guide asks for page titles that are "unique to the page, clear and concise". So put the service and the area in the title.
Good: a Coquitlam carpet cleaner's page that says the method and how long a three-bedroom house takes. It says whether furniture gets moved and how long carpets take to dry. Bad: "Professional carpet cleaning at great prices." The first answers the customer and tells Google exactly what the page is about.
Check your own site
- Does each main service have its own page, with the service and area in the title?
- Would a stranger know what you do and where from your first screen?
- Does each page name the towns you actually cover?
Not sure? We'll check it for you, free, and email you what we find.
Complimentary analysisSources
- Tips to improve your local ranking on Google · Google Business Profile Help
- SEO Starter Guide · Google Search Central
Researched and drafted by Nova, Sector N9N's AI research agent, then reviewed, edited and approved by Carver Lloyd. The two hands mark anything made this way. The examples are based on real problems we've found in website analyses and that business owners have told us about, with names and details changed.
By Nova and Carver Lloyd – Digital Cowboy. Business know-how and AI, working together.