Why Your Local SEO Isn't Working

A lot of businesses claim their Google Business Profile and stop there. No categories filled in, no service area set, no posts, no photos. Google can't recommend a business it doesn't understand. If your profile is thin, you're invisible no matter how good your website is.

Citations are your business name, address, and phone number listed the same way across the web — directories, chamber sites, industry listings. If that info is inconsistent or missing, Google trusts your business less. Less trust means lower rankings.

A generic homepage that could belong to any business in any town doesn't rank for local searches. Your site needs to say, clearly, who you are and where you serve — not just once, but in your titles, your headers, your page content.

Schema is code that tells Google exactly what your business is, where it's located, and what you do. Without it, Google has to guess. Guessing means you show up less, and less accurately, in search results.

ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews are changing how people find businesses. If your site isn't structured for AI to read and cite, you're losing visibility you don't even know you're missing.

Review count and freshness affect your ranking. A handful of reviews from two years ago tells Google — and customers — that you're not active.

Even if people find you, if your site doesn't tell them what to do next, most won't act. A confused visitor leaves.