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· 1 min read

Is SEO dead? The local basics that still work

Not dead, it moved. For a local business the basics are the same ones AI answers lean on: a complete Google Business Profile, a fast phone-friendly site with one page per service, real titles and descriptions, consistent details, reviews and local links.

The short answer: no. Search changed shape (AI answers, maps, the profile panel), but what puts a local business in front of people is the same short list, and it is the same list AI answers lean on.

1. Your Google Business Profile, complete

Category, hours (holidays too), services, photos, the area you serve, and answers to the questions people post there. For many local searches it is seen before your website is.

2. One page per thing you sell

"Brake repair", "Wedding cakes", "Kids' haircuts": a page each, saying what it is, where, and what it costs. One page that says everything ranks for nothing.

3. A real title and description on every page

The title is the blue line people click; the description is the line under it. Write them for people: "Wedding cakes in Decatur, from $250 · Rosa's Bakery".

4. Fast, and made for phones

Most local searches happen on a phone. A page that loads slowly, or makes people pinch and zoom, loses them before it says a word.

5. The same details everywhere

Name, address and phone, written the same way on your site and every listing.

Ask happy customers for a review that says what you did. Get listed and linked by local groups, suppliers and partners.

What you can skip

Keyword stuffing, buying links, a blog post a day nobody reads, and anyone who promises "number one on Google". Nobody can promise that honestly.

Want to see where your site stands? Paste it at y00r.co: the checkup is free, and so is the next lesson.

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Questions, answered

Is SEO still worth it for a small business?

Yes. The basics (a complete Google Business Profile, a fast site with a page per service, consistent details and reviews) still bring local customers, and they are the same things AI answers rely on.

What is the most important local SEO step?

A complete, accurate Google Business Profile: the right category, hours, services, photos and answers to common questions.

Can anyone guarantee a number one ranking on Google?

No. Rankings depend on Google and on every competitor; anyone who guarantees a top spot is guessing or selling something.

Read next

  1. GEO: how to get your business named when people ask an AIWhen someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI for "the best bakery near me", the answer comes from what those tools can read and trust. Seven things a local business can do so it is the one they name: plain facts on its site, real answers, the same details everywhere, reviews, mentions, and a monthly check.
  2. What a small business website actually needs (and what it does not)The short list that brings customers in: what you do, where and when, your prices, a phone number you can tap, real photos, and one clear next step. And the long list you can skip.
  3. Is your website ugly? The 60-second checkupSix checks anyone can do on a phone in a minute: does it fit the screen, is there a padlock, can you tap the phone number, what year the footer says, does it load fast, and what Google shows about you. Two or more fails: it is costing you customers.

Rather have it done?

Paste your site and see it fixed in a few minutes: a free checkup, nothing to install. Need your marketing done for you, fast? We do GEO and email marketing (we ain't cheap).