local-seolisted

# Local SEO Local ranking runs on a different system from organic ranking, and it's the more winnable one. Three factors decide the local pack: relevance, distance and prominence. You can't move the business, so the work is relevance and prominence. The advantage of local is that the competition is usually doing nothing. A complete, accurate, actively maintained profile beats most competitors in most cities. ## Step 1: Google Business Profile, done completely The profile is the ranking entity for the local pack. The website supports it. People get this backwards and spend months on a site while the profile sits half-filled. Non-negotiables, in order of effect: 1. **Primary category.** The single highest-impact field. Choose the most specific category that matches the main service. "Personal injury attorney" ranks for different things than "Lawyer". Check what categories top competitors use. 2. **Secondary categories.** Add every one that genuinely applies, and no more. 3. **Business name.** The real, legal, on-the-signage name. Stuffing keywords into it works until it gets reported, then the profile gets suspended. 4. **Address and service area.** A real, staffed address. Service-area businesses hide the address and set a radius. Don't do both. 5. **Hours**, including holiday hours. Accuracy here is checked and feeds "open now" filters. 6. **Services and products**, listed individually with descriptions. Most profiles leave this empty. It's free relevance. 7. **Attribut