For small local UK businesses there are many actions that are free to implement and that will help with your SEO.
This guide is designed to help small UK businesses improve their visibility in local search results using only free methods.
Part 1 covers essential SEO tips for beginners, while Part 2 explores more advanced strategies that still cost nothing to implement.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is all about helping search engines and AI understand what your website is about, so they can show it to people who are looking for the services you provide. If someone types “hairdresser in Margate” into Google or an AI system (e.g. ChatGPT), your aim is to make sure that the search ranking position for your small business shows up somewhere near the top of the search engine results.
SEO includes a combination of keyword research, technical setup, relevant content, and building trust with search engines so that you appear within the organic search results. For small local businesses, this doesn’t mean competing with national brands or trying to become famous online – it means making sure people nearby can actually find you when they need your help.
You don’t need to learn everything about SEO to get started. Just understanding and implementing the basics correctly can put you ahead of many other small businesses that haven’t optimised their online presence.
Local SEO is a specific part of SEO that focuses on people searching within a geographic area. Instead of targeting broad searches like “best accountant”, local SEO helps you show up for phrases like “accountant in Ashford” or “best-rated accountant near me”.
Google automatically adjusts search results based on a user’s location, especially when they’re searching for services or businesses. If your site and business profiles are correctly optimised, you have a much better chance of appearing in those localised results. This is especially powerful if you’re trying to reach customers within a certain town, county, or delivery radius.
Local SEO isn’t just about appearing in the standard search listings. You can also appear in the local ‘Map Pack’ – the three listings shown under the map in local search results. These usually come from your Google Business Profile, and getting into that area can significantly boost leads.
General SEO focuses on search engine ranking nationally or internationally for broader search terms, often competing with much larger businesses. Local SEO is far more targeted – it’s about making sure your business is visible to people nearby, often when they’re ready to buy.
With local SEO, it’s essential to highlight your location, use postcode-level relevance, appear in map listings, and build a strong presence in local directories. You don’t need thousands of backlinks or massive content campaigns. Instead, focus on trust signals like consistent business information, positive local reviews, and useful content that mentions your service areas.
You can learn more about the difference in this Moz guide to local SEO: https://moz.com/learn/seo/local
If you do nothing else in local SEO, make sure you claim and complete your Google Business Profile. This free listing is what allows you to appear on Google Maps, and it powers the prominent local business panels that show up when people search for services near them.
To get started, go to https://www.google.com/business/, log in with your Google account, and search for your business name. If it’s already listed, claim it. If it’s not, you can create a new listing. Once you’ve verified your business (usually online), you’ll be able to edit all the key details: your name, address, opening hours, website link, services, photos, and more.
Having an up-to-date Google Business Profile helps your credibility and makes you more likely to appear in the top 3 local results. It’s also the place where customers leave reviews – something Google and AI search takes into account when ranking you.
Google Search Console is a free tool that helps you understand how Google sees your website. Once set up, it tells you what search terms are bringing people to your site as organic traffic, which pages are being clicked, and whether there are any technical problems that might be stopping your pages from appearing in search results. It also shows you Google organic positioning for keywords that didn’t result in clicks for you.
You can sign up and verify your site at https://search.google.com/search-console. It takes just a few minutes to connect, especially if you already use Google Analytics or your website builder supports direct verification.
One of the most useful features is the Performance report, which shows what keywords your pages are ranking for – often ones you didn’t even realise. This insight can help guide what content you improve or add next.
Once people land on your site, what do they do? Google Analytics helps you answer that by giving you insights into your website traffic. It shows how long people stay, which pages they view, how many people return, and where your traffic is coming from (search engines, social media, direct, etc.).
You can sign up at https://analytics.google.com/ and follow the instructions to add tracking to your site. If you use WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace, there are usually plugins or settings that make it easy.
This data won’t directly affect your SEO rankings, but it will show you what’s working. If you’re getting traffic but no enquiries, you may need to improve your messaging or calls to action. If you’re getting visitors to your blog but not your service pages, you may want to improve internal linking.
While Google dominates search, not everyone uses it. Some people search through Bing by default (especially older users on Windows devices), and Apple Maps is built into every iPhone. Fortunately, you can create free listings for both.
Neither platform will drive as much traffic as Google, but they are free, quick to set up, and can help you appear in more places.
If you want to keep track of your progress in search rankings without paying for expensive SEO tools, free rank trackers are a good starting point for a small business. Tools like:
These tools allow you to monitor where your website ranks for specific keywords over time. This can help you measure whether the changes you’re making are actually helping your visibility.
When thinking about what phrases to target, it’s best to start with how real people search. One of the simplest ways to do this is by typing part of a phrase into Google and seeing what it suggests. These autocomplete suggestions are based on what others are searching for, so they’re often good indicators of popular terms.
For example, typing in “kitchen fitter Canterbury” might bring up suggestions like “kitchen fitter Canterbury reviews” or “kitchen fitter Canterbury prices”. You can also scroll down to the bottom of the search results page to see “Related searches”.
The “People also ask” boxes that show up in many results are another goldmine. They display commonly asked questions related to your topic. These can give you great content ideas and also show you what language your audience is using. Part of your on-page SEO is answering these questions on your site to help improve your relevance for those searches.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of using technical or industry-specific terms on your website, especially if you’re an expert in your field. However, most of your potential customers aren’t. They search using everyday language, not professional terminology.
For example, a physiotherapist might talk about ‘musculoskeletal alignment’, but a local resident is more likely to search for ‘back pain help’ or ‘sports injury treatment’. Matching your target keywords wording to how people naturally search increases the chance your pages will appear in results.
You don’t have to dumb things down – just be mindful to explain what you do in the way your audience would describe it. This is especially important on headings, titles, and navigation menus.
Google needs to know which area you serve – and it won’t assume that just because your small business is based in a certain town, you’re only targeting that place. That’s why it’s important to mention your location, and nearby towns or areas you cover, in the text of your key pages.
Try to naturally work in phrases like ‘electrician in Maidstone’, ‘serving customers across Kent’, or ‘covering Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable’. This helps Google associate your website with those locations and makes you more likely to appear in searches that include them.
It’s also worth listing service areas or towns you cover on a contact page or footer. Just avoid stuffing in too many repeated keywords – keep it readable and natural.
It can be useful to look at what’s working for your small business competitors – especially those who already rank well in your area. You can do this manually by typing in common search phrases and seeing who comes up, or use free tools like Ubersuggest.
Paste in a competitor’s website URL and the tool will show you the keywords they rank for, how much traffic they might be getting, and which pages are performing well. This can give you inspiration for your own pages and content.
These tools usually have free daily limits, but they’re more than enough for occasional research. Ubersuggest: https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/
One of the simplest ways to improve your local SEO is to be seen as a small business that bothers to answer the questions people are already asking. Creating a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on your website helps both visitors and search engines. It provides immediate value and improves your chances of appearing in featured snippets or ‘People also ask’ boxes in Google search results.
Think about the questions customers ask you most often, either during consultations, emails, or over the phone. Then write clear, helpful answers in natural language. If possible, include local references such as towns or service areas in your responses.
For example, instead of simply writing ‘Do you install boilers?’, write ‘Yes, we install energy-efficient boilers for homes across Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks.’ This kind of detail strengthens your local signals.
Blogging is a great way to regularly add fresh content to your site while targeting long-tail and local keyword phrases. You can write blog posts or dedicated service pages that mention specific towns, neighbourhoods, or common issues in your local area.
For example, if you’re a garden designer, you could write about ‘Garden design ideas for sloped gardens in the Kent countryside’ or ‘Our recent patio installation project in Whitstable’. Including location-based terms increases your relevance for those geographic searches.
You don’t need to blog weekly, but even a few well-written local posts can help build authority and trust with both Google and potential customers.
Your customers are one of your best sources of SEO content ideas. Any time someone asks a question, consider whether the answer could become a blog post, a short guide, or even a full page on your site.
Let’s say you’re a roofer and a customer asks, ‘What’s the best type of roofing for coastal homes in East Kent?’ – that could become an article titled exactly that. It’s very likely others in your area are typing that same question into Google or AI such as ChatGPT.
By structuring your site around real-world concerns, you demonstrate authority and increase the chances of ranking for question-based searches. These types of pages also work well when shared on social media or email newsletters.
Local case studies are powerful trust-builders and also useful for SEO. When you write about work you’ve done in specific locations, you naturally include local keywords and build relevance.
A good case study might include the client’s challenge, what you did, the result, and the town or area where the job took place. Photos, testimonials, and before-and-after details help make these more engaging.
Even just a few of these pages, spread across different service areas, can create strong location-based landing pages that drive leads for months or even years.
Each page on your website should have a unique page title and meta description. These are the snippets that appear in Google search results, so they play a vital role in both rankings and click-through rates.
Your page title should include your primary keyword and location where relevant, such as ‘Window Cleaner in Folkestone | EcoWash UK’. Keep it under 60 characters where possible. The meta description, which sits underneath the title in search listings, should give a brief but compelling reason to click – ideally mentioning your location again, keeping under 160 characters.
Many platforms like WordPress, Wix and Squarespace allow you to edit these easily.
Search engines use your page headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to understand the structure and relevance of your content. These headings also help users skim and find the information they need.
Your H1 should be the main topic of the page, such as ‘Professional Oven Cleaning in Ashford’. Subheadings (H2, H3) can cover supporting points like prices, service areas, or FAQs. Try to use headings that contain natural keyword phrases without stuffing or forcing it.
Avoid generic headers like ‘Welcome’ or ‘Click Here’. Instead, aim for descriptive headings that explain what the section is about – for example, ‘Our Oven Cleaning Process in Ashford’ or ‘Why Customers Trust Us in East Kent’.
Internal linking helps Google understand the structure of your site, spreads authority between pages, and improves user experience. It also gives you an opportunity to guide visitors towards important calls to action.
For example, if you mention ‘garden lighting’ in a blog post, link those words to your dedicated garden lighting service page. If you have a testimonials page, link to it from your homepage or service pages using descriptive anchor text like ‘Read our customer reviews in Kent’.
Try to avoid using vague link phrases like ‘click here’. Instead, use links that give both users and Google clear context. Aim for 2 to 5 relevant internal links per page where it feels natural.
Alt text (short for ‘alternative text’) is a brief description added to images in your website’s code. It’s used by screen readers for accessibility, and also helps Google understand what the image is showing.
Make sure every image on your site includes descriptive alt text, ideally including your service or location where appropriate. For example, instead of ‘IMG_1234.jpg’, a better alt tag might be ‘Garden deck installation in Canterbury’. This helps reinforce the local relevance of your page and can even help your images appear in Google Image Search.
If you’re using WordPress, alt text can be added via the Media Library or directly in the image block. Other website builders offer similar functionality. Just remember to keep descriptions accurate and avoid keyword stuffing.
Use a mobile-friendly layout
With so much web traffic now coming from mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website is no longer optional. If your site is hard to navigate on a phone or tablet, potential customers will quickly leave – and Google may rank your site lower in mobile search results.
You can check if your site is mobile-friendly using Google’s free Lighthouse tool at https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly. If the results show usability issues, it’s worth addressing them quickly – especially if most of your customers find you via mobile search.
Look for things like text that’s too small, buttons that are hard to tap, or content that runs off the screen. Most modern website builders like Wix, Squarespace and WordPress themes are responsive by default, but it’s still important to test across devices.
Test your site speed with PageSpeed Insights
Page speed is another major factor for both user experience and SEO. A slow-loading site can frustrate visitors and reduce the chances that they’ll stay long enough to contact you or make a purchase. This applies to everyone, whether a large or small business.
Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool (https://pagespeed.web.dev/) will analyse your site and give specific suggestions to improve performance. It checks your site for both mobile and desktop users, and provides a score out of 100 for each.
Common issues include large image files, unused code, and too many scripts running in the background. Fixing these can significantly speed up your site, especially on mobile connections.
Remove anything that slows your site down
Beyond what tools like PageSpeed Insights show you, it’s good practice to regularly audit your website and remove anything that isn’t helping your visitors. This could include outdated plugins, unnecessary animations, pop-ups, or embedded third-party content like auto-playing videos.
Images are often the biggest culprit when it comes to slowing down a website. Use free tools like Compressor (https://compressor.io/) to compress them without losing quality before uploading.
If your website has a blog, check for old posts that load lots of images or scripts and see if they can be simplified. A faster, cleaner site is better for both visitors and search engines.
Check your site works well on mobile and tablet
Don’t just rely on tools – visit your website on your own phone and tablet. Try navigating through the menus, filling in your contact form, and reading the content. Does everything display properly? Are the fonts readable? Can you easily tap on phone numbers or links?
If you’re using call-to-action buttons like ‘Book a free quote’ or ‘Call now’, make sure they’re large enough to tap and visible without scrolling too far. Also test your contact form – if it’s hard to fill out on mobile, you’re likely losing leads.
Remember, Google uses mobile-first indexing – meaning it primarily looks at the mobile version of your site when determining rankings. If your mobile site is lacking, it could affect your visibility even for desktop users.
Getting listed on trusted UK directories helps improve your visibility in both local search results and map listings. These sites act as additional confirmation to Google that your business is real, active and local. It also gives potential customers another way to find you when searching outside of Google.
Start with well-known free directories such as Yell (https://www.yell.com/free-listing/) and FreeIndex (https://www.freeindex.co.uk/advertise.htm). There is also 192.com (https://www.192.com/businesses/yourbusiness/), which is part of a bigger network that may already have a free listing for you, although they seem to be charging for those that aren’t already listed. Make sure you fill in all available details, including your services, opening hours, photos, and website link.
These links also help build trust with Google and are a key part of what’s known as local citations – references to your business across the web that improve your authority.
Consistency is crucial in local SEO. Google looks for signals across multiple sources to verify your legitimacy. If your small business name, address or phone number is written differently across sites – for example, ‘High Street’ vs ‘High St’ – it can cause confusion and lower your local ranking potential.
Create a standardised version of your business info (NAP) and stick to it exactly when listing your details on other sites, directories, and even social media profiles.
You can use a spreadsheet to track where your business is listed and periodically review them to make sure everything is up to date.
Google reviews play a major role in local SEO rankings. The more positive, relevant online reviews your business has, the more likely it is to appear in the top three map results (known as the Local Pack). They also serve as social proof – giving new visitors the confidence to contact you.
Ask satisfied customers to leave a review shortly after a successful job or service. You can send them a direct link to your Google review page by using the ‘Share your Business Profile’ option inside your Google Business dashboard.
Be polite, make it easy, and never offer incentives – Google may penalise you for that. A good template might be: ‘Thanks for choosing us! If you have a moment, we’d really appreciate a quick review here: [link]’.
Whether someone leaves a glowing 5-star review or a critical 1-star complaint, always respond. This shows that you value feedback and are engaged with your customer base – something both searchers and search engines like to see.
When replying to a good review, thank the person and reinforce any key positive points they mentioned. For example: ‘Thanks, Sarah – we’re so glad you loved the new fitted wardrobe in Ramsgate!’
For negative reviews, stay calm and professional. Apologise where appropriate and offer to resolve the issue offline. Future potential customers will often read your response to a bad review before deciding to contact you, so how you reply can be just as important as the review itself.
Google gives you the option to publish updates, events, offers and news directly to your Google Business Profile. These posts show up when someone views your profile and can help improve engagement, especially on mobile.
You might post about a seasonal service, a limited-time offer, or a recent project. For example, ‘Now booking patio installations for spring in the Tonbridge area’ is both timely and locally relevant.
Posts expire after seven days (except event posts), so aim to publish something weekly to keep your profile fresh. You can do this manually from the Google Business dashboard or through the Google Maps mobile app.
Social media may not directly boost SEO rankings, but it increases visibility and drives traffic. It’s also important for AI search visibility. More importantly, it signals activity and local relevance. When you share content related to your local community, you connect with your audience in a more relatable way.
For instance, if there’s a local charity fun run or a town-wide clean-up day, post about it. You don’t even need to be involved – just sharing and commenting shows awareness and support.
This approach helps keep your business top-of-mind, and it increases the chances your followers will engage or share your content – indirectly boosting your online authority.
Facebook groups, Nextdoor, and even local Reddit communities can be excellent places to raise your profile and earn trust in a non-promotional way. Many people turn to these spaces for local recommendations or advice – often instead of Google.
Don’t treat these groups like advertising channels. Instead, focus on being helpful. If someone asks for advice related to your service, you can comment with a helpful tip and subtly mention your business if it’s relevant.
Even occasional visibility in these spaces builds local awareness. Over time, your name becomes familiar, and that trust can translate into clicks and enquiries when people see you in search results.
Whenever you post on platforms like Instagram, Facebook or Google, add a location tag. This small step helps associate your content with that place and improves your visibility to users nearby.
It’s especially useful for businesses that travel to customers or operate in multiple towns. For example, if you’re an electrician working across Maidstone and Sittingbourne, tagging each town in relevant posts helps Google and social platforms learn your service area.
These location tags don’t guarantee SEO improvements, but they contribute to the overall picture of local relevance – something Google increasingly rewards in map and mobile searches.
Once you’ve implemented the essentials of local SEO, there are many additional strategies that can help you go even further. These are still free to carry out, but often get overlooked by small business owners. In this part of the guide, we’ll cover advanced yet practical steps you can take to improve your visibility in search engines and stay ahead of competitors.
Once you’ve connected your website to Google Search Console, it becomes a powerful tool to help you identify and fix issues that affect your visibility. One of the first things to check is the ‘Pages’ report, which shows which of your pages are indexed and which are not – along with explanations.
Look for errors such as ‘404 Not Found’, ‘Redirect Error’, or ‘Crawled – currently not indexed’. These usually indicate that something’s wrong with how Google is viewing or accessing that page. Broken internal links can be spotted here, or you can use free tools like https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/ to find them more easily.
Fixing these issues can often be as simple as updating a broken link or ensuring a page is linked to from elsewhere on your site. No developer needed – just a bit of admin time.
A sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your website and helps Google find and index them. If you use WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO or RankMath can automatically create one for you.
Once you’ve created a sitemap (usually found at yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml), go to Google Search Console and submit it under the ‘Sitemaps’ tab. This is a one-time task that can help ensure Google picks up new or updated content quickly.
If you don’t use WordPress, tools like https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ can create a sitemap for free, which you can upload to your website hosting platform.
Duplicate title tags or missing meta descriptions are common issues on small business websites. They can confuse Google and reduce the chance of ranking well – or appearing attractively in search results.
Use the ‘HTML improvements’ report in Google Search Console or a free audit tool like Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free up to 500 URLs) to check for duplicate or missing meta elements. Make sure each page has a unique, descriptive title that includes the service and location where appropriate.
Similarly, write clear and engaging meta descriptions. They don’t directly impact rankings, but they influence whether people click on your link in the search results.
Page URLs are more important than many realise. Clean, descriptive URLs that reflect the content of the page are easier for both users and search engines to understand. For example, use /roof-repairs-canterbury rather than /page?id=47.
Avoid using dates or unnecessary numbers unless they’re essential. If you’re updating an old page, redirect the old URL to the new one using a 301 redirect to avoid losing any SEO value.
Most content management systems let you set or edit URLs easily. In WordPress, for instance, the permalink is editable directly below the page title when you create or edit a page.
Schema markup is structured data added to your web pages to help search engines and AI systems better understand your content. It can help you qualify for rich results like star ratings, FAQs, opening hours, and more – which often boost click-through rates.
If you use WordPress, plugins like RankMath or Yoast SEO with Schema Pro support allow you to add common schema types without writing code. For example, you can add LocalBusiness schema to your contact page or FAQ schema to your frequently asked questions section.
For non-WordPress sites, Google’s structured data helper at https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/ can guide you through creating code snippets, which you can then paste into your site’s HTML.
Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing people see when they search for your business. Adding detailed service descriptions helps Google understand what you offer and improves your chances of appearing for relevant searches.
For example, if you are a plumber, don’t just say ‘plumbing services’. Add specifics such as ’emergency boiler repair’, ‘bathroom installation’, or ‘central heating maintenance’. Each of these services could trigger different search queries.
Also ensure your opening hours are accurate, including holiday hours. Incorrect or missing information can frustrate potential customers and reduce trust.
The Q&A feature on your profile allows people to ask questions directly, but you can also add your own questions and answers in advance. This is a good way to address frequently asked questions like ‘Do you offer free quotes?’ or ‘Which areas do you cover?’. Answering these questions upfront makes your profile more helpful and can improve engagement.
To do this, simply go to your Google Business dashboard or find your listing on Google Maps and use the Q&A feature. Remember to keep answers short, accurate and friendly.
Google may also highlight your Q&A content in search results, making it a great way to showcase your expertise.
Photos are a major factor in building trust. Google reports that businesses with photos receive more requests for directions and more clicks to their websites compared to those without.
Upload images that show your work, your team, or your premises. Even better, add photos of recent projects, before-and-after shots, or local landmarks near your business.
Aim to upload new photos at least once a month. This signals to Google that your profile is active and encourages more user interaction.
Google Business Profile allows you to post updates similar to social media posts. These updates show directly on your profile and can drive engagement or highlight special promotions.
For example, you could post about seasonal services (‘Book a boiler check before winter in Ashford’), upcoming events, or new blog articles on your website. These posts expire after 7 days (except events), so posting weekly is ideal.
You can create posts easily through the Google Maps app or by logging into your profile on desktop. Adding a photo or call-to-action button can boost clicks.
This tactic alone can make your small business stand out from others.
By default, traffic from your Google Business Profile appears as ‘direct traffic’ in Google Analytics, which makes it hard to measure its impact. Adding UTM tags to your website links helps you track exactly how many visitors come from your profile.
You can create a UTM link using Google’s Campaign URL Builder: https://ga-dev-tools.web.app/campaign-url-builder/. For example, you might set the source as ‘google’, medium as ‘organic’, and campaign as ‘gmb-profile’. Paste this custom URL into the website field of your profile.
Once added, you can see visits from your Google Business Profile clearly in your Analytics reports under ‘Campaigns’. This is a great way to measure ROI on your local SEO efforts.
If you serve multiple towns or villages, consider creating location-specific pages or blog posts tailored to each area. This helps you appear in searches for ‘service + town’ keywords, which are common when people look for local providers.
For example, instead of just having one page for ‘roof repairs’, you could create separate pages for ‘Roof repairs in Canterbury’, ‘Roof repairs in Faversham’, and so on – each with relevant content and examples of work done in that location.
Avoid copying and pasting the same content across each page. Instead, include unique local references, project photos, or testimonials from that area to make each page genuinely helpful and locally relevant.
Big national companies rarely take the time to answer very specific local questions. This is your opportunity to stand out.
If you’re a solicitor, for example, write blog posts on topics like ‘Do I need planning permission for a loft conversion in Maidstone?’ or ‘How to challenge a parking fine in Ashford’. These topics may only get a few searches per month – but they are highly targeted and can bring in qualified leads.
Use free tools like https://answerthepublic.com/ or https://alsoasked.com/ to find real questions people are searching for, then create simple pages or blog posts that answer them clearly. Doing this type of keyword research can really help you stand out for niche searches.
Think about the questions customers ask you every week. Chances are, others are typing those same questions into Google. Each one of those questions can be turned into a dedicated blog post or FAQ section.
This not only helps improve your SEO but also saves time – when someone asks the question again, you can simply share the article with them. It’s especially effective for trust-building queries like ‘What’s included in your free home survey?’ or ‘How long does the average installation take?’
Keeping a running list of customer queries (via email, phone, or in person) gives you a goldmine of content ideas that are directly relevant to your audience.
Internal linking is one of the most overlooked local SEO tactics that will help with organic search visibility. It helps visitors discover more of your content and gives Google and AI search systems a clearer picture of your site’s structure. Done well, it spreads page authority to the pages that matter most – like your services or contact page.
For example, if you write a blog post about garden design tips and mention that you offer landscape design in Sevenoaks, make sure you link that phrase to your landscape design service page.
Think strategically about how people might flow through your content and use internal links to guide them to the next helpful step – ideally ending on a contact form or call to action.
When you publish a new blog post, go back and add links from your older, related posts to it. This helps Google discover the new content faster and signals that it’s connected to your broader topic coverage.
For instance, if you write a new article about ‘Winter boiler maintenance’, add a link to it from an older post about ‘Common boiler issues’. This tells Google both posts are related and gives the new page some of the older post’s authority.
This small habit also keeps your content fresh and improves engagement by giving readers more to explore once they land on your site.
Anchor text is the clickable text used in a link. Instead of writing ‘click here’, use descriptive phrases like ‘our boiler repair service in Ashford’. This helps Google understand what the linked page is about and may improve your rankings for that topic.
That said, don’t overdo it. Use keyword-rich links only when they feel natural and helpful to the reader. Avoid stuffing the same phrase repeatedly – vary the wording slightly to keep it human.
If you run a small site, even a few internal links per page can make a big difference. Over time, this creates a strong web of related content that benefits both SEO and user experience.
Local news sites and community blogs are often looking for relevant high-quality content. You can pitch story ideas, tips, or opinion pieces based on your expertise. This not only earns a backlink but also establishes you as a credible figure in your local area.
For example, a garden designer might write an article like ‘5 garden trends in East Kent for summer’ for a regional lifestyle blog. Or a builder could comment on changes to planning rules in their district for a local paper.
When your content includes a link to your site, it supports your SEO. And even if they don’t link, a mention alone builds brand awareness and credibility with local audiences.
Many local councils, bloggers or community sites run ‘Best of’ lists or awards for local businesses. These often include backlinks and positive mentions that improve your SEO and visibility.
To find these opportunities, search Google for phrases like ‘best wedding venues in Kent site:.co.uk’ or ‘local business awards + your area’. If you find past lists, reach out to the site owner and ask to be considered next time.
Don’t be shy about nominating yourself if a website invites public submissions. These links can carry significant weight over time.
Once you’ve got pages live and local SEO improvements in place, you’ll want to track what’s getting traction. Google Search Console lets you see which pages are getting clicks and impressions in search results, and what search terms triggered them.
Visit the ‘Performance’ section and set the date range to the past 3 months. Sort by clicks to see your top-performing pages. Then look at the keywords driving those clicks. You may spot pages showing local ranking for unexpected terms that you could optimise further.
This insight helps you double down on what’s working and spot underperforming pages that may need better content, titles or links.
Google Analytics complements Search Console by showing what users do once they land on your site. You can track how many visitors you’re getting, where they’re coming from, and whether they’re converting into leads or sales.
Set up ‘Goals’ (in GA4 these are called Events) for actions like form submissions, phone clicks, or brochure downloads. This helps you identify which pages or campaigns drive real business results.
Use UTM tracking links for any marketing you do outside of your website – such as email newsletters or directory listings – so you can see what’s driving meaningful visits.
Local SEO isn’t a one-time job for your small business. As your site grows and the local search landscape changes, you’ll want to revisit old content to keep it fresh and useful.
Pages that are close to ranking well (e.g. position 8–15 in Google) can often be nudged into better visibility by improving their content, adding internal links, or building a few external links to them.
Look at your lower-performing pages too. Ask whether they target the right keywords, whether they offer enough helpful detail, or if they need reworking entirely. A few strategic updates every few months can make a big difference over time.
There’s a huge amount of free information here and in places it may seem overwhelming.
You could copy this page link into your online calendar and come back to it once or more each week, chipping away at the SEO tips one by one – starting from those at the top and working down where they can be a bit more involved.
If you’re stuck on any of this, feel free to contact me and I’ll give you 15 minutes of my time (free) on a Zoom call to help you find the quickest wins for your particularly business. No strings – just part of how I like to help small businesses via my expertise on 6,200+ websites over the past 24 years.