Recipe: Setting Up Local SEO for a Business | SEO Forge - Rank Higher with AI-Powered SEO
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Recipe: Setting Up Local SEO for a Business

User Guide

This recipe walks you through setting up local SEO for a business with a physical location using SEO Forge PRO. Local SEO helps your business appear in Google Maps and local search results.

Step 1: Enter Business Information

  1. Go to SEO Forge > Settings > Local SEO (PRO feature)
  2. Fill in your complete business information:
FieldWhat to EnterExample
Business NameYour official business name exactly as it appears everywhereRiverside Dental Clinic
Address Line 1Street address456 Oak Avenue, Suite 200
CityCity namePortland
State/ProvinceState or provinceOregon
Postal CodeZIP or postal code97201
CountryCountryUnited States
PhonePrimary phone number in international format+1-503-555-0199
EmailPublic contact email[email protected]
WebsiteFull URLhttps://riversidedental.com
  1. Select your business type from the dropdown — this determines the LocalBusiness schema subtype (e.g., Dentist, Restaurant, LegalService, AutoRepair)
  2. Enter your operating hours for each day of the week
  3. Click Save Changes

Step 2: Set Up LocalBusiness Schema

  1. With your business information saved, SEO Forge automatically generates LocalBusiness schema on your homepage
  2. View your homepage source to confirm the schema includes:
– Business name, address, phone (NAP)

– Business type

– Operating hours

– Geo coordinates (if entered)

  1. Test the schema at Google’s Rich Results Test

Step 3: Optimize Your Homepage for Local Keywords

  1. Edit your homepage
  2. Set the focus keyword to include your city and service — for example, “dentist Portland Oregon” or “Italian restaurant downtown Seattle”
  3. Write an SEO title: “Riverside Dental Clinic | Dentist in Portland, OR”
  4. Write a meta description that includes the city, service, and a call to action
  5. Make sure the keyword appears in the first paragraph of the page content
  6. Update the page

Step 4: Create Location-Specific Pages

  1. If your business has multiple locations, create a separate page for each one
  2. Each location page should have:
– A unique focus keyword including the location (e.g., “dentist Pearl District Portland”)

– The full address displayed on the page

– An embedded Google Map

– Location-specific content (at least 300 words)

– Its own LocalBusiness schema (configured in the SEO box)

  1. Do not duplicate content across location pages — write unique descriptions for each

Step 5: Ensure NAP Consistency

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. Google uses NAP consistency as a trust signal for local businesses.

  1. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are identical everywhere they appear:
– Your website (header, footer, contact page)

– Google Business Profile

– Yelp, Facebook, Apple Maps

– Industry directories and local listings

  1. Even small differences matter — “Suite 200” vs “Ste 200” or “St.” vs “Street” can confuse Google
  2. Use the exact same format everywhere

Step 6: Connect Google Business Profile

  1. If you have not already, create and verify your Google Business Profile at business.google.com
  2. Make sure the information in your Google Business Profile matches what you entered in SEO Forge exactly
  3. Add photos, respond to reviews, and post updates regularly — Google Business Profile is a significant local ranking factor
  4. In SEO Forge PRO, enter your Google Business Profile URL in the Local SEO settings for cross-referencing

Step 7: Build Local Content

  1. Create blog posts targeting local search queries:
– “[Your service] in [Your city]” guides

– Local event coverage related to your industry

– Community involvement stories

– Local customer success stories (with permission)

  1. Link these local content pieces to your main service pages and location pages
  2. Optimize each post with local keywords using the SEO Forge scoring workflow

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