What Google is doing with that search

When somebody types web designer near me, Google mostly ignores the near me part as words and uses their location instead. It then looks for businesses it believes operate in that place. Belief is the key word. It needs evidence.

That evidence is a claimed Google Business Profile with a real address or service area, consistent details across the web, reviews from people in that area, and pages on your site that name the places you serve without stuffing them in.

Why this matters if you are a local business

Every trade, clinic, salon and shop lives or dies on this. Somebody three miles away is looking for exactly what you sell, and if Google does not believe you work there, they see a competitor instead. You never even know it happened.

This is the quietest way small businesses lose money. There is no failed campaign to point at. The enquiry simply goes elsewhere.

The groundwork, in order

Claim and complete your Google Business Profile. Set your service area honestly. Get reviews from real local customers, steadily, not twenty in one week.

On the site, have a page or a clear section for the main areas you serve, written for people rather than search engines. Halifax, Huddersfield, Holmfirth, whatever is true for you.

One honest warning

You cannot fake your way into places you do not serve. Pages listing thirty towns you have never visited do more harm than good now. Be accurate and be specific. That is what wins.