Local SEO is the highest-ROI marketing most Ottawa small businesses never finish setting up. And it’s a checklist, not a mystery. Work through this in order.
1. Set Up Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most important local asset — it’s what shows in Maps and the local pack above regular results.
- Claim and verify your profile at business.google.com
- Fill everything: hours, phone, website, services, service area, photos
- Write a description that says what you do and where — plainly
- Add real photos monthly; profiles with fresh photos get measurably more clicks
2. Choose the Right Categories
Your primary category is the strongest signal you control. Be specific: “Wedding photographer,” not “Photographer.” Add secondary categories for every real service line, and nothing you don’t actually do.
3. Optimize Website Service Pages
Google connects your profile to your website. Each core service deserves its own page — not a bullet on a generic “Services” page — with the service and city in the page title (“Kitchen Renovations in Ottawa”), what’s included, real photos, and an obvious contact action. This is also where conversion-focused web design and local SEO overlap: the page that ranks must also be the page that converts.
4. Build Local Relevance
Signals that tell Google you’re genuinely part of this market:
- Mention the neighbourhoods and areas you serve, naturally
- Get listed in legitimate local directories and associations
- Sponsor or participate in local events that link to you
- Local news mentions beat a hundred spam directories
5. Collect and Respond to Reviews
Reviews are a top-three local ranking factor — and the top-one human factor.
- Ask every happy customer, ideally with a direct link (GBP gives you one)
- Make it part of your process — after the project wraps, the invoice email includes the link
- Respond to every review, good and bad. Future customers read your responses more carefully than the reviews themselves
Never buy reviews. Google’s detection is better than the sellers claim, and a filtered profile is worse than a thin one.
6. Fix Business Information Inconsistencies
Your name, address, phone (NAP) must be identical everywhere — website, GBP, Yelp, Facebook, directories. “Suite 200” vs “#200” is fine; a different phone number is not. Inconsistency erodes Google’s confidence in your data, and confidence is exactly what rankings are.
7. Track Calls, Directions and Leads
GBP Insights shows calls, direction requests, and website clicks — check monthly. On your site, make sure form submissions and phone clicks are tracked as conversions. If you can’t see leads, you can’t judge any of this — the same failure we see constantly in ad accounts with no conversion tracking.
The Monthly Checklist
Fifteen minutes a month keeps the machine running:
- Add 2–3 new photos to GBP
- Post one update (offer, project, seasonal note)
- Request reviews from recent customers; respond to new ones
- Check Insights: calls, directions, clicks — trending up?
- Scan your top service pages: still accurate, still fast?
- Search your main keyword in incognito — who moved, and why?
Want a professional pass over all of this? We’ll audit your local presence, show you exactly where you’re losing to competitors, and fix it. Request a local SEO review.
