Introduction

When someone in Parramatta searches “electrician near me” or “best coffee Blacktown,” does your business show up? That’s local SEO—making sure people in your area find you when they’re looking for what you offer.

For local businesses in Western Sydney, ranking in local search results can mean the difference between a full booking schedule and wondering where all the customers are.

How Local Search Works

The Local Pack

When you search for a local service, Google shows a map with three businesses. This “local pack” gets most of the clicks for local searches.

Getting into this top three requires:

  • A complete Google Business Profile
  • Good reviews
  • Consistent business information
  • Relevance to the search

Local Ranking Factors

Google considers:

Relevance: Does your business match what they’re searching for?

Distance: How close are you to the searcher?

Prominence: How well-known and trusted is your business?

You can’t change distance, but you can improve relevance and prominence.

Google Business Profile

Why It Matters Most

Your Google Business Profile is the foundation of local SEO. For many local searches, it matters more than your website.

A complete profile:

  • Appears in maps and local pack
  • Shows your hours, photos, and reviews
  • Lets customers call directly
  • Provides instant information

Setting It Up Right

Claim Your Profile

If you haven’t already:

  1. Go to business.google.com
  2. Search for your business
  3. Claim or create your listing
  4. Verify (usually by postcard or phone)

Complete Every Section

Fill in everything:

  • Exact business name (no keyword stuffing)
  • Correct address
  • Phone number
  • Website
  • Hours (including special hours)
  • Business category (choose carefully)
  • Services you offer
  • Attributes that apply

Add Quality Photos

Photos get engagement:

  • Your storefront/office exterior
  • Interior shots
  • Your work/products
  • Your team
  • Action shots

Update photos regularly—fresh content helps.

Keeping It Active

Google Business Profile isn’t set-and-forget:

  • Respond to all reviews
  • Post updates regularly
  • Answer questions
  • Update hours for holidays
  • Add new photos monthly

Activity signals to Google that you’re a real, active business.

Reviews

Why Reviews Matter

Reviews affect:

  • Whether you show in local pack
  • Whether people click on your listing
  • Whether they choose you over competitors

More reviews and better ratings = better visibility.

Getting More Reviews

Ask Satisfied Customers

The best time to ask is right after good service:

  • In person: “Would you mind leaving us a Google review?”
  • Follow-up email with direct link to review
  • Text message with link
  • Note on receipt or invoice

Make It Easy

Create a direct link to your review form:

  1. Search for your business on Google
  2. Click “Write a review”
  3. Copy the URL
  4. Share this link with customers

Responding to Reviews

Positive Reviews

Always respond:

  • Thank the customer
  • Mention something specific
  • Invite them back

Negative Reviews

Respond professionally:

  • Acknowledge the concern
  • Apologise for their experience
  • Offer to make it right (take offline)
  • Never argue or get defensive

How you handle negative reviews matters to future customers reading them.

Your Website for Local SEO

Local Content

Your website should clearly show where you operate:

Homepage

  • Mention your location/service area
  • “Serving Parramatta and Western Sydney”
  • Include suburb names naturally

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Include location:

  • “Plumber in Blacktown | Same Day Service”
  • “Hills District Hair Salon | Cuts, Colour & Styling”

Location Pages

If you serve multiple suburbs:

  • Dedicated page for major areas
  • Unique content (not just different suburb names)
  • Local landmarks and context

NAP Consistency

NAP = Name, Address, Phone

Keep it identical everywhere:

  • Your website
  • Google Business Profile
  • Facebook
  • Other directories
  • Anywhere your business is listed

Inconsistent information confuses Google and hurts rankings.

Schema Markup

Technical but important:

  • Structured data that helps Google understand your business
  • Tells Google your address, hours, services
  • Your web developer should add this

Ask your developer: “Is local business schema markup on my website?”

Local Directories

Which Ones Matter

Beyond Google, get listed on:

  • Yellow Pages Australia
  • True Local
  • Yelp Australia
  • Industry-specific directories
  • Local business chambers

Consistency is Key

Same information everywhere:

  • Exact same business name
  • Same address format
  • Same phone number

One listing says “123 Main Street” and another says “123 Main St” can cause problems.

Building Local Presence

Links from local websites help:

  • Local news mentions
  • Chamber of commerce membership
  • Sponsoring local events
  • Local business partnerships
  • Community involvement

Social Media Presence

Local signals from social:

  • Facebook page with location
  • Instagram with location tags
  • Engaging with local community
  • Sharing local content

Content About Your Area

Show you’re genuinely local:

  • Blog about local events you sponsor
  • Mention Western Sydney in your content
  • Show involvement in community
  • Reference local landmarks when relevant

Quick Wins Checklist

This Week

  • Claim/verify Google Business Profile
  • Complete every section of your profile
  • Add 5-10 quality photos
  • Ask 3 happy customers for reviews

This Month

  • Respond to all existing reviews
  • Add your business to top directories
  • Check NAP consistency across the web
  • Add location to website title tags

Ongoing

  • Post to Google Business weekly
  • Request reviews consistently
  • Add new photos monthly
  • Monitor and respond to reviews
  • Update for seasonal changes

Measuring Progress

Track Your Rankings

Search for your key terms:

  • “[Your service] + [Your suburb]”
  • “[Your service] near me” (from your location)
  • Your business name

Note where you appear and track improvement.

Google Business Insights

Your profile shows:

  • How many people found you
  • What searches led to you
  • Actions taken (calls, direction requests)
  • Photo views compared to competitors

Website Analytics

Track visitors from local searches:

  • Overall traffic trends
  • Which pages get visits
  • Where visitors come from
  • What they do on your site

Conclusion

Local SEO isn’t complicated, but it requires consistent effort. For Western Sydney businesses, the basics matter most:

  1. Complete, active Google Business Profile
  2. Steady stream of positive reviews
  3. Consistent information everywhere
  4. Website that mentions your location

Do these consistently, and you’ll show up when local customers search for what you offer.

The businesses that dominate local search aren’t doing magic—they’re just doing the basics well, over and over.

An online store performs even better with a dedicated shopping app. Awesome Apps builds e-commerce apps that complement your Shopify or WooCommerce site.

Ashish Ganda is the founder of Ganda Tech Services, a Sydney-based technology consultancy helping Australian businesses grow through cloud, web, and mobile solutions.