An ecommerce brand that operates online and through a number of physical locations, was not achieving results in local search results. When they contacted Grapelight, they had good brand recognition with loyal customers, but their physical locations were not appearing consistently enough for high intent local searches, including “near me” searches. A number of their Google Business Profiles were lacking when it came to accurate information and imagery. The others struggled with incomplete descriptions, along with incorrect categories, which reduced their relevance in local rankings. It was also clear their landing pages were under-performing, brimming with generic content, and not reflecting location search intent. This all weakened their local authority. 

The Grapelight team immediately got to work creating a comprehensive location-based SEO strategy, which was quickly implemented. This process all began with a detailed audit of the clients Google Business Profiles. We evaluated everything from identifying if the profile was complete to their category selection, and review activity, to content quality, and image relevance. We found major inconsistencies between store listings, duplicate profiles, outdated attributes, and missing service descriptions. Each of the Google Business Profiles were rebuilt, optimising them to ensure accurate categories, consistent information, and improved descriptions, along with high quality images. 

At the same time, our team worked on the landing pages, aligning them with local search intent, in order to improve conversions. We added location-specific descriptions, product availability, customer reviews, service details, and local FAQs. This step also included embedding Google Maps widgets to improve user trust. We strengthened their internal linking structure, connecting their local pages with the relevant categories, helping search engines understand the online stores relationship, improving authority. We also focused heavily on mobile usability, especially as the majority of local searches take place on mobile devices. We ensured the pages were loading quickly, simplifying calls to action, along with clear page layouts, helping clients on mobile devices navigate the pages with ease. 

The citation audits we conducted, helping us eliminate any inconsistencies in major directories, in order to improve their local authority. We implemented structured data and local business scheme on relevant pages to improve geographic relevance, supporting visibility in local results and Google Maps results. We then monitored and tracked the key performance indicators aligned with our clients goals, including local ranking positions, direction requests, phone calls, and clicks.

It was five months when the client, an online store with physical locations, started seeing improvements in local visibility. Their Google Maps engagement increased exponentially across store locations, which ensured the brand was appearing in high intent “near me”, and product specific local searches. 

Their Google Maps impressions increased by over 60%, showing stronger relevance, with profiles being more visible, leading to higher customer engagement. Their phone calls and direction requests from Google Business Profiles grew considerably, increasing revenue performance. At the same time, clicks from Google Maps to their website increased by 61%, showing engagement from local users. 

Our client also experienced an improvement in their local landing page conversions, with an improvement of 25%, thanks to the strong location-specific content, improved mobile performance, along with clear call to actions, encouraging visitors to take action. These improvements in local visibility helped our client reduce their reliance on paid advertising, helping them save close to 20% on their marketing budget.

This case study demonstrates how a scalable, tailored local SEO strategy can support online growth across numerous physical locations and online, boosting brand visibility at a steady, long-term rate.