Local SEO for Southern Oregon Businesses

When someone in Medford searches "plumber near me" or "bakery Ashland", Google shows a map with a short list of businesses before any ordinary results. Local SEO is the work of earning a place in that list, and in the results under it.

Most of it you can do yourself, and none of it needs a monthly contract. This is the checklist I'd give any business in the Rogue Valley, with links to Google's own rules so you can check me.

How Google picks the businesses it shows

Google says local results are based mainly on three things: relevance, distance and prominence, which the same page also calls popularity (Google Business Profile Help).

• Relevance is how well your Business Profile matches what someone searched. Complete, detailed information helps Google make the match.
• Distance is how far you are from the person searching. You can't change it, which is why a search in Ashland and the same search in Medford show different businesses.
• Prominence is how well known you are. Google says it draws on things like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help.

So the job is relevance and prominence. Everything below works on one or both.

Claim and complete your Google Business Profile

Your Business Profile is the listing that appears on Google Maps and in that list of businesses. Claim it, verify it, and fill in everything:

• Your real business name, exactly as it appears on your sign and your website. Google doesn't allow taglines, locations or service descriptions in the name, and can suspend a profile that adds them (Google's guidelines). "Smith Roofing" is fine; "Smith Roofing Best Roofer Medford OR" is not.
• Your category. Pick the one that describes what you are, not everything you do.
• Your address, or your service area. If customers come to you, show the address. If you go to them and work from home, Google says to hide the address and set a service area instead, no farther than about two hours' drive from where you're based.
• Hours, including holiday hours. Wrong hours send people to a locked door.
• Phone and website. A local number that reaches you, and your own website's address.
• Photos. Your storefront, your work, your team. Add new ones now and then.

If you'd rather not do it, I'll set up your Business Profile for you, billed hourly at $150 an hour; most setups take one to two hours (upgrades).

Keep your name, address and phone the same everywhere

Your name, address and phone number should read the same on your website, your Business Profile and every directory that lists you: same spelling, same suite number, same phone number. When they disagree, customers and search engines can't tell which is right.

Start with the listings you already have, fix any that are out of date, then add the ones that matter for your trade. My guide to local business directories for Southern Oregon covers where to list.

Get real reviews, and answer them

Reviews count toward prominence, and they're often what decides who gets the call. Ask your customers, and make it easy: Google gives you a review request link and a QR code you can text, email or print.

Answer reviews, good and bad. Google says a reply shows customers you value their feedback and that you're responsive (Google Business Profile Help).

Stay inside Google's rules (Maps content policy):

• Don't offer anything in exchange for a review, or for changing a bad one.
• Don't ask only the customers you expect to be happy. Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews.
• Don't pressure people to leave one while they're at your business, or ask for anything specific in it.

Use the words your customers use

People search with a service and a place: "dentist Ashland", "Medford tire shop", "house cleaning Central Point", or just "near me". Your website should use those same words where they belong:

• Page titles. "Roof Repair in Medford | Smith Roofing" tells Google and the reader what the page is and where.
• Headings and opening lines. Say what you do and where you do it, in plain sentences.
• A page per service. One page that does everything ranks for nothing in particular.
• The towns you serve, in a sentence. "We work across Jackson County, from Eagle Point to Ashland" reads naturally.

What not to do: a block of town names at the bottom of every page. Google's spam policies name "blocks of text that list cities and regions that a web page is trying to rank for" as keyword stuffing (Google's spam policies).

To find the words, start with what you already have. Google Search Console is free and shows the searches that brought people to your site. Google Keyword Planner, which Google calls a free resource, suggests related searches and rough volumes. And type your service into Google and look at what it suggests as you type: that's how people phrase it.

Make your website back it up

Your Business Profile points to your website, and your website should confirm what it says:

• Your name, address and phone number on every page, usually in the footer, matching your profile.
• A contact page with your hours, a map, and a phone number that starts a call when tapped.
• Pages that load fast on a phone.
• Structured data, a few lines of code that tell Google your business hours, address and more in a form it reads directly (Google's documentation).

My post on hiring a local web designer has a fuller checklist of what a local business site needs to do.

Be part of the local web

Prominence comes partly from other websites pointing to yours, and the best of those are local:

• Your chamber of commerce. The Chamber of Medford & Jackson County and the Ashland Chamber of Commerce both list members in online directories, with a link to your site.
• Organizations you already belong to. Trade groups, a downtown association, a farmers market.
• Partners and suppliers. Businesses you work with may list or recommend you.
• Local news and events. Sponsoring a team or a fundraiser often comes with a mention on their site.

Nobody can promise you a ranking for any of this, and you should be wary of anyone who does. It's simply what a well-known local business looks like online.

A monthly routine

Once the setup is done, half an hour a month keeps it working:

1. Check your Business Profile: hours, holiday hours, phone, website.
2. Answer any new reviews.
3. Add a photo or two.
4. Look at Search Console for searches that bring people in, and for any errors it reports.
5. Test your website's contact form and phone link.

Where I can help

Every plan includes on-page SEO (the titles, descriptions and headings that decide how Google shows your pages), a site built to be fast on phones, and a contact form that emails you. I'll set up your Business Profile too, billed hourly at $150 an hour. Website plans start at $2,400, then $79 a month for hosting and care. See the plans, or start your project.