Local SEO Basics for Alberta Businesses

Start with accurate business details, useful service pages and crawlable links.

I begin a local search review with the business's actual offer and location. A town name repeated across pages does not demonstrate that the business serves a customer there. The site needs accurate information and a working contact route.

Keep the business information accurate

Confirm the public name, phone, service area, opening hours and website address. Use the actual business details across the site and any directory records you control. Publish a street address only when it is appropriate to the business and permitted for public use.

Google's local-ranking guidance describes relevance, distance and prominence. Complete information helps Google understand the business. Distance is not something a page rewrite can remove. No service provider can promise a particular local position.

Use the Business Profile for useful information

Review categories, services, hours and contact details against the business's current operation. Add approved photos that show what a visitor or customer will encounter. Update information when the business changes. Assign a person to keep it current.

I do not prescribe a photo count, weekly post quota or review-response deadline as a ranking formula. Choose a maintenance routine the owner can sustain. Record changes and compare them with the business's own search and enquiry data.

Write service pages that answer real decisions

Explain what the service includes, who it fits, where it is available, what the customer supplies and how to request it. A trades page might need the estimate process and service boundary. A restaurant page might need a readable menu, opening hours and booking instructions. Use information the business has approved.

A location page needs a real reason to exist. Describe actual coverage, relevant customer needs and any practical access or delivery details. Do not publish repeated pages with substituted town names. Google's people-first content guidance favours content created to help readers, with clear sourcing and appropriate expertise.

Check the technical foundation

Use ordinary crawlable links. Give each important page a clear title, main heading and canonical URL. Make sure the page returns the intended HTTP status and is not accidentally excluded from indexing. Link relevant guides to the service page they explain.

The current Core Web Vitals are LCP, INP and CLS. Google's Core Web Vitals guidance gives good targets of LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds and CLS under 0.1. The Web Vitals documentation explains the 75th-percentile assessment. A laboratory test and real-user field data answer different questions. A good score does not guarantee a ranking.

Measure the actual page before changing it. Check image dimensions, avoid loading a large animation before it is needed and keep the enquiry route usable while scripts load. Retest the same pages and device conditions after a change.

Describe the business honestly in structured data

Structured data should match visible information. Add the applicable business details and validate them. Do not invent hours, credentials, ratings or an office in a town to complete a field. Google's LocalBusiness documentation sets out the supported properties and testing process. Markup does not guarantee a special search appearance.

Ask for genuine reviews

Ask after a real experience and let the customer choose their words and rating. Do not offer a discount, request a prescribed city phrase or selectively request positive feedback. Google's Maps content policy prohibits incentivised reviews and rating manipulation. Publish testimonials only with permission and traceable records.

Measure your own starting point

Use the Search Console performance report to inspect queries, pages, impressions and clicks. Record received enquiries separately. Set a review date and keep a log of changes. A small sample or a seasonal change can make a short comparison hard to interpret.

Choose a defined next step

Read my Marketing & Search Visibility scope for a defined audit or research quote. A Growth Website is $4,200 for up to eight pages with the published technical search setup. It does not promise rankings or leads. Book a free call with the website and the customer task you need to improve.