Growth: SEO and local search
Show up when people nearby search.
SEO means helping search engines understand and show your pages. We fix your Google Business Profile, your listing on Google Maps and in local results, give each service its own page, and measure the same searches the same way.
We review your setup and confirm the scope and next steps in writing before work starts.
We read results in Search Console, Google’s free report on how your site appears in search, and in Google Analytics.
Check first
Can nearby customers find you?
Seeing two or more of these? A search check shows which ones matter most for your business, and in what order to fix them.
Three terms, in plain words. You’ll see them on this page:
SEO
Helping search engines understand and show your pages.
Google Business Profile
Your listing on Google Maps and in local results.
Search Console
Google’s free report on how your site appears in search.
Missing or wrong on Google Maps. You’re not on the map at all, the listing is unclaimed, or it shows old hours or the wrong phone number.
Nobody asks for reviews. Customers leave pleased, but nothing invites them to say so, so your reviews are few or old.
One page tries to rank for everything. The home page lists every service, so search engines can’t tell which one to show for which search.
No page per service or area. Someone searching for one thing you do, in the town you cover, has nowhere specific to land.
Your site isn’t in Search Console. So you can’t see which searches show your pages, or what stops Google reading them.
Slow on phones. Visitors from search leave before the page loads. That’s a separate fix: Speed and Core Web Vitals, from .
Our rules
What we won’t do
You may have been promised page one before. We won’t promise it. Here’s what we rule out, and what we do instead.
Site not stable yet? If backups, updates or security need work first, we’ll say so on the call and point you to Rescue.
We can’t promise rankings.
Google decides what it shows, changes how it decides, and shows different results depending on where the searcher is. Anyone who promises a position is guessing.
No bought links.
Paying other sites to link to you breaks Google’s rules and can push your pages down. We look for honest mentions instead, such as suppliers, local groups and directories you really belong in.
No fake reviews.
We never write, buy or swap reviews, and we don’t offer customers anything in return for one. Google can remove fake reviews and restrict the profile that got them.
No keyword-stuffed pages.
Pages that repeat the same phrase over and over read badly and put customers off. We write for the person searching, in your voice.
Instead, we measure what we agreed.
We agree the searches and areas that matter, record where you appear today, and count the calls, direction requests and enquiries they bring. Then we compare like with like.
Service options
Get found locally, fix the site, then keep building
Most local businesses should start with their Google listing and a page per service. The audit goes deeper into the site. The monthly plan adds and measures one change at a time.
01
Recommended
Local search setup
Your Google listing claimed and correct, and a clear page for each main service or area.
- Searches and areas agreed, baseline recorded
- Google Business Profile claimed and filled in
- Hours, phone, categories and photos corrected
- Name, address and phone matched across your site and main listings
- Pages for your main services or areas, agreed on the call
- A simple, honest way to ask customers for reviews
- Site added to Search Console in your name
02
SEO audit and fixes
A full check of how search engines read your site, then we fix what we find.
- Everything in Local search setup, plus:
- Pages Google can’t find, read or tell apart, fixed
- Broken links and old addresses redirected
- Page titles and descriptions rewritten for what you sell
- Business details labelled so Google can read your hours and address
- Enquiry tracking checked in Analytics
- Written report: what we found, fixed and would do next
03
Monthly SEO and content
Pages and fixes agreed around your priorities, written in your voice and measured against your baseline.
- Ongoing work can cover local search setup and further improvements, including:
- A new or improved page for a service or area
- Google Business Profile posts and photos kept current
- Review requests followed up, and replies drafted for you
- Search Console checked for new problems
- Agreed searches and enquiries compared, like with like
- A short written report and the next page agreed
We review your setup and confirm the scope and next steps in writing before work starts.
Logos belong to their owners. Listing a tool doesn’t mean a partnership.
How it works
How search work runs
Six steps, in this order. Search takes time to respond, so we agree review points before we start.
The one-off plans run steps 01 to 05 once, with a comparison at the review point we agree. Monthly SEO and content repeats steps 04 to 06 every month.
01
We agree the searches and areas that matter.
The words your customers actually use, and the towns, neighbourhoods or postcodes you serve. We write the list down, so we measure the same thing every time.
02
We record the baseline.
Where you appear today for each search, what Search Console shows, and the calls, direction requests and enquiries coming in. All before we change anything.
03
We fix your Google Business Profile and the technical basics.
The right name, address, phone, hours and categories first. Then the site: pages Google can’t reach, missing titles, duplicates and anything else stopping it reading your pages.
04
We write or improve one page per service or area.
In your voice, with the details only you know: what you do, where you do it and what customers ask before they book. You check every page before it goes live.
05
We help you ask for reviews the right way.
A short link or card you can send after each job. Google’s rules mean you ask every customer, not only the ones you expect to be happy, and never offer anything in return.
06
We compare like with like, then agree the next page.
Each month, the same searches over the same length of period, set against the baseline. Then we agree with you what to write or fix next.
BearStackSEO and local search
Be there when they search.
Help customers find your business and take the next step.
Access
What we need from you
Once you’ve agreed the fee, we’ll ask for these. Nothing more.
Never send passwords by email, text or WhatsApp.Google lets you invite us as a user, so you never share your Google password. For a website login, we send a one-time secure link that expires once it’s opened.
Owner access to your Google Business Profile.Add us as an owner from the profile’s settings. You stay the primary owner and can remove us at any time. If nobody has claimed it yet, we’ll help you claim it in your name.
A Search Console user invite, never a password.Add our email as a user from Search Console’s settings. If your site isn’t in Search Console yet, we’ll set it up in your name.
A website login, if we’re editing pages.A separate admin account for us, which you delete when we’re done.
A short call about what you sell and where.Your main services, the areas you cover, and what a good enquiry looks like for you. That’s how we pick the searches worth tracking.
Proof, not promises
What you get in writing
A plain-language report you can keep, forward to a colleague, or set beside the next one.
The one-off plans end with a report at the review point we agree. Monthly SEO and content sends one every month.
In every search report
01 Searches
The searches and areas we track, written down so we measure the same thing each time.
02 Baseline
Where you started: where you appeared for each search, and the calls, direction requests and enquiries coming in, before any change.
03 Changes made
Every change to your profile and site, page by page, and when it went live.
04 Comparison
Same searches, same areas, same length of period, set against the baseline. What moved and what didn’t, in plain words.
05 Next step
The next page or fix we’d recommend, and why, agreed with you before we start it.
Related Growth services
Google Ads and tracking
See which searches and pages bring enquiries. Tracking set up in GA4 (Google Analytics) and Tag Manager, and tested with real test enquiries.
See Google Ads and tracking
Speed and Core Web Vitals
A slow page loses the visitors search sends you. We record a baseline, fix the biggest causes and test on a mid-range phone over mobile data.
See Speed and Core Web Vitals
Let’s talk about your website
Let’s see what customers find.
Share your services, website and business listing. Tell us what customers should find and what you want them to do next.
- 01 Share your website
- 02 Tell us your goal
- 03 Agree the next step
FAQ
Search questions, answered
Something not covered here? Ask it in the form and we'll answer it on the call.
How long does SEO take?
Usually months, not weeks. A corrected Google listing can show up in local results sooner, but new pages take time for Google to find, trust and rank, and some searches are more crowded than others. Before we start, we agree review points, so you know when we’ll compare and what we’ll compare.
Can you get me to number one?
We can’t promise rankings, and you should be wary of anyone who does. Google decides the order, it changes with where the searcher is standing, and it changes over time. What we can do is make your listing and pages clear, complete and useful, then measure the agreed searches honestly.
Do I need a blog?
Not necessarily. For most local businesses, one good page per service or area matters more than a stream of blog posts. If customers ask you the same questions again and again, a few articles answering them can be worth writing. We’ll tell you which, and why.
What about reviews?
They matter, both for local results and for the people reading them. We give you a simple way to ask every customer, and on the monthly plan we draft replies for you to post. We never write, buy or swap reviews, and customers get nothing in return for one, because Google’s rules forbid it.
Do you check searches where my customers are?
We research the searches and service areas that matter to your business, then compare them with the pages and listings customers can find.
Do I need a new website?
Usually not. Most sites can be improved where they are: clearer pages, better titles, and fixing what stops Google reading them. If the site can’t be fixed in place, the audit says so plainly and sets out the options before you spend more. If it’s slow on phones, that’s our Speed and Core Web Vitals service, from .
Is AI search changing this?
It’s changing how some results look. Google now shows AI-written summaries above some results, and some people ask chat assistants for recommendations. Those tools still draw on websites, business listings and reviews, so clear, accurate pages and a complete Google profile still count. We can’t promise how any AI tool will describe you, and we’ll tell you what we see.
Who writes the content?
We do, from a short call with you and any notes you send. We write in your voice, with the details only you know, and you check and approve every page before it goes live. If you’d rather write it yourself, we’ll edit it and set it up properly.
What happens when ongoing work ends?
Your accounts, data and written reports stay with you. We agree the terms for ongoing work before it starts and document the handover when it ends.