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The Gouden Gids (the Dutch Yellow Pages) as an actual book is a thing of the past. Most people search online for a business like yours.
You want to be found in Google or ChatGPT, but search engine optimisation or AI SEO still feels like a step too far. What is the best thing to do? This time I'm sharing the steps you can take yourself for local SEO. First we cover SEO, then AI SEO.
The first thing you can do is put some leverage behind your Google Business Profile.
There are a few steps to this.
The first step is to claim your profile. Once you have done that, it helps to come up with a strategy. On how to start collecting reviews from your customers, for example.Β
No reviews (yet)? Then your Google Business Profile performs below its potential. So ask your customers whether they would like to leave a review, for example with a handout. Also remember that not everyone knows how to leave a review.
You can walk through it together.
If you run a shop you could keep a tablet in store, for example. Feel free to ask customers after their purchase whether they would like to leave a review and whether you can help them with it. This is often much appreciated. Let the customer log in to Google and share the review form. That way you easily get a new review without having to ask for it afterwards.
Always reply to your reviews too. Even the negative ones. Whether a review is positive or negative, you always want to leave a response. Acknowledge negative reviews as well, reply politely and work on putting things right.
Let the customer know how you plan to resolve it. Above all, stay out of a fight. The more negative you are, the more you fan the flames. This rarely ends well for either of you.
Photos of a real location, from the outside and ideally from the inside too. That way people can see what it looks like from the outside and what the atmosphere is like inside.
Photos of your staff. Are they friendly? Yes, a smile works.
The same goes for photos of your most popular products or services. Your items, the food, haircuts, whatever it may be. Or simply photos of customers having a good time.
Do all this and you will do much better with your Google Business Profile and rank higher. Most local businesses use only half of these features.
Collecting reviews is one thing.
Go the extra mile and you will do better.
Now that your Google Business Profile is in order, it is time to structure your website for conversion.
The first step is your homepage. People need to get a basic idea of your product or service. You do that above the fold: the first full screen people see.
After that come two to four paragraphs about your business.
For a restaurant, for example, which dishes are on the menu. Why your pokΓ© bowl is the best. How long you have been serving it and in which area. Then you want to cover where people can pick up their order: your location with a map, a video explaining how it is prepared or an impression of what it is like to eat on site.
Even if you are based in a particular town or village, people from the surrounding area will most likely come to your business too, right?Β
That is why you create location pages.
Take Breda as an example. Around it you have Etten-Leur, Prinsenbeek, Teteringen, Bavel, Ulvenhout etc. So we create location pages for people from this area. Show how long it takes to get from Prinsenbeek to the south of Breda. What is the fastest route, and what do you see along the way?
So give tailored advice to people coming to a town or region.
Once you have created these pages, make sure they link to each other with cross-linking. That way you can jump from Prinsenbeek to Bavel.
When you do this, you rank higher.
The next step is to create as many service pages as possible.
Do you have 2 services? 10 services? Make a page for each one. Every page is tied to one specific service - one you get ranking - that brings you traffic.
Then create content for each page and go into depth to describe your service.
What sets you apart from the rest? What makes it special? Staff qualifications? Which ones, and why do they make you better? How long has the business been around? Techniques you use for your service? Results? Testimonials?
All factors that decide whether your content stands out and whether Google ranks you higher.
Using content marketing locally is the easiest win.
Even with 1 well-crafted post a month that features things like your location, people, milestones reached, events and neighbourhoods etc., you can already rank well.
This shows Google and the rest that you are a relevant local business.
If you are close to the community through events, contribute relevant content around them. You will soon see yourself ranking higher for all your local keywords, along with all your service-based keywords.
Because AI can write generic copy in seconds (for example about "how to repair a roof"), you need to stand out with human experience.
Show on your website that you really work in the region.
Share local case studies, before-and-after photos of specific projects nearby and videos in which you, as the local expert, solve a specific regional problem. Artificial intelligence has no hands and no hands-on experience.
So make the most of this advantage.
Search engines and AI models (such as ChatGPT) now look well beyond your website. They train on the entire internet to understand who you are.
It helps to become a well-known 'entity' (a recognised name) in your region.
Get brand mentions in local newspapers and neighbourhood blogs, sponsor the local football club or give an interview on regional radio. Even without a direct link (backlink) to your website, the robot learns that your business name is inextricably linked to your field and your town.
Search engines (which are now everywhere) increasingly answer a question directly, so the user no longer clicks through to your website (Zero-Click). Respond to this by feeding the AI bite-sized answers. You could also call this an answer engine.
Add extensive, naturally written FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) to your service and location pages.
Answer questions very directly. For example: "What does a roofer in Tilburg cost on average?" or "How quickly can you be on site for a leak in the city centre?". If your answer is the clearest and most structured, chances are the robot will use your information and cite you as a source.
Use these tools to speed up your local marketing, not to churn out copy blindly.
Let them help you set up a structure for your new location pages, come up with local social media posts or write professional replies to your Google reviews.
The golden rule is that the robot does the groundwork, while you always add your own special touch with your specific expertise and local tone of voice.
A: Go all in on your Google Business Profile by actively collecting reviews and sharing authentic photos of your team. On top of that, build specific location pages for surrounding villages and neighbourhoods. This personal, local focus gives you higher relevance in Google than big national players with generic copy.
A: Use your 'human advantage' with hyperlocal content that AI cannot fake. Share real case studies from the region, before-and-after photos of local projects and videos of your craftsmanship. AI has no hands and no hands-on experience. By proving your physical presence in the region, you strengthen your authority (E-E-A-T) in a unique way.
A: Embrace this 'zero-click' trend by structuring your content with clear FAQs that directly answer specific customer questions. If your answer is the most structured, the AI uses your business as a cited source. This builds enormous authority, so customers know exactly where to find you later when they are ready to buy.
The next step
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About the author
Dominic Pietersz
Your dedicated point of contact
Dominic helps SMEs grow through Google and other channels. With his international experience, he turns challenges into concrete growth.
Follow Dominic on LinkedInInspiration Β· When I found an old Gouden Gids in the cupboard, I had to laugh. That book became the starting point for these ten local SEO and AI tips.
