The Starting Point
The business owner had been operating locally for several years with a steady stream of word-of-mouth referrals. Their website was functional and professional enough, but it was not generating any new business. When potential customers searched for their type of service in the Putney and SW15 area, the business simply did not appear — not in Google Maps, not in the organic results, and not in the local pack (the map section at the top of search results).
They came to us at our Putney shop to understand why and what could be done about it.
What We Found
We carried out a local SEO audit covering the website, Google Business Profile, and the broader local search landscape. The audit revealed several interconnected problems.
Google Business Profile Was Incomplete
The profile existed but was only partially filled in:
- Business category was too broad — it was set to a generic category that did not match what the business actually offered
- No service descriptions were listed
- Opening hours were missing for some days
- Only two photos had been uploaded, both low quality
- No Google Posts had ever been published
- The service area was not defined, so Google was unsure where the business operated
An incomplete profile tells Google that the business may not be active or relevant, which directly reduces map visibility.
Website Had No Local SEO Foundations
The website had good general content but nothing targeting local searches:
- Page titles did not include location terms — the homepage title was just the business name with no reference to Putney, SW15, or the service area
- No location-specific service pages existed — there was a single generic service page covering everything
- No structured data (JSON-LD) with LocalBusiness markup
- No embedded map or address section on the contact page
- Internal linking was flat — pages did not connect to each other in a way that helped Google understand the site structure
Inconsistent Citations
When we checked business listings across directories (Yell, Thomson Local, Yelp, Facebook, and others), we found inconsistencies:
- The business name was spelled differently across three directories
- Two listings had an old phone number
- One listing had a previous address
- Several directories had no listing at all
These inconsistencies confuse Google. When the name, address, and phone number (NAP) do not match across the web, Google is less confident that the business is legitimate and relevant for local searches.
Competitors Were Better Optimised
We analysed the top three competitors ranking for the target search terms in the SW15 area. All three had:
- Complete Google Business Profiles with regular posts and reviews
- Location-specific pages on their websites
- Consistent citations across major directories
- Structured data with LocalBusiness markup
The business was not losing on quality of service — it was losing on local search visibility.
What We Did
We designed a local SEO campaign in three phases, focusing on the changes most likely to produce results quickly.
Phase 1: Google Business Profile Optimisation (Week 1)
- Selected the most accurate primary and secondary business categories
- Added detailed service descriptions matching the website’s service pages
- Completed opening hours for all seven days
- Uploaded 15 high-quality photos of the business premises, team, and work
- Published an initial set of Google Posts highlighting services
- Defined the correct service area covering Putney, Wandsworth, and surrounding postcodes
- Verified the profile and responded to existing reviews
Phase 2: Website Local SEO (Weeks 1-2)
- Rewrote page titles and meta descriptions to include service terms and location references
- Created dedicated service pages for each core offering, with location context woven in naturally
- Added LocalBusiness structured data (JSON-LD) with accurate address, phone, opening hours, and geo-coordinates
- Added an embedded Google Map to the contact page
- Improved internal linking between service pages, the homepage, and the contact page
- Ensured every page had a clear call to action — either a phone number, contact form link, or both
- Improved page load speed by compressing images and removing unused scripts
Phase 3: Citation Cleanup (Weeks 2-3)
- Corrected the business name, address, and phone number across all directories where listings existed
- Created new listings on directories where the business was absent
- Ensured consistent NAP data across all platforms
- Removed duplicate listings that were causing confusion
Results
Local SEO does not produce overnight results, but changes were visible within weeks.
After four weeks:
- The Google Business Profile began appearing in search results for some target terms
- Profile views increased compared to the previous period
- The business received its first call directly from the Google Business Profile listing
After eight weeks:
- The business appeared in Google Maps results for its primary service terms in SW15
- Website traffic from local organic searches increased
- The business was receiving regular enquiries through both the website and the Google Business Profile
- The owner reported that new customers were specifically mentioning they found the business through Google
After twelve weeks:
- Rankings stabilised for core local search terms
- Google Business Profile was consistently appearing in the local pack for target queries
- The ratio of word-of-mouth referrals to search-generated leads had shifted noticeably toward search
Why Local SEO Matters for Small Businesses
For service businesses that depend on local customers, Google is now the primary way people find and choose providers. If your business does not appear when someone in your area searches for what you offer, you are invisible to a large portion of your potential market.
Local SEO is not about gaming the system. It is about making sure Google has accurate, complete, and consistent information about your business — what you do, where you do it, and how to contact you. When that information is clear, Google is more likely to show your business to relevant local searchers.
What Made the Difference
Three changes had the most impact:
- Completing the Google Business Profile properly — this single step moved the business from invisible to visible on Google Maps within weeks
- Adding location context to the website — page titles, structured data, and local content helped Google connect the website to the local area
- Fixing citation inconsistencies — consistent NAP data across directories reinforced trust signals
None of these changes were technically complex. The challenge is knowing what to do, doing it systematically, and getting the details right.
Need Help With Local SEO?
If your business serves the Putney, Wandsworth, or wider South West London area and is not appearing in local search results, we can help. Our local SEO service starts with an audit of your current visibility and produces a practical plan to improve it.
Visit our web design and SEO in Putney page, see our full web design and SEO services, or contact us for a free initial conversation. You can also call us on 020 7610 0500.
What Was Happening
A small service business in Putney SW15 had a functioning website and a basic Google Business Profile, but local customers were not discovering them through search. The owner relied mostly on referrals and repeat work and had assumed the site would gradually attract enquiries on its own. In reality, the business had almost no local search visibility for service terms that nearby customers were actively using.
They contacted us after noticing that competitors with similar services were consistently appearing in map results and local organic positions, while their own business was absent from both. The key issue was not service quality. The issue was that Google had insufficient, inconsistent, and incomplete local trust signals.
Our Diagnosis
Our audit showed a cluster of local SEO faults that reinforced each other. The Google Business Profile was incomplete, category selection was too broad, service areas were not fully defined, and recent activity was minimal. On the website side, page titles and headings lacked location context, structured data was missing, and internal linking did not clearly map services to local intent.
Citation consistency was also weak. Business name, address, and phone details varied across multiple directories, including older phone and address variants that were still indexable. This type of inconsistency reduces Google’s confidence when deciding which business to show for local intent queries. Taken together, these issues explained why the site remained effectively invisible in local search despite having a legitimate business and a usable website.
How We Fixed It
We rolled out improvements in a staged order to capture early gains while building long-term stability. First, we fully rebuilt the Google Business Profile: corrected categories, completed descriptions and hours, defined service coverage, added high-quality photos, and established an ongoing post cadence. We also standardised profile and website contact details to match exactly.
Second, we implemented on-page local SEO improvements across core pages. This included location-aware titles and meta descriptions, stronger service-page structure, LocalBusiness schema markup, improved internal links between relevant pages, and clearer conversion paths to contact actions. We also addressed avoidable performance issues so mobile users could access pages quickly.
Third, we cleaned and aligned citations across major directories and removed or corrected stale duplicates. This closed the loop between profile data, site data, and third-party listings, giving Google a consistent local entity signal.
We also documented the full implementation checklist and a monthly maintenance cadence so the owner could keep profile activity, citations, and page updates aligned after launch.
The Result
Within the first month, local visibility started to recover and profile interactions improved. By around eight weeks, target service queries in the Putney area were producing map and organic visibility that had not existed before the campaign. Enquiries attributed to search began arriving through both the site and profile actions.
By the twelve-week mark, rankings for priority local terms had stabilised and the business had shifted from referral-only dependency to a mixed lead flow that included reliable search-driven demand. The owner reported a clear increase in first-contact enquiries from people who had found the business via Google.
Why This Happens
This pattern is common for small local businesses. A website can look professional to human visitors but still fail to provide strong local ranking signals to search engines. Local SEO performance depends on multiple systems working together: profile completeness, on-site relevance, technical clarity, and citation consistency.
When one of these systems is weak, performance drops. When several are weak at the same time, visibility can collapse even if the business itself is strong. The opposite is also true: once core signals are aligned and maintained, local visibility can improve steadily without relying on paid ads for every lead.
This is why local SEO improvements usually work best as a coordinated set of changes rather than isolated one-off edits.
Local Help in Putney SW15
We support businesses across Putney SW15 with practical local SEO work that focuses on measurable outcomes, not vanity metrics. If your profile is inconsistent, your service pages are not ranking, or your map visibility is low, we can audit what is blocking performance and prioritise fixes by impact. We work from Putney and support nearby areas including Wandsworth, Wimbledon, and Clapham.
Prevention Tips
Keep Google Business Profile information complete and updated every month, including categories, hours, photos, and posts.
Keep NAP details identical everywhere: website, profile, directories, and social listings.
Build service pages around real local intent and avoid duplicate location-page templates.
Review Search Console and profile insights monthly so ranking or click-through drops are caught early.
Track top conversion pages monthly and refresh titles, internal links, and service detail before rankings decay.
Maintain a simple review-request process after completed jobs so profile freshness and trust signals continue compounding.