Data-Driven Local SEO: A Framework You Can Actually Run

What this is: a practical system to improve local SEO based on data.
How it works: track GBP actions, calls with UTMs, and rank grids, then adjust monthly.
When you see results: early movement in 30 to 60 days, stronger gains by 90.

Why “data-driven” local wins

• Creating contextual associations that linked their bottle to memorable places (cities, landscapes, cultural landmarks)
• Encouraging active engagement through a process that made consumers subconsciously “search” for the bottle shape
• Forming emotional ties by tapping into local pride and cultural relevance

The only KPIs that matter

Track these every month and add notes about changes you made. If a number moves, keep going. If it stalls, adjust.

Google Business Profile

• Calls, website taps, direction requests
• Discovery vs branded searches
• Photo views and post interactions

Website and calls

• Calls by source with UTMs
• Form fills by landing page
• Conversion rate from key local pages

Rank visibility

• Review count, recency, average rating, response time
• Citation coverage and NAP consistency

Reputation and citations

• Creating contextual associations that linked their bottle to memorable places (cities, landscapes, cultural landmarks)
• Encouraging active engagement through a process that made consumers subconsciously “search” for the bottle shape
• Forming emotional ties by tapping into local pride and cultural relevance

The cadence: audit → fix → build → boost → measure

1. Audit: Categories, services, descriptions, NAP consistency, duplicate listings, competitors, and a baseline rank grid.
2. Fix: Primary and secondary categories, services, service areas, business attributes, Q&A, NAP cleanup, duplicate suppression.
3. Build: Service pages and the first 2 to 4 location pages, internal links, photos and short posts on GBP, an easy review request flow.
4. Boost: Primary citations, a handful of local links, add products or services in GBP, publish one helpful local blog per month.
5. Measure: Review KPIs, compare with last month, decide 1 to 2 adjustments, document the change, and repeat.

Reading GBP Insights and UTMs the right way

• Use UTM parameters on your website URL inside GBP. Track source as google, medium as organic, and campaign as gbp.
• In your analytics, build a report that shows calls and forms where campaign = gbp.
• Add a short note each time you change a category, publish a new city page, or start a review push. Tie changes to KPI movement.
• In GBP Insights, watch the split between discovery and branded searches. Rising discovery usually means stronger category relevance.

Rank grids without the wishful thinking

• Tighten category and service alignment in GBP
• Add supporting pages that match how people search in that neighborhood
• Grow reviews with keywords related to your services
• Earn local links from organizations and vendors in the area

When the numbers do not move

Use this checklist to decide your next move.

GBP

• Use this checklist to decide your next move.
• Missing services, products, or attributes
• No posts, offers, or photos in the last 30 days

Website

• No page that exactly matches “service + city”
• Weak internal links to your local pages
• Slow or messy mobile UX

Reputation

• Review velocity lower than competitors
• No responses or low quality responses
• Reviews without helpful keywords

Authority

• Missing core citations or name inconsistencies
• Zero local links or mentions

Pick one change, implement it, and re-measure next month.

Your monthly worksheet

• KPIs snapshot this month vs last
• What we changed
• What improved or stalled
• Next two changes to test
• Target dates and owners

Keep it boring and consistent. That is how you win the Map Pack.

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