Local SEO in Canada: Google Business Profile and a website that supports it

How local results work

When someone searches for “hair salon near me” or “window cleaning Québec City”, Google shows a map with a few businesses, then the classic results. Google explains that local results are based mainly on three factors: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person or the place searched) and prominence (how well known your business is, online and offline).

You cannot change your distance, but you can work on relevance and prominence. That is what local SEO is about: a complete Google Business Profile, a website that confirms the same information, and real signals of trust such as reviews and mentions on other sites.

Setting up your Google Business Profile

1. 01
   Claim and verify the profile

   Search for your business on Google Maps. If a profile exists, claim it; otherwise create it. Google will ask you to verify that you run the business.

2. 02
   Choose the right primary category

   It is one of the most important settings. Pick the category that best describes your main activity, then add a few secondary ones.

3. 03
   Address or service area

   If customers come to you, show your address. If you travel to them, set a service area and hide the address if needed.

4. 04
   Hours, phone, website

   Accurate hours, including holidays, a phone number that is answered, and a link to the right page of your site.

5. 05
   Services and description

   List your services with clear names and write a factual description of what you do and where.

6. 06
   Photos

   Real photos of your premises, your team at work and your products. Add new ones regularly.

In Québec, write your profile in French, the language most of your local customers search in, and keep it consistent with the French version of your website.

Keep the profile alive

A profile that is set up once and then forgotten slowly loses ground to competitors who keep theirs active. Plan a short monthly routine: add a few recent photos, publish an update when you have news, an offer or an event, and check that your services, hours and contact details are still accurate.

Read the suggestions Google sometimes makes to your profile, as anyone can propose edits to a business listing. Accept the ones that are correct and reject the others, so the information customers see remains the information you chose. If you change address, phone number or name, update the profile first, then the website and every directory listing on the same day.

What your website must do for local SEO

• Consistent name, address and phone number: exactly the same as on your profile, on every page footer or contact page.
• A page per service, and a page per city or region only if you genuinely serve it and have something specific to say.
• Structured data (LocalBusiness markup) that tells search engines your name, address, hours and type of business.
• Fast pages on mobile: most local searches happen on a phone, often on the move.
• Pages readable without JavaScript, so search engines and AI tools see your text.
• A clear call to action: call, book, request a quote, find the address.
• The right language: French for Québec customers, plus English if you serve both.

Our case study on Vitres et Pavés étudiants shows a site with separate pages for two regions, each with its own contact details.

Reviews: ask real customers, never fake them

Reviews count for prominence and, above all, for the people deciding whether to call you. The only sustainable method is to ask real customers, at the right moment, with a direct link to your review form.

• Ask after a job well done, by email, text message or with a card at the counter.
• Reply to every review, positive or negative, politely and factually.
• Never buy reviews, never write them yourself, never offer rewards in exchange for positive reviews. It breaks Google's rules and misleads consumers.

Directories and mentions

Listings in directories and mentions on other websites help confirm that your business exists and where. Focus on quality and consistency rather than quantity: the main general directories, your industry's directories, your local chamber of commerce or business association, and local media. Use exactly the same name, address and phone number everywhere, and update every listing when something changes.

Common local SEO mistakes

• Several profiles for the same business, created over the years by different people. Merge or remove duplicates.
• A business name stuffed with keywords on the profile, such as adding the city and services to the official name. It breaks Google's guidelines and can lead to suspension.
• Different phone numbers or addresses on the profile, the website and directories.
• Holiday hours never updated, so customers arrive at a closed door and leave a negative review.
• A website link pointing to a page that no longer exists, or to the home page when a service page would answer better.
• Copy-pasted city pages that only change the name of the town.
• Reviews left unanswered for months, especially the negative ones.
• Stock photos instead of real photos of the business.

Each of these mistakes is quick to fix. Together, they often explain why a well-established business barely appears on the map while a newer competitor does.

What to check every month

Our SEO package

Every website we build includes baseline SEO: pre-rendered pages, a title and description per page, a sitemap, a robots.txt file, structured data and optimized images. For businesses that want ongoing local visibility work, our optional SEO package costs CA$1,200 to set up, then CA$450 per month, with a 12-month commitment.

It includes Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, your Google Business Profile, keyword research, structured data, monthly content and reports. It does not include promising positions, buying links or reviews, Google Ads or social media management. Learn more on our SEO page, read how we approached a Montréal salon's website, or contact us (page in French; we reply in English).