Blogging for local business has a bad reputation, and mostly it deserves it. “Our summer update.” “5 reasons to choose us.” Nobody searches for those, so Google sends nobody to them. But done properly, a blog is one of the most reliable ways to bring in steady enquiries without paying for every click.
These are the six rules I follow for every client blog, and what they did for a mobile wellness company I work with.
Why most local business blogs get no traffic
Most small business blogs are written about the business, not for the customer. They answer questions nobody is asking. The posts that rank do the opposite: each one answers a single question a real customer types into Google.
Rule 1: answer one real question per post
Start with the questions customers ask you on the phone. “Do I need planning permission for a garden office?” “How often should an office be cleaned?” “How many sessions will I need?” Each one is a post. One question, one post, answered fully.
Rule 2: put the question in the title and the first line
Use the words people actually search for as your focus keyword, put it at the start of the title, and answer it in the opening sentence. Readers know they’re in the right place, and Google does too.
Rule 3: link every post to a page that makes money
A blog post should never be a dead end. Link it to the service page, the location page or the booking page that turns a reader into an enquiry. Then link back from those pages to the post.
Rule 4: write from real experience
Google’s own guidance asks whether content shows first hand experience. You have plenty: real jobs, real photos, real questions. Use them. A short example from a job in a real town beats paragraphs of generic advice.
Rule 5: pass the on page basics
I aim for a Rank Math score of 70+ on every post: keyword in the title, meta description, slug, first sentence and subheadings, 900+ words, internal and external links, images with alt text, a table of contents and an FAQ block. It’s a checklist, not a goal, but it catches the mistakes that hold posts back.
Rule 6: be consistent, not frantic
Two or three posts a week, every week, beats ten in one go and then nothing for two months. For most of my clients that’s Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am, each paired with a Google Business post and social posts the same day.
Never publish a big batch of near identical posts. Google treats lots of thin pages made mainly to rank, especially AI made pages that add nothing new, as scaled content abuse.
What it did for a wellness company
A mobile wellness and recovery company combined local pages with a steady blog schedule. Their 22 location pages now sit at an average position of 7.6, which is page one on average. In 28 days their average position across the site moved from 38.1 to 20.2, clicks rose from 58 to 72, and website enquiries went from 2 to 5.
Small numbers at the start, but that’s how blogging for local business works. It compounds.
How to start this week
- Write down the ten questions customers ask you most.
- Pick the three that relate to your most profitable service.
- Write one post per question, each linking to that service page.
- Publish one a week for three weeks, then review which ones get clicks in Search Console.
Not sure what to write about? I’ll look at your site for free and suggest the first five posts I’d write.
[Get your free website audit]
FAQ
How long should a local business blog post be?
Long enough to answer the question properly. For most local topics that’s 900 to 1,200 words.
Can I use AI to write my blog?
It can help with drafts, but every post needs your real experience, examples and checking. Google targets mass produced pages that add nothing.
How long before blog posts bring enquiries?
Usually a few months. Posts that answer specific local questions can start getting clicks within weeks.
