Local SEO stands for Local Search Engine Optimization. It's the process of making your business visible in search results that have geographic intent, whether someone searches "plumber Ottawa" or just "plumber" while standing in Westboro. The core difference between regular SEO and local SEO is the intent and the result format. Regular SEO targets informational or commercial keywords nationally or globally. Local SEO targets the map pack, the local finder, and organic results filtered by location. When you search for a restaurant, lawyer, or electrician, Google shows you a map with three businesses above the regular blue links. That's the local pack, and local SEO is what gets you there. Local SEO has three foundational elements. First is your Google Business Profile, which feeds the map pack and must be optimized with accurate NAP (name, address, phone), categories, hours, photos, and regular posts. Second is citation consistency across directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and industry-specific platforms. Your business name, address, and phone need to match exactly everywhere, down to "Street" versus "St." Third is localized on-page signals: title tags mentioning your city, location pages for multi-location businesses, and content that references local landmarks or neighborhoods. Reviews also matter more in local than traditional SEO. Google weighs review quantity, recency, rating, and response rate when ranking local results. A business with 87 reviews at 4.6 stars typically outranks one with 12 reviews at 5.0 stars, assuming other factors are similar. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we treat local SEO as distinct from national campaigns because the ranking factors, the competition, and the user behavior are different. A local campaign prioritizes proximity, GBP optimization, and local link building from chambers of commerce or community sponsors. A national campaign prioritizes domain authority and content depth. Most small businesses with a physical location or service area need local SEO first, national visibility second. The ROI is faster because you're competing in a smaller geographic pool, and the leads convert better because the searcher is ready to buy locally.