--- title: "Local SEO in Columbus, Ohio | Harrigan Creative" description: "The five-layer local SEO system we run for Ohio service businesses: geo-grid scans, drive-time targeting, GBP velocity, schema, and AI Overview visibility." author: Henry Harrigan canonical: https://harrigancreative.com/local-seo date_modified: 2026-08-06 --- # Show up in the map pack when your town searches for you. By Henry Harrigan — updated August 6, 2026 If you're a service business in Ohio (or anywhere), the map pack is the new front page. This is the five-layer system we run to put clients on it, and keep them there. **Key numbers:** - 49 — grid points scanned weekly, per client - 5 — layers in the local system, run together - 60+ — citations cleaned per client ## SEO without the mystery retainer Most business owners have been told they need SEO. Nobody explains what actually gets done. Harrigan Creative audits first, identifies the bottlenecks, fixes the work that matters, and shows you the numbers. If a one-time cleanup is enough, Henry will say so. If a 90-day push is warranted, he will show you why before any work starts. - Audit first, always - One-time cleanup available - Month-to-month ongoing plans - Plain-English reporting - No long contract ## We move local rankings across the map, not just one pin on it Most agencies report on the average. We report on every grid square inside your service radius. A real client's climb across a 5×5 (25-point, 7-mile) search area in 90 days: - **Avg. local rank (demo):** sample of how we report average rank across every grid square in your service area. - **Calls from Maps (demo):** sample of the before/after we track through GBP insights and per-client call-tracking numbers. - **What changed:** Audit, then a 90-day plan: on-page rebuild, citation cleanup, GBP optimization, weekly content, and review velocity. No magic. Just the work, done well. ## The five-layer local system (most agencies run two) Local SEO isn't one service. It's a stack. We rebuild every layer for every client. Skip one and the rest stop compounding. This is the system that took the client above from page two to position one across a 25-square service area in 90 days. ### 01 — Geo-grid rank scans We map your real position in every grid square inside your service area: 25 points minimum, 49 for larger radii. Run weekly. Drive-time-adjusted, not just zip-code-based. You see where you actually rank when somebody three minutes away searches you. Not the "average" your last agency reported. Tools we run: Local Falcon · Local Viking · geo-grid rank scans ### 02 — Drive-time audience targeting Most agencies target by zip code. Zip codes don't drive cars. We bound campaigns by isochrone, the actual 10-, 15-, or 20-minute drive shape from your front door. Same budget, aimed only at people who can actually reach you. You stop paying for impressions in places that were never going to call. Where it shows up: Google Ads radius bidding · Meta drive-time geos · GBP service area ### 03 — GBP & review velocity Your Google Business Profile is your front door. We rebuild the categories, attributes, photos, services, and Q&A, then turn on a review system that asks the right customer at the right moment, the right way. No incentives, no policy violations, just better timing — a steady drumbeat of new reviews instead of a dusty profile. What we install: GBP optimization · review request automation · response SLAs ### 04 — Schema, citations, technical SEO The unsexy layer that makes the rest work. LocalBusiness, Organization, Service, and FAQ schema deployed and validated. NAP consistency across 60+ citation directories. Title and meta tags rebuilt to under 60 characters with city-and-service intent. Duplicate pages 301'd. Staging links nuked. Core Web Vitals into the green. And the off-page half: locally relevant links from chambers of commerce, community sponsorships, and local press — the geographic signals Google weighs for map-pack authority. Standard deliverables: 14-point technical audit · schema deployment · citation cleanup ### 05 — AI Overview visibility Half of Google searches now ship an AI Overview before the blue links. Brand mentions correlate with AI citations three times stronger than backlinks do. We deploy llms.txt, optimize for citability (134–167-word answer blocks), and seed brand-mention signals on YouTube, Reddit, and Wikipedia where it matters. Done right, you get cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity for queries your old SEO never touched. The 2026 layer: llms.txt · citability scoring · brand-mention strategy · GEO audits Each layer feeds the next. That's why our results compound: month two outperforms month one, and month six outperforms month two. Most agencies stop at layer two. We don't. ## How we work: a 90-day arc — audit, build, ship, optimize 1. **Audit.** Week one. We map your current map-pack rank, GBP, schema, citations, and site against three direct competitors. You leave the kickoff with a heatmap and a punch list, even if you never hire us. 2. **Build.** Weeks two through four. We rebuild what's broken: landing pages, GBP, schema, tracking, citation cleanup. Every change is documented in a shared doc. Nothing happens that you don't see. 3. **Ship.** Day thirty. Content cadence starts, the review system flips on, the geo-grid baseline runs. From here, you should feel the phone ringing differently. 4. **Optimize.** Day thirty onward, forever. Weekly grid scans, monthly strategy call, quarterly plan. We don't set and forget. And remember: month-to-month, so we earn the next thirty days every thirty days. ## Four types of SEO work. Scoped to fit. After the audit, you know exactly which of these applies. Most clients start with Foundation Cleanup and move into Maintenance or Growth once the foundation holds. No prebuilt package is required. The audit decides. ### Foundation Cleanup Best for: businesses with no prior SEO work, a suspended or neglected GBP, or bad citation data dragging down rankings. - Full technical and local SEO audit - GBP rebuild and category optimization - NAP cleanup across 60+ citation directories - Schema deployment and Core Web Vitals triage - On-page title and meta rebuild for primary service pages Scoped as a fixed project after audit. One-time engagement. No ongoing commitment required. ### Local Maintenance Best for: businesses whose foundation is clean and need consistent upkeep to protect and hold their current map-pack position. - Weekly geo-grid rank scans - Monthly GBP posts and photo updates - Review velocity monitoring and response support - Citation drift monitoring and correction - Monthly plain-English ranking report Month-to-month retainer. Scoped after audit. Cancel any time with 30 days notice. ### Local Growth (most common) Best for: businesses ready to actively gain ground, add ranking keywords, expand their service-area footprint, and increase call volume over 90 days. - Everything in Maintenance, with GBP posts moving to weekly - Monthly service and location pages written for search intent - Local link building — chamber, sponsorship, and local-press links each quarter - Drive-time isochrone targeting adjustments - Competitor gap analysis and content roadmap - AI Overview citability optimization - Monthly 45-minute strategy call with Henry Month-to-month retainer. 90-day growth arc, then reviewed. Scoped after audit. ### Local Authority Best for: established businesses competing in high-volume or multi-location markets where brand signals, AI visibility, and off-page authority are the remaining levers. - Everything in Local Growth - Brand-mention seeding (YouTube, Reddit, Wikipedia where relevant) - llms.txt deployment and GEO audit for AI citation - Multi-location or service-area expansion strategy - Accelerated local link building — digital PR, local press pitches, and community placements monthly - Quarterly competitive landscape review Month-to-month retainer. Custom scope after audit. For markets where standard maintenance is not enough. Every engagement starts with the same free audit. That audit determines which plan fits, whether you need a combination, or whether a one-time project is the right call instead of a retainer. ## Local SEO, demystified (FAQ) **How fast will we see results?** Some moves, including schema deployment, GBP optimization, and citation cleanup, produce ranking shifts in the first 14 days. Sustained map-pack gains typically show up 60–90 days in once content cadence and review velocity have had time to compound. We share a baseline grid scan at kickoff so the gains are measurable, not anecdotal. **Do you require a 12-month contract?** No. Every retainer is month-to-month. We earn your business every 30 days by doing the work and showing the numbers. If you ever want to pause or leave, you walk away with everything we built: accounts, code, dashboards, content. **What's your service area?** We're based in Ohio and most clients are within driving distance, but we run local SEO for service businesses anywhere in the US. The methodology works the same whether you're in Powell, Phoenix, or Portland. **Do you do the writing too, or just the technical SEO?** Both. Every retainer includes monthly content, including service pages, blog posts, FAQ pages, and GBP posts written for the searches that actually book work in your area, not for keyword stuffing. Citability-scored for AI Overview pickup. **What if my Google Business Profile is suspended?** Henry has handled multiple suspensions and re-instatements. The fix depends on why Google flagged it: service area mismatch, duplicate listing, photo issue, or policy claim. He diagnoses the issue in the first audit. Most clean cases resolve in 1–3 review cycles after the right fix. **What does "local link building" actually mean?** Links from places that prove you're a real business in a real town: your chamber of commerce, the youth team you sponsor, the local paper that covered your work, the suppliers who list their dealers. Google weighs geographic relevance heavily for map-pack authority — a chamber link in your city beats a random high-authority blog. We handle the outreach and placements; you approve anything that costs money, like a membership or a sponsorship. **Will you also help with paid ads if local SEO isn't enough?** Yes. If your goal is more revenue and SEO needs 60 days to move the needle, Henry can pair it with Google or Meta ads from day one so cash is flowing while the organic work compounds. One plan, one point of contact. **Do I need a monthly SEO retainer?** Not always. Some businesses have a clean foundation and just need a one-time audit and fix. If the audit shows your GBP is solid, your citations are clean, and your site is technically healthy, a one-time project may be all that makes sense right now. If the audit shows gaps that compound over time, a retainer is worth it. Henry will be direct about which applies to your situation. **What actually gets done each month?** Depends on the scope. A typical Local Growth month includes one service or location page written and published, GBP posts updated with current offers or seasonal content, geo-grid scans compared against the prior month, ranking drops investigated and addressed, and a plain-English report with what changed and what moved. **Can I start small?** Yes. Foundation Cleanup is available as a one-time fixed project. Many clients start there, see the ranking shift from cleaned-up citations and a rebuilt GBP, and then decide whether ongoing work makes sense. There is no pressure to commit to a retainer before you see the first results. ## Free local audit. No catch. We'll run a baseline grid scan, audit your GBP and site, and benchmark you against three direct competitors. You get the report whether you hire us or not. - Request the audit: https://harrigancreative.com/about#contact - Email: henry@harrigancreative.com