Local SEO is several jobs with one scoreboard: calls from people near you. Agencies sometimes mash them into one slide and attach a lead-percentage claim. This post names the types, what each one costs in time, and how a Florida owner should sequence them. No 30 percent promise. Results depend on reviews, competition, and whether the phone gets answered.
1. Google Business Profile work
Category, services, hours, photos, posts, Q&A, messaging. This is the Map Pack storefront. For most trades it is the first type to staff, because the pack is where phones come from. Time: weekly. Skills: someone who knows the trade well enough not to post a stock beach photo on a cabinet company.
2. On-site local pages
Service pages and city pages with proof. Technical health so they can rank. This type wins the blue links under the map and supports pack relevance. Time: a burst to build the missing URLs, then updates. See Florida content.
3. Reputation
Review acquisition, replies, photo proof in reviews when customers add them. Velocity matters more than a one-time blast. This type converts the pack impression and feeds prominence. Time: daily ask at job close, weekly replies.
"Five types of local SEO work Florida contractors actually use: Google Business Profile, pages, reviews, citations and links, plus paid search as a parallel track."
4. Citations and links
NAP consistency on major directories and Apple Business Connect. Then real links: suppliers, manufacturers, news. Yelp is a citation and review site. Do not treat Yelp ads as this strategy. Apple Maps Ads are retired. Extra Link Building is +$1,500 per month on an active SEO campaign when you need more than cleanup.
5. Paid local, run in parallel
Search ads and LSAs are not SEO. They are listed here because owners confuse them with local strategy. Use them to buy the same queries while types 1 to 4 mature. Google Ads at $0 agency fee on typical $5,000 monthly metro spend. LSAs bill per lead.
How the types fit a 90-day campaign
Days 1 to 30: GBP cleanup, citations, tracking, missing service pages. Days 31 to 60: review cadence, city pages you can defend, first links. Days 61 to 90: geogrid check, content that supports remaining gaps, ads still covering demand. SEO at $3,000 per month uses this shape with a Top-3 Map Pack target. Miss the target and the work continues.
Picking types by situation
- ·New listing or NAP chaos: types 1 and 4 first.
- ·Strong reviews, weak site: type 2 and speed under two seconds.
- ·Strong site, few reviews: type 3 until volume is honest.
- ·Competitive Miami or Orlando grid: all four SEO types plus paid.
- ·Need jobs this week: type 5 immediately, SEO still starts.
AI SEO (+$1,500 with active SEO) sits across types 2 and 1: entities and quotable pages. It is not a sixth magic type that replaces the profile.
For which types you are missing, $1,000 Growth Audit. Book a strategy call at (813) 669-7572.
Time and money by type
GBP: hours each week, no media cost. Pages: a burst of writing and build time, then updates. Reviews: process cost, not ad cost. Citations: a cleanup project, then monitoring. Links: slow and sometimes an add-on at +$1,500 per month. Paid: around $5,000 per month in competitive metros if you need jobs during the wait.
Owners who only fund type 5 (paid) never own the pack. Owners who only fund type 2 (blogs) with a broken listing never get the calls those blogs were supposed to create.
How to audit which types you already have
- 01 Pack screenshot from a customer zip: type 1 health.
- 02 Five revenue services have URLs or they do not: type 2.
- 03 Reviews in the last 30 days: type 3.
- 04 NAP on GBP vs the site vs Apple Business Connect: type 4.
- 05 Whether you can name cost per booked job on ads: type 5.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which local SEO type works fastest?
GBP corrections and review velocity can move a pack sooner than a new blog. Competitive markets still take a full campaign cycle.
Is paid search a type of local SEO?
No. It is paid local demand. It belongs in the growth plan, not in the SEO definition.
Do I need all five?
You need 1 to 4 for a durable pack position. You need 5 if the calendar cannot wait.
How much lead lift should I expect from these types?
It depends on reviews, duplicates, and the metro. Measure calls and booked jobs from your zips. Skip vendors who attach a fixed percentage to a blog title.
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