Somewhere near you, right now, someone's standing on a pavement with their phone out, typing "pub near me". Maybe they're visiting for the weekend. Maybe they've just moved in round the corner. Maybe their usual's shut for a refit.
Whether they end up at your bar or the chain pub across the road comes down to something called local SEO. It sounds technical. It mostly isn't. Here's how it works and what you can do about it this week.
How Google decides who shows up
Google is pretty open about this. It says local results are based on three things:
- Relevance: how well your listing matches what someone searched for.
- Distance: how far you are from the person searching.
- Prominence: how well known you are, judged by things like reviews and links from other websites.
You can't move your pub closer to everyone. But relevance and prominence are very much in your hands. Google also says plainly that you can't pay for a better local ranking. That's good news for independents. It's a fair fight.
Step 1: Sort your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (the box with your map pin, photos, hours and reviews) is the single most important bit of local SEO. For lots of people, it is your website.
Get these right:
- Claim and verify it. If you haven't, do it today. Unverified listings are less likely to show up.
- Pick the right categories. Your primary category should be the most accurate one: "Pub", "Brewpub", "Brewery" or "Bar". Add secondary categories for things you genuinely offer, like "Gastropub" or "Bar & grill". Things like a beer garden or live music go in attributes instead.
- Hours, including special hours. Bank holidays, Christmas, the day you close early for a private do. Wrong hours lose you customers and trust.
- Attributes. Dog friendly, beer garden, step-free access, live music, Wi-Fi. People filter on these.
- Photos. Real ones. The bar, the beer garden, the food, the fire on a winter evening. Add new ones regularly.
- Menu link. Point it at a proper menu page on your website (more on why not a PDF in another post).
Step 2: Get your reviews moving
Reviews do double duty. They help you rank, and they help people choose. A steady trickle of fresh reviews beats a big burst from three years ago.
- Ask. Most happy customers will leave a review if you ask. A small card on the table or a QR code on the bar works.
- Reply to every one. Thank people for the good ones. Respond calmly and helpfully to the bad ones. Future customers read your replies.
- Never buy or incentivise reviews. It breaks Google's rules and it's not worth the risk.
Step 3: Make your website back it up
Google cross-checks your Business Profile with your website. If they disagree, it trusts both a bit less.
- Match your details exactly. Name, address and phone number should be identical everywhere.
- Put your location in the content. Mention your town, your neighbourhood, nearby landmarks. "A proper pub five minutes from Leeds station" tells Google and people where you are.
- Have a page for each thing people search for. Sunday roasts, beer garden, private hire, quiz night, live sport. Each one is a reason to be found.
- Make it fast and mobile-friendly. Most "near me" searches happen on phones, often on dodgy signal. A slow site loses people before it loads.
- Add structured data. This is a bit of behind-the-scenes code that tells search engines "this is a pub, here are its hours, here's its address". The schema type is literally called
BarOrPub. Your web person should know what to do with it.
Step 4: Be mentioned elsewhere
Prominence is partly about how much the rest of the internet talks about you.
- Local listings: Bing Places, Apple Business Connect (for Apple Maps and Siri), TripAdvisor, Facebook, Untappd, local tourism sites.
- Keep them consistent. Same name, address, phone and hours everywhere.
- Local press and blogs. A write-up in the local paper, a mention on a "best beer gardens in [town]" list, a link from your brewery partners. All of it counts.
- Trade and community links. CAMRA branch pages, local business networks, event listings for your quiz or festival.
Step 5: Keep it ticking over
Local SEO isn't a one-off job. The pubs that do well treat it like cellar maintenance: little and often.
A simple weekly routine:
- Reply to new reviews.
- Add a couple of fresh photos.
- Post an update on your Business Profile (this week's guest ale, Saturday's band, the new menu).
- Check your hours are right for the week ahead.
Fifteen minutes. That's it.
What about AI search?
More people are now asking ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Gemini or Siri for recommendations instead of scrolling a list. The good news is that the same things help: accurate listings, lots of good reviews across different sites, and a clear website. We've written more on this in Will ChatGPT recommend your pub?
Quick checklist
- Google Business Profile claimed and verified
- Correct primary and secondary categories
- Hours, including bank holidays and special hours
- Attributes ticked (dogs, garden, access, etc.)
- At least 10 recent, real photos
- Menu links to a proper web page
- Review request card or QR code on the bar
- Every review replied to
- Name, address and phone identical everywhere
- Bing Places and Apple Business Connect listings claimed
- Website mentions your town and area naturally
-
BarOrPubstructured data on the site
Want a hand?
At BEVV we only work with pubs, taprooms and breweries, so we know what drinkers are searching for and how to get you in front of them. If you'd like us to have a look at how you're showing up, start with a free 30-minute health check. The first pint's on us.