Local SEO for Brisbane Service Businesses: What Actually Works in 2025

Local SEO is not just a nice-to-have for your growth strategy; it’s one of the best-ROI moves a small business in Brisbane can make.

But the rules have changed. Generic advice about stuffing keywords and buying dodgy backlinks is a fast track to nowhere.

If you’re a service business in 2025, this guide is your plain-English walkthrough of what actually works to get found by the right local customers.

Is your local-SEO up to scratch?

1. Your Google Business Profile Is Prime Digital Real Estate

Most of your local customers won’t land on your website first. Instead they’ll see your Google Business Profile (GBP). And it’s not just a listing anymore. Nowadays it’s a mini-website, review hub, photo gallery, and local SEO engine all rolled into one.

✅ Get it working hard for you: Fill in every detail. Add your services (with real descriptions), regularly post updates, respond to reviews, and upload real images. It takes 20 minutes a week, and it’s free visibility you’d otherwise have to pay Google for.

2. Reviews Matter More Than You Think for Local SEO

Good reviews don’t just convert fence-sitters, they push your rankings up. Google’s algorithm factors in how many reviews you have, how recent they are, and even the words people use in them.

✅ Boost your reviews: Build reviews into your process by asking your customers for one after each job. Send them a link and make it stupid-simple. Don’t ignore bad ones, reply calmly and constructively. It shows you're a real business that cares.

3. Local Pages That Actually Serve a Purpose

Want to rank in multiple Brisbane suburbs? You need more than copy-and-paste suburb pages. Google’s smarter than that, and so are your customers. Make sure you're investing the time and effort in having a genuinely tailored page for specific target suburbs.

✅ Go hyper-local: Build local pages that prove you work in that area. Add client stories, images, directions, and service-specific advice for that area. Bonus points for linking to other nearby locations you serve - it builds contextual trust with Google.

4. Local Content That Solves Real Brisbane Problems

AI search and zero-click results are on the rise, which means your website isn’t just trying to earn clicks, it needs to earn visibility in AI search results. That means building helpful, detailed content that actually answers local questions your customers ask.

✅ Solve local problems: Create a bank of blog posts and FAQs like “How much does business insurance cost in Brisbane?” or “What does a standard physio session involve?” This is the content AI tools are pulling into their answers — if it’s good enough, your brand gets seen in the AI summaries.

5. Structured Data: Your Website’s Secret Translator for Local SEO

Structured data (schema) helps Google understand what your pages are about and is especially useful especially for service descriptions, locations, and FAQs. It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes technical detail that makes a big difference, even if no one ever sees it directly.

✅ Structure up: Add Local Business, Service, Review, and FAQ schema to your site. If you’re using platforms like Wix or WordPress, it’s usually a checkbox or plugin making it super easy. If not, your web dev should be able to help.

6. Mobile First. Always.

Over 80% of local searches happen on a phone. If your site loads slowly or looks like a 2008 PowerPoint slide, you’re losing business, guaranteed.

✅ Optimise for Mobile: Run your site through Google’s PageSpeed Insights. Fix anything in red. Keep copy short, buttons big, and CTAs obvious. And for the love of leads, don’t bury your phone number or lead capture form where people can't find it.

7. The Right Links Still Matter, But Think Local

Backlinks still play a role, but quality beats quantity. Especially if the links are from local, relevant sources.

✅ Get linked up: Get listed on reputable Australian directories (TrueLocal, Hotfrog, StartLocal), join your local Chamber of Commerce, sponsor a community event. You don’t need 500 links, you need 5 good ones that make sense to your local audience.

Local SEO doesn’t need to be complicated. But it does need to be done right. At Substrate, we help Brisbane service businesses get found by the customers who actually need them — without the fluff, gimmicks, or black-box retainers.

If your local visibility is stuck, or you’re tired of SEO agencies that promise the moon and then go missing get in touch. We'll show you what’s working, what’s broken, and what to do next.