Summary: Ranking locally can beat global competition for neighborhood sales.
Problem: Most small businesses focus on social media but neglect search visibility.
Solution: Use local SEO — keywords, directories, and customer reviews — to drive real visits and calls.
Comparison:
No SEO: invisible online
Over-optimization: risk of penalties
Balanced local SEO: steady traffic
Actionable Recommendation: Ask every happy customer for a Google review — and reply to all reviews weekly.