ProRank SEO

Local SEO Quick Start Guide

Get your local SEO configured and running in 5 minutes with this step-by-step guide

Prerequisites: ProRank SEO plugin must be installed and activated with a valid Pro+ licence or higher.

Step 1: Access Local SEO

From your WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to:

ProRank SEO → Local SEO

The Local SEO interface has four tabs:

  • Locations Manager — manage your business locations
  • Schema & Settings — configure global business info and schema markup
  • Maps & GBP — Google Business Profile integration
  • Nearest Locations — landing-page rules, display settings, and background geocoding

Step 2: Configure Business Information

Click on the Schema & Settings tab to configure your primary business information.

Available Fields:

  • Business Type — select from the available LocalBusiness schema types
  • Business Name — your official business name
  • Business Description — a short description for schema output
  • Logo URL — enter your logo image URL
  • Price Range — e.g. ££ or $$$
  • Opening Hours — set hours for each day of the week
  • Payment Methods Accepted
  • Amenities & Features
  • Social Profiles — links to your social media pages
  • Aggregate Rating — optional average rating and review count

Use JSON-LD Preview / Show Preview to see the generated schema output, then click Save Settings.

Step 3: Add Your First Location

Switch to the Locations Manager tab and click Add Location.

Location Form Fields:

  • Location Name
  • Phone Number
  • Street Address
  • Email Address
  • City
  • Website
  • State/Region
  • Postal Code
  • Country
  • Status (active/inactive)
  • Set as primary location

Locations are saved via the REST API at /wp-json/prorank-seo/v1/local-seo/locations.

Step 4: Preview and Verify Schema

After saving your business information and at least one location:

  1. Return to the Schema & Settings tab
  2. Click Show Preview to view the JSON-LD output
  3. Use the /local-seo/validate endpoint or an external validator to check for errors
  4. Verify the schema appears on your site by viewing page source

Step 5: Add Nearest-Location Content (Optional)

  1. Open the Nearest Locations tab and enable the feature
  2. Add a slug rule such as service-in-* for pages such as service-in-walsall
  3. Select the post types the rule can match
  4. Choose miles or kilometres, then save and click Run Geocoding
  5. Optionally enable the visitor-initiated Use my location button
Geocoding runs in the background. A public page never waits for the geocoder, and unresolved pages simply omit the nearest-location block until coordinates are ready.

Step 6: Publish a Store Finder (Optional)

Add the shortcode below to any page, block, widget, or supported builder template:

[prorank_store_finder radius="25" max_results="10"]

Store Finder lists active locations only. Its device-location button prompts only after a visitor clicks it.

Step 7: KML Sitemap

ProRank generates a KML file for mapping tools at:

https://yourdomain.com/locations.kml

Submit https://yourdomain.com/locations-sitemap.xml to Google Search Console as the XML location sitemap. Keep the KML file available for mapping tools, but do not declare it as a sitemap in robots.txt.

Quick Tips

  • Fill in as many Schema & Settings fields as possible for richer schema output
  • Set one location as primary if you have multiple locations
  • Use Google's Rich Results Test to validate your LocalBusiness schema
  • Check the Maps & GBP tab for Google Business Profile integration options
  • Keep inactive locations archived: Nearest Locations and Store Finder automatically exclude them