Local SEO Specialist Job Description: Duties, Requirements and Template

What does a local seo specialist do?

Owns visibility in map packs and location-based search across one location or hundreds.

Local SEO is a genuinely distinct discipline with its own ranking factors, its own tooling and its own failure modes. Multi-location local SEO — franchises, healthcare networks, retail chains — is materially harder than single-location work and pays accordingly, because the problem becomes one of data governance at scale.

Local SEO Specialist responsibilities

A well-scoped local seo specialist role covers the following. If an advert lists substantially more than this, it is probably two jobs; if it lists substantially less, check where the rest of the work actually sits.

• Own Google Business Profile listings: categories, attributes, services, hours, photos and posts.
• Manage citation consistency and NAP data across directories and aggregators.
• Build and maintain location landing pages that are genuinely differentiated rather than templated boilerplate.
• Run review acquisition and response programmes, and monitor sentiment by location.
• Track map-pack and localised organic rankings at grid level, not just city level.
• Implement local business structured data and keep it aligned with listing data.
• Handle listing suspensions, duplicate merges and ownership disputes.

Local SEO Specialist requirements and skills

Essential

• Hands-on Google Business Profile management, including problem cases
• Citation and NAP management experience
• A local rank-tracking tool used at grid level (BrightLocal, Local Falcon or similar)
• Understanding of local ranking factors and how they differ from organic
• Review platform management

Desirable

• Multi-location or franchise experience
• Listing management platforms (Yext, Uberall, SOCi)
• Service-area business specifics
• Paid local campaign coordination

Formal qualifications rarely appear on this list for a reason: SEO hiring weighs demonstrable results above credentials. Our guide to whether you need a degree for SEO covers the evidence, and the skills gap analyzer will score you against this list.

How a local seo specialist is measured

Clear success measures are the fastest way to tell a serious role from a vague one. These are the measures most commonly attached to this position.

Reporting line: SEO Manager or Marketing Manager. Seniority: Entry to mid level.

Local SEO Specialist salary

The typical United States band for this role is $50,000 – $78,000 in base salary, before bonus, equity or benefits. That band widens considerably by sector, company size and market.

For location-specific numbers, the salary by location hub benchmarks 24 markets on the same scale. To position yourself inside a band, use the SEO salary calculator, and read the compensation guide for how packages are actually constructed.

Local SEO Specialist job description template

Copy, adapt and publish. Replace the bracketed sections; delete anything that does not apply rather than leaving it vague. Everything below is written to be specific enough that a candidate can self-select accurately.

JOB TITLE: Local SEO Specialist
REPORTS TO: SEO Manager or Marketing Manager
LOCATION: [City / Hybrid / Remote — state the geographic pay band]
LEVEL: Entry to mid level
SALARY RANGE: $50,000 – $78,000 [publish the range — postings with a range attract significantly more qualified applicants]

ABOUT THE ROLE
Owns visibility in map packs and location-based search across one location or hundreds.

WHAT YOU WILL DO
  • Own Google Business Profile listings: categories, attributes, services, hours, photos and posts.
  • Manage citation consistency and NAP data across directories and aggregators.
  • Build and maintain location landing pages that are genuinely differentiated rather than templated boilerplate.
  • Run review acquisition and response programmes, and monitor sentiment by location.
  • Track map-pack and localised organic rankings at grid level, not just city level.
  • Implement local business structured data and keep it aligned with listing data.
  • Handle listing suspensions, duplicate merges and ownership disputes.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
  • Hands-on Google Business Profile management, including problem cases
  • Citation and NAP management experience
  • A local rank-tracking tool used at grid level (BrightLocal, Local Falcon or similar)
  • Understanding of local ranking factors and how they differ from organic
  • Review platform management

NICE TO HAVE
  • Multi-location or franchise experience
  • Listing management platforms (Yext, Uberall, SOCi)
  • Service-area business specifics
  • Paid local campaign coordination

HOW SUCCESS IS MEASURED
  • Map-pack visibility across the target grid (Monthly)
  • Google Business Profile calls, direction requests and clicks (Monthly)
  • Review volume and average rating by location (Monthly)
  • Localised organic rankings for service terms (Monthly)

WHAT WE OFFER
  • [Salary range, bonus structure, equity if applicable]
  • [Pension / retirement contribution, healthcare]
  • [Learning budget, conference allowance, tool access]
  • [Working pattern, flexibility, holiday allowance]

HOW TO APPLY
  [Process, number of stages, expected timeline, who they will meet]

How candidates should read a local seo specialist advert

Local SEO has a lower ceiling as a single-location specialism and a surprisingly high one at multi-location scale. If you want the pay to grow, move toward portfolio management, data governance and automation rather than deeper single-listing craft.

Once you have decided a role is worth applying for, the resume scorer checks your application against how SEO screens actually read, and the interview preparation guide covers the stages that follow.