3000% increase in Map views in local seo serps
VIP Vaping was a UK-based retailer specialising in vaping products, including e-cigarettes, vape pens, e-liquids, and accessories. The brand positioned itself as a premium “VIP” experience for smokers transitioning to vaping, combining quality products with expert service. Operating both physical stores and an ecommerce platform, VIP Vaping built a strong reputation for customer choice and convenience across the UK.
Despite this, many locations were underperforming digitally, limiting both online and in-store potential. The brand was later acquired by British American Tobacco and integrated into their VYPE portfolio, but the lessons in local SEO growth remain highly relevant.
VIP Vaping had serious physical scale — over 100 stores and concessions across the UK — but that presence wasn’t translating into local digital visibility. All locations were housed on a single static store page, meaning individual stores weren’t being indexed or ranked properly by Google. If a customer searched for a nearby store, the brand effectively didn’t exist at a local level.
This was a major commercial gap. Local intent search is some of the highest-converting traffic in retail, yet VIP Vaping was missing out on store visits, inbound calls, and local online demand. The problem wasn’t demand — it was discoverability. Without dynamic store pages, optimised Google My Business listings, or consistent local data, the brand was invisible where it mattered most.
I led a full local SEO reset, treating it as a structured growth programme rather than a tactical fix.
The first step was rebuilding the store finder into fully dynamic, indexable pages — giving each of the 120+ locations its own page, local relevance, and ability to rank independently.
From there, we rolled out a phased local SEO plan. This included creating and optimising Google My Business profiles for every store, standardising NAP data, adding imagery and opening times, and working with local teams to consolidate missing information.
We then focused on review acquisition to build authority at a local level, followed by deeper meta and keyword optimisation once each store had sufficient trust signals. Throughout, we ensured pages were re-indexed correctly and supported by structured data and local backlinks to reinforce relevance.
3000% increase in Map Views in Local SEO
The commercial results were significant and measurable. Local organic visibility increased dramatically, with total local searches up nearly 500% and organic visits to store pages up over 500%.
Visibility in Google Maps exploded, delivering a 3,000% increase in map views, putting stores directly in front of high-intent customers at the moment they were ready to buy.
Customer actions followed visibility. Phone call actions increased by more than 800%, driving a surge in inbound enquiries to local stores and sales teams. Most importantly, this translated into real-world outcomes: year-on-year store footfall increased across the estate, with local SEO becoming a consistent driver of both in-store and online revenue.
By turning a static, underperforming store presence into a scalable local growth engine, the brand closed the gap between digital discovery and physical retail performance — proving that well-executed local SEO doesn’t just improve rankings, it directly drives sales.
