BrightLocal vs. SEOSpace Local: Which Local SEO Tool Should You Use?

If you want to grow a local business, you can’t ignore local SEO. Nearly half of all Google searches have local intent, which means billions of daily searches for things like “pizza near me” or “plumber in [your town].” Local SEO is one of the easiest ways for small businesses to win online, but it requires the right tools to track, manage, and improve your visibility.

I’ve been using BrightLocal for years to manage local SEO for my clients. It’s a mature, full-featured platform that works with any website builder. Recently, SEOSpace Local launched as an add-on for SEOSpace, which is a Squarespace-focused SEO tool I already use and love.

So how do these two tools stack up? Here’s my take after using both.

Rather watch than read? This blog post is also a video:

Why Local SEO Is So Important

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most important factor in ranking locally. If you’re starting a new business, claim and optimize your GBP before you even build a website. A well-built GBP can get you found fast, especially if you start collecting reviews early.

Google uses your GBP info, category, reviews, proximity to the searcher, and a handful of other factors to decide who shows up in the map pack. Ranking there is gold: it drives clicks, calls, and leads.

SEOSpace Local vs. BrightLocal: Key Differences

Both tools integrate with your GBP to help track performance and manage reviews. But their scope and maturity are very different.

Here’s how they compare:

• Ease of Use

  • SEOSpace Local: Simple, built into the SEOSpace plugin for Squarespace. Great for DIY users.

  • BrightLocal: More robust, but takes more setup and learning.

• Pricing

  • SEOSpace Local: About $30/mo as an add-on, free with SEOSpace Expert Plan.

  • BrightLocal: Plans from $29–$44/mo. Citation services are pay-as-you-go.

• Google Business Profile Optimization

  • SEOSpace Local: Checklist-driven tasks to fully complete your GBP and improve local SEO basics.

  • BrightLocal: Deeper GBP audits and reports, but with fewer actionable checklists.

• Review Management

  • SEOSpace Local: Pulls in Google reviews, lets you reply, creates QR codes and links for customers to leave reviews.

  • BrightLocal: Full review management suite, including multi-platform monitoring, review generation campaigns, and multiple widget options.

• Citation Building

  • SEOSpace Local: Citation tools are coming soon.

  • BrightLocal: Fully developed citation tracking and building, $2 per citation or $25 per aggregator submission.

• Reporting & White Label Features

  • SEOSpace Local: Exportable PDF reports (in development).

  • BrightLocal: Automated client dashboards, email reports, and a lead-gen local SEO audit widget.

• Rank Tracking

  • SEOSpace Local: Tracks rankings at different map points but with limited customization.

  • BrightLocal: Fully customizable local rank grids, keyword tracking over time, and automated reporting.

Where Each Tool Wins

SEOSpace Local is ideal if you:

• Already use SEOSpace on a Squarespace site

• Want a simple, all-in-one dashboard for basic SEO and GBP management

• Prefer a checklist approach to knock out the essentials

BrightLocal is better if you:

• Manage multiple clients or locations

• Need white-label reports and dashboards

• Want advanced tools for review generation and citation building

• Care about more granular rank tracking and competitor analysis

My Recommendation

For my money, BrightLocal is currently the more complete, professional-grade toolkit for local SEO.

SEOSpace Local is a great start, especially for Squarespace users who want simplicity and actionable checklists. It’s promising, but right now BrightLocal’s mature feature set, particularly for citations, review management, and client reporting, puts it ahead.

I’ll be keeping an eye on SEOSpace Local as it develops. If they roll out citation building at no extra cost or expand their reporting tools, they could become a serious challenger.

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