Near-me queries are search phrases that include the modifier “near me” — such as “plumber near me” or “coffee shop near me” — indicating that the user wants results relevant to their current physical location. Google Trends data shows that near-me search volume grew by over 500 percent between 2015 and 2017 and has remained a dominant local search pattern since, accelerated by mobile usage. Google treats near-me queries as strongly location-dependent, using the searcher’s device GPS or IP geolocation to serve results from the local pack. For businesses, ranking for near-me queries is largely a function of local SEO fundamentals — a complete and accurate Google Business Profile, positive review volume, strong citation consistency, and proximity to the searcher — rather than on-page keyword inclusion of the phrase “near me” itself, which Google’s systems interpret contextually from the query intent.