The Cincinnati metro is one search market on paper and three in practice. Someone in Covington or Newport searches from Kentucky, someone in Mason or Blue Ash searches from Ohio, and the Indiana edge of the metro adds a third set of rules.
Google's map results lean on distance, so a Covington listing rarely shows up for a homeowner in Mason. The housing splits the searches too: brick rowhouses and hillside homes near the river, newer suburban stock further out in Florence and Mason.
Zillow, Cincinnati Area MLS and Realtor.com hold the listing-shopper searches, and a local operator does not beat them there. Your wins are service and suburb searches.
Broker and contractor licenses in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are state-specific, so the proof on each page has to match the side of the river it targets. SEO here builds over months, and nobody can promise a position.