Local SEO checklist.

Most small businesses that are invisible in local search have the same three problems: an unclaimed Google Business Profile, mismatched contact information across the web, and a website that never mentions the city it serves. All three are fixable without spending money. Running this checklist first tells you which gaps you have before you hire anyone.

Work through these 10 checks in order. Each one takes under 10 minutes. By the end, you will know whether your local search problem is a quick fix or needs deeper attention.

§ 01 — Is your Google Business Profile claimed and verified?

Search your business name on Google. If a business panel appears on the right side with an "Own this business?" link, your profile is not claimed. Go to Google Business Profile, search for your business, and claim it. Verification takes 1 to 5 days by postcard or phone.

An unclaimed profile means a competitor or Google's automated system is controlling how your business appears on Maps and in local search. This is the single highest-impact fix for any local business that is invisible in search.

§ 02 — Does your business name, address, and phone number match everywhere?

Check your name, address, and phone number (NAP) on your website, your Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, and Bing Places. They must match exactly — same abbreviations, same suite number format, same phone number digits.

Google uses NAP consistency as a trust signal. If your address says "Suite 100" on your website but "Ste. 100" on Yelp, it creates a small but real conflict in Google's local ranking algorithm. Fix mismatches wherever you find them.

§ 03 — Does your homepage mention your city and what you do?

Open your homepage and search for the name of your city using Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac). Count the results. If your city appears zero times on the page, Google has no signal that you serve that area.

The fix is simple: add your city and service type in plain text. "We build custom websites for small businesses in Seattle" is enough. You do not need a keyword-stuffed paragraph — just one natural mention in a visible location.

§ 04 — Do you have at least 10 Google reviews with responses?

Open your Google Business Profile and count your reviews. For most local categories, fewer than 10 reviews signals low trust to both Google and potential customers. Also check whether you have responded to recent reviews — both positive and negative.

Reviews are a direct local ranking signal. The fastest way to get more is to ask every customer who mentions they are happy. A simple text message with a direct link to your Google review page removes all friction.

§ 05 — Are photos added to your Google Business Profile?

Open your Google Business Profile dashboard. Count the photos you have uploaded. A profile with fewer than 5 owner-uploaded photos is significantly less visible than profiles with 20 or more.

Add photos of your work, your team, your location, and the outcome you deliver for customers. Real photos outperform stock photos. Google's algorithm weights profiles with active photo uploads as more legitimate than profiles that have never been touched since creation.

§ 06 — Is your address and phone number in your website footer?

Scroll to the bottom of your homepage. Your business name, city and state, and phone number should be visible in the footer on every page. This tells search crawlers your physical location and service area without requiring every page to have a full address block.

If your footer only shows a contact form link or a generic "Get in touch" message, you are missing a consistent local signal across every page of your site.

§ 07 — Are you listed in the top local directories?

Search your business name on Yelp, Bing Places, BBB (Better Business Bureau), and Apple Maps. For most US service businesses, these four plus Google cover 80% of local discovery. If you are missing from any of them, create a free listing today.

Each directory listing is a local citation — a mention of your business name, address, and phone number across the web. Citations are a ranking factor for local search. The more consistent citations you have, the more confident Google becomes that your business is real and established.

§ 08 — Does your site load in under 3 seconds on mobile?

Go to PageSpeed Insights and enter your homepage URL. Check the mobile score. A score below 70 indicates a performance problem that hurts both rankings and conversion. Local customers searching on a phone will leave a slow site before they see your offer.

Page speed is a confirmed Google ranking signal. If your mobile score is under 50, fixing it is a higher priority than any of the other checklist items that require ongoing effort.

§ 09 — Do your page titles include your city and service type?

Open your homepage in a browser and look at the tab label. It should say something like "Residential Plumbing Services — Seattle, WA" rather than just "Home" or your business name alone. Check your main service page and your contact page too.

Page titles are the most direct signal to Google about what a page covers. A title that includes your city and your service type helps Google match your page to local searches like "plumber near me" or "web designer Seattle."

§ 10 — Do you have a process for asking recent customers to leave a review?

A single post-job text message or follow-up email with a direct Google review link can double your review count within a month. If you have no system for this, you are likely leaving dozens of reviews on the table from satisfied customers who would have posted if asked.

The process does not need to be automated. A saved message template you send manually after each completed job is enough. The goal is consistency: ask every customer, every time.

What to do with the results

Score yourself by the number of checks that revealed a gap:

• 0–2 gaps: Your local SEO foundation is solid. The next priority is content: service area pages for each area you cover, and posts that answer the questions your customers ask before they call.
• 3–5 gaps: You have specific, fixable problems. Start with items 1 (Google Business Profile) and 2 (NAP consistency) — both have an outsized effect on local visibility and take an afternoon to address.
• 6+ gaps: Your local search presence needs a systematic rebuild. Working through all 10 items in order will take several weeks. A professional audit can prioritize the gaps by how much they are costing you today versus which can wait.

Common questions

How do I know if my local SEO is working?

Search your business category plus your city in Google — for example, "plumber Seattle" or "hair salon Portland." If your Google Business Profile appears in the map pack or your website appears in the top 10 results, your local SEO is working at a basic level. If neither shows up, you have a visibility problem worth fixing before spending on ads.

How long does local SEO take to show results?

Basic fixes — like claiming your Google Business Profile, correcting your NAP information, and adding your city to your page titles — show up within a few weeks. Building authority through reviews and directory listings takes 2 to 6 months of consistent effort. The foundational steps in this checklist are worth doing immediately because they are free and fast.

What is the single most important local SEO factor?

A claimed and complete Google Business Profile is the highest-impact starting point for most local businesses. It controls whether you appear in Google Maps and the local map pack. Without it, your website ranking alone will not put you in front of local buyers who search on a phone.

Do I need backlinks for local SEO?

For most local service businesses, consistent NAP information, a complete Google Business Profile, and legitimate reviews matter more than backlinks in the early stages. Local directory listings count as citations and provide some link value. High-effort link building campaigns are rarely the right first step when basic local SEO gaps still exist.

What is a self-footprint audit and when do I need one?

A self-footprint audit reviews how your business appears across all local discovery surfaces: Google Business Profile, directories, review platforms, social profiles, and your website's local signals. You need one when your online presence feels inconsistent — different addresses, outdated phone numbers, missing categories — and you want a prioritized fix list without spending hours researching it yourself.