The Local SEO Checklist For Busy Owners

Local SEO sounds complicated. It isn't.

It's a list of jobs. Do them, and you show up when someone nearby searches for what you sell. Skip them, and your competitor shows up.

Google says local results come down to three things: how well you match the search, how close you are to the person searching, and how well known your business is. You can't move your shop. Everything on this checklist works on the other two.

Work through it top to bottom. The first sections pay off soonest.

Your Google Business Profile

This is the listing that shows on Google Maps and in the box of three businesses at the top of local results. It's free, and it's the first job.

• Claim and verify it. If you've never done this, do it today.
• Pick the most specific main category. "Roofing contractor", not "Contractor".
• List every service you offer, with a line or two on each.
• Set your hours, and update them for holidays.
• Set your address or service area correctly.
• Add real photos. Your team, your trucks, your finished work. Add new ones often.
• Match your website. Same name, same phone number, same address.

New to this? Start with our guide to Google Business Profile basics.

Your website

Your profile gets you seen. Your website gets you picked, and it tells Google what you should rank for.

• One page for each main service. A plumber needs separate pages for drain cleaning, water heaters and leak repair. One "Services" page won't rank for any of them.
• A page for each town you serve, with real detail about your work there. A copied page with the town name swapped doesn't count. Here's how we build local landing pages.
• Service and town in your page titles. "Emergency Plumber in Mesa, AZ" beats "Home".
• Your phone number at the top of every page, and it dials when tapped on a phone.
• Your name, address and phone number in the footer of every page.
• Fast on a phone. Most local searches happen on one.
• Answers to common questions. Prices, timing, areas you cover.

Not sure how yours stacks up? The free Website Grader tells you in two minutes.

Your listings and local links

Google checks what the rest of the web says about you. So do AI tools.

• Use the exact same name, address and phone number everywhere. "Smith Plumbing LLC" on one site and "Smith's Plumbing" on another looks like two businesses.
• Get on the big directories. Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps and Facebook, plus the main ones for your trade.
• Fix old listings. An old address or a dead phone number costs you calls and confuses Google.
• Remove duplicates. One business, one listing on each site.
• Earn local links. Ask suppliers to list you as an installer. Join the chamber of commerce. Sponsor a local team. Each one is a local site vouching for you.

Your reviews

Reviews move you up the map and win the click once you're there.

• Ask every happy customer, the same day you finish the job.
• Make it easy. Text them a direct link to your Google review page.
• Reply to every review. Thank the good ones. Answer the bad ones calmly, and offer to make it right.
• Never pay for reviews or offer a reward. It breaks Google's rules and can get reviews removed.
• Keep them coming. A steady flow of new reviews beats one big batch from two years ago.

The easiest way to make this stick is to tie it to something you already do. Send the review link with the invoice, or have your tech send it from the driveway before leaving. If asking is somebody's job at the end of every visit, it happens. If it's a thing you'll get around to, it doesn't.

AI search

More customers now ask ChatGPT who to hire. The work above is most of what gets you named. Add these.

• Ask AI about yourself. Type "who are the best [your trade] in [your town]?" into ChatGPT and see who it names.
• Write in plain sentences. "We repair and replace roofs in Dallas, Plano and Richardson" is easy for an AI tool to read and repeat.
• Answer full questions on your site. The same ones customers ask on the phone.
• Keep your details matching everywhere. AI tools compare sources.

Read more on how AI search optimization works.

Track what's working

Don't guess. Check once a month.

• Set up Google Search Console. It's free and shows which searches bring people to your site.
• Look at your Google Business Profile numbers. Calls, direction requests and website clicks.
• Ask every new caller how they found you. Write it down.
• Search for yourself. Your main service plus your town, on a phone, once a month.

Short on time? Start here

If you only have one hour this week, do three things. Finish your Google Business Profile. Text five happy customers a review link. Put your phone number at the top of your website.

If you'd rather not do any of it, that's what we're for. We handle every item on this list, and we build your website free. It's one plan at $99/month. No contract. See what's in our local SEO service, or check the pricing.