Local SEO Checklist

Search for your business on Google Maps. If a profile exists, claim it. If not, create one and complete verification.

Google says the name should match your storefront, website and stationery. Adding keywords, locations or taglines can get the profile suspended.

"Italian restaurant" beats "Restaurant". Add secondary categories only for services you really offer.

Set special hours before public holidays so people don't turn up to a closed door.

Use the exact address customers walk into, and make sure the map pin sits on your entrance.

Your storefront, the inside, your team and your work. Real photos help people recognise the place when they arrive.

Options like wheelchair access, payment types or online appointments depend on your category. Fill in every one that's true.

Describe each one in plain words, the way a customer would ask for it.

Say what you do, where and for whom, in everyday words. Leave out links, prices in capitals and lists of keywords.

Offers, events and news show people the business is active.

Ask everyone, not only happy customers. Google doesn't allow selectively asking for positive reviews.

Get the link from your profile and put it in receipts, follow-up emails and on a card at the counter.

Google prohibits incentives for reviews. Breaking the rule can stop your profile receiving new reviews.

Thank people for good reviews. For bad ones, stay calm, apologise where it's fair and offer to sort it out offline.

Customers also read Facebook, Yelp and industry sites. Keep an eye on them and reply there as well.

Look up "service + town" searches and "near me" variations, and note which ones people actually type before you write pages.

Usually in the footer. Use exactly the same details as your Business Profile.

Each with its own address, hours, directions, photos and local details. Don't copy one page and swap the town name.

A page for "boiler repair" can rank for boiler repair. A single "services" page usually can't.

For example "Boiler Repair in Leeds | Smith Heating". Write titles for people, not as a list of towns.

It tells search engines your name, address, phone, hours and business type in a format they can read.

Make it easy to find you, especially on a phone.

Most local searches happen on mobile. Tap-to-call and clear opening hours matter most.

Broken pages, missing titles and pages blocked from Google stop your local pages being found.

Prices from, areas covered, parking, opening times, how quickly you can come out. Short, honest answers help customers decide.

Check your business details, LocalBusiness schema and local signals in one go.

Same name, address, phone and website on every listing. Small differences like "St" and "Street" are fine; old phone numbers aren't.

Bing's listing appears in Bing search and Bing Maps. Use exactly the same details as your Google profile.

Apple's free business account lets you claim your location and control your logo, hours, photos and details in Apple Maps.

The main directories and review sites in your country, such as Yelp, Facebook or local business directories.

Trade bodies, professional registers and booking platforms for your type of business.

Search for your old addresses and phone numbers and update or remove what you find.

Sponsorships, local news, chambers of commerce, suppliers and partners.

Guides, FAQs and case studies tied to the places you work in.

Events lead to mentions, photos and links that are hard to get any other way.

Calls, direction requests and website clicks from your Business Profile.

Add UTM parameters to your profile's website link, for example ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp, so analytics shows visits from your profile separately.

Rankings change by area, so check the places where your customers are.

See which local searches bring people to your website.

Google and the public can suggest edits to profiles. Look over your hours, category and contact details each month and correct anything wrong.