The Local SEO Checklist

Section 1 of 9

Google Business Profile (the single highest-leverage channel)

Google Business Profile (GBP) is the panel that appears on the right when someone Googles your business — and it's the #1 driver of 'near me' rankings. Fully optimised GBPs see 5–10x more views than minimally filled ones.

Claim and verify your Google Business Profile (postcard, phone, video or instant verification)
Use your exact, legal business name — no keyword stuffing in the name field (it's a policy violation)
Choose the most specific primary category (e.g. 'Italian restaurant', not 'restaurant')
Add 5–9 relevant secondary categories
Fill in the description — 750 characters, plain-language, no salesy claims
Upload 10+ high-quality photos: exterior, interior, products, team, before/afters
Add hours — including special hours for holidays, festivals and closures
Verify your service area if you serve customers at their location
Add products and services with prices where appropriate
Enable messaging and respond within an hour during business hours
Publish one Post per week (offer, event, update or product highlight)
Answer all Questions submitted by users — within 24 hours
Add booking links (Calendly, OpenTable, Resy, Dineout etc.) for appointment / table businesses
Add menu / catalogue / portfolio links to relevant fields
Monitor and dispute incorrect edits other users suggest to your profile

Section 2 of 9

NAP consistency + citations (where your business is listed online)

NAP = Name, Address, Phone. Citations are mentions of these on directories. Google trusts businesses with consistent NAP across many high-quality directories.

Section 3 of 9

On-page SEO (your own website's local signals)

Your website tells Google where you are, what you do and who you serve. Get the basics right on every page and you're ahead of 90% of local competitors.

Section 4 of 9

Structured data / schema markup

Schema is metadata in your HTML that tells search engines what each piece of content means. Properly marked-up pages are more likely to get rich snippets, FAQ accordions and map placements.

Add Organization or LocalBusiness JSON-LD to homepage with name, address, phone, hours, geo coordinates
Choose the most specific schema type (Restaurant, Dentist, FurnitureStore, etc.)
Add Service schema to each service page
Add Product schema with offers, price and availability on product pages
Add FAQPage schema to FAQ pages and any page with Q&A
Add Review and AggregateRating schema only where you have legitimate, displayed reviews
Add BreadcrumbList schema for site navigation
Validate every schema block using Google's Rich Results Test before publishing

Section 5 of 9

Reviews and reputation

Reviews are the single biggest local-ranking factor outside of GBP setup. Reviews quantity, recency, response rate and quality all feed Google's local algorithm.

Section 6 of 9

Local content (the work most owners skip)

Local content tells Google you're a real part of the local ecosystem — and gives you reasons to rank for long-tail searches your competitors don't target.

Section 7 of 9

Mobile experience and Core Web Vitals

Local searches are predominantly mobile. Google indexes the mobile version of your site first, and Core Web Vitals are a confirmed ranking factor.

Pass Core Web Vitals: LCP under 2.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1 (measured on mobile)
Mobile-first design — tested at 320px, 390px and 430px viewport widths
Tap targets at least 44×44 px with adequate spacing between them
Buttons and CTAs are always within thumb reach on phone
Click-to-call buttons on every page on mobile
Click-to-WhatsApp button where WhatsApp is the local norm
Map embed loads lazily (don't block page load with an iframe)
Images use srcset, modern formats (AVIF / WebP) and lazy loading

Section 8 of 9

Off-page signals (links and mentions from elsewhere)

Inbound links from relevant, authoritative sites still drive rankings — local sites count more than generic ones for local SEO.

Get listed on local newspapers, magazines and community sites (often free)
Partner with non-competing local businesses for cross-mentions and link exchanges
Sponsor a local event, school or sports team — most have a sponsor page
Pitch local journalists with newsworthy stories (HARO, Sourcebottle, Featured)
Get on your industry association's member directory with a link back
Join chambers of commerce and local trade bodies with active websites
Write guest posts for relevant local blogs (one quality post beats ten generic submissions)
Build relationships with local influencers / micro-influencers in your niche

Section 9 of 9

Tracking, reporting and ongoing maintenance

What you measure improves. These are the non-negotiable metrics and review cadences that keep local SEO on track.

Set up Google Search Console and verify ownership
Set up Google Analytics 4 with conversion events tracked (calls, form submits, WhatsApp clicks)
Track local-pack rankings monthly for top 20 keywords using a rank tracker
Check Google Business Profile insights weekly (searches, views, actions)
Audit your top 5 competitors quarterly — see what they're doing that you're not
Re-audit your full local SEO setup every 6 months — citations decay, schemas break, content goes stale
Run a Rich Results Test, Mobile-Friendly Test and PageSpeed Insights monthly