This local SEO checklist covers what it takes to show on the Google map: a complete, accurate Business Profile, a steady flow of genuine reviews and a website that backs up what the profile says. Google says local results are mainly based on three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching) and prominence (how well-known your business is). You can’t do much about distance, but you can do a lot about the other two, and that’s what the steps below cover, roughly in the order we’d tackle them. It’s the same checklist we work through when we take on a client’s Business Profile.
1. Claim and verify your Business Profile
One profile, under your real business name
If you haven’t already, claim your Business Profile and verify it. Google says verifying shows you’re allowed to represent the business, which makes it more likely to show up in search results. Keep to one profile per business, and use your real-world name: the one on your sign, your website and your paperwork. Adding extra words to the name, like a list of services or a town, isn’t allowed and can get a profile suspended.
An address, or a service area
If customers come to you, show your address. If you go to them, as a plumber, a mobile hairdresser or a cleaner would, Google asks you to set a service area and hide your address instead. A PO box or a virtual office doesn’t count as an address. Get this right before anything else, because it decides where you can show up.
2. Fill in every part of the profile
Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results. So fill in everything that applies to you.
Categories
Your primary category is one of the most important choices on the profile, so pick the most specific one that fits, and add as few extras as you need. Google’s test is that a category should finish the sentence “this business is a…”, not “this business has a…”.
Services, hours and description
List the services you offer, set your opening hours (including bank holidays and any seasonal changes) and write a description that says plainly what you do and who for. Keep prices and offers out of the description: Google’s guidelines say it shouldn’t focus on promotions, prices or sales.
Photos
Add photos of your premises, your work and your team, and keep adding them. Google lists photos and videos among its tips for improving your local ranking, and they help people decide whether to get in touch.
3. Get reviews, and reply to every one
Reviews count towards prominence. In Google’s words, more reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking. They also do a lot of the persuading once someone has found you.
Ask at the right moment, with a direct link
The best time to ask is straight after the job, while it’s fresh in your customer’s mind. Within a day or two is ideal. Send a direct link that opens the review box, so it only takes a couple of taps: Google lets you create a review link or a QR code for exactly this. Ask every customer, not just the ones you’re sure were happy. Google’s rules don’t allow asking only the happy ones.
Never offer anything in return. Google treats discounts, freebies or anything else given in exchange for a review as fake content, and doesn’t allow it.
One reminder, then leave it
If someone hasn’t left a review after a week or two, send one friendly reminder. After that, let it go. People are busy, and a second chase starts to feel like pressure.
Replying to good and bad reviews
Google’s own tips suggest putting your effort into replies that add something, rather than sending the same “thank you” to everyone. We’d still reply to every review, but make each one personal: thank the person by name and mention something about the job. For a bad review, stay calm and polite, never share the customer’s private details, apologise if something went wrong and offer to sort it out by phone or email. Anyone reading your reviews will judge you on the reply as much as the complaint.
4. Make your website back up the profile
The same name, address and phone number
Your website should show the same business name, address and phone number as your profile, written the same way. Putting them in the footer means they’re on every page. Link your profile to your website, and make sure the phone number on both goes straight to you.
A page for each service
If you offer five services, give each one its own page. It helps search engines match you to the specific things people search for, and it gives people the details they need before they get in touch. Our guide to website structure explains how to plan those pages.
Local business details marked up for Google
Structured data (sometimes called schema) marks up your business name, address, phone number and opening hours in a format search engines can read directly. A good studio will add it as part of any new build. Our post on structured data explains how it works.
You can see this kind of work on the sites we look after for a security installer near Glasgow and a physio clinic in Manchester.
5. Keep your details the same everywhere
Directories and listings
Your business is probably listed on other sites already: directories, review sites, social profiles, trade bodies. Check that each one shows the same name, address, phone number and website as your profile. Google says prominence also takes into account how many websites link to your business, so good listings and genuine mentions on other sites are worth having.
When you move or change number
Update your Business Profile first, then your website, then every listing you can find. Keep a simple list of where you’re listed, so the next change takes minutes rather than an afternoon.
6. Keep the profile active and check what’s working
Updates and photos
Keep your hours right, especially around bank holidays, add new photos as you go and post an update when you’ve got something worth saying: new work, a new service, a change to your hours. Google’s own tips put up-to-date hours and photos on the list.
The Performance view in your profile
Your profile has a Performance view that shows how many people viewed it, the searches they used to find you and what they did next, such as calling, asking for directions or clicking through to your website. Check it once a month. It’s the easiest way to see whether the work is paying off.
Your local SEO checklist: where to start if you only have an hour
- Check your profile is verified, and that your name, address or service area, phone number and hours are right.
- Choose the most specific primary category.
- Make sure your website shows the same name, address and phone number.
- Create a review link and send it to your recent customers.
- Reply to any reviews still waiting for an answer.
If you’d rather hand it over, have a look at our SEO services, and if you’re comparing options, here’s how to choose an SEO agency.
You can email us at hello@thesocialbay.co.uk, fill in our start a project form, or call or message us on 07441 918230.
Frequently asked questions about local SEO
Do I need a business address to show on the map?
No. If you travel to your customers, you can set a service area and hide your address. What you can’t use is a PO box or a virtual office.
Do reviews help you show on Google Maps?
Yes. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. They also help people choose you once they’ve found you.
Do Google Business Profile posts help?
Google’s own tips for improving your local ranking don’t mention posts. We’d still post when you’ve got news or new work to show, because it tells people the business is active, but we wouldn’t expect posts alone to move you up the map.
How long does local SEO take to work?
It depends on where you start: how complete your profile is, how many reviews you have compared with the businesses around you and how competitive your area is. Some fixes, like correcting your category or your details, are quick to make. Building up reviews and mentions takes months rather than weeks. Check your Performance view each month so you can see the trend.
How can I check how my local SEO is doing?
Start with your profile’s Performance view. Then search for what you do the way a customer would, on your phone, from where your customers are, and see who shows on the map. Because distance is one of Google’s factors, a search from your own desk only tells you part of the story.