Local SEO checklist for small businesses

If you serve customers in a town or area, this local SEO checklist is for you. Local search is where small businesses can genuinely beat bigger ones, because Google wants to show people something nearby and relevant, not just the biggest brand. The work isn't glamorous. It's mostly getting the basics right and keeping them right.

No one can promise you the top spot. What you can do is remove every reason for Google to overlook you. Here's how.

1. Google Business Profile

This is the big one for showing up on Google Maps and in the local results. If you only do one section, do this.

• Claim and verify your profile at business.google.com.
• Use your real business name. No added keywords or town names that aren't part of your actual name.
• Pick the most accurate primary category, then add relevant secondary categories.
• Add every service you offer, with short descriptions.
• Set your service area if you go to customers, or show your address if they come to you.
• Add correct opening hours, plus special hours for bank holidays.
• Write a clear business description: what you do, where, and for whom.
• Upload real photos: your work, your premises, your team, your van.
• Add your website link and phone number.
• Post updates now and then: offers, news, recent jobs.

I go into far more detail in how to rank on Google Maps.

2. NAP consistency

NAP means name, address, phone. Google cross-checks these across the web. If your old address is on one site and your new one on another, that's confusing for Google and for customers.

• Decide on one exact format for your business name, address and phone number.
• Use it on your website footer and contact page.
• Use it on your Google Business Profile.
• Use it on every directory and social profile.
• Pick one phone number for listings and stick with it.
• If you've moved or changed number, hunt down and update the old details.

3. Citations and directories

A citation is any mention of your business details on another site. Quality and accuracy matter more than quantity.

• Apple Business Connect (for Apple Maps).
• Bing Places for Business.
• Facebook business page.
• Relevant UK directories such as Yell, Thomson Local and Yelp.
• Trade bodies and accreditation schemes you belong to.
• Trade-specific directories for your industry.
• Local directories: chamber of commerce, local business groups, community sites.
• Check each one shows your exact NAP and your website link.

Skip the paid "submit to 500 directories" packages. You want the listings real customers use.

4. Reviews

Google says reviews and ratings are part of how prominent a business is in local results. They're also what customers read before they ring you.

• Get your direct Google review link from your profile.
• Ask every happy customer, ideally soon after the job.
• Make it easy: text or email the link, or put a QR code on invoices.
• Reply to every review, good and bad, politely.
• Never pay for reviews, offer rewards for them or only ask happy customers. That breaks Google's rules, and fake reviews are now banned under UK consumer law.

The full how-to is in how to get more Google reviews.

5. Your website and local pages

Your Google profile needs a decent website behind it. Google uses your site to understand what you do and where.

• Put your main service and town in your home page title and main heading, naturally.
• Create one page per main service. "Boiler repair" and "bathroom fitting" shouldn't share a page.
• If you cover several towns, create genuinely useful pages for your main areas. Talk about real jobs, local details and how you get there. Don't copy and paste the same page with the town name swapped.
• Show your NAP in the footer of every page.
• Embed a Google map on your contact page.
• Write unique page titles and meta descriptions for every page.
• Use clear headings (one H1 per page).
• Add alt text to images that describes them.
• Link your pages together sensibly, for example from a service to the areas you cover.
• Make the enquiry route obvious: phone number and form on every page.

6. Schema markup

Schema is structured data in your page code that spells out your business details for search engines.

• Add LocalBusiness schema (or a more specific type, like Plumber or Restaurant) with name, address, phone, hours and website.
• Make sure the schema details match your NAP exactly.
• Add FAQPage schema to pages with visible FAQs.
• Test it with Google's Rich Results Test and fix any errors.

7. Site speed

A slow site loses people, especially on a phone signal in a car park. Google also measures real-world page experience through Core Web Vitals.

• Test your home page in PageSpeed Insights.
• Compress images and use modern formats like WebP.
• Cut out heavy plugins, sliders and scripts you don't need.
• Use good hosting with caching.

Step-by-step fixes are in my website speed and Lighthouse 100 guide.

8. Mobile

Most local searches happen on phones. Google primarily uses the mobile version of a site for indexing.

• Check every page on an actual phone, not just a resized browser.
• Make the phone number a tap-to-call link.
• Keep buttons big enough to tap with a thumb.
• Make text readable without zooming.
• Keep forms short. Name, phone, what you need.
• No pop-ups covering the page on mobile.

9. Measure what's working

• Set up Google Search Console and submit your sitemap.
• Check the Performance report for the searches you appear for.
• Check your Google Business Profile performance for calls, website clicks and direction requests.
• Ask new customers how they found you. Simple, and it works.

10. Your monthly local SEO routine

1. Post one or two updates on your Google Business Profile.
2. Add a few new photos.
3. Ask recent customers for reviews and reply to any new ones.
4. Check your hours, especially around bank holidays.
5. Answer any new questions on your profile.
6. Glance at Search Console for any errors.

Posting regularly on social media helps keep you visible too. If that's a chore, see what to post on social media.

Local SEO mistakes to avoid

• Keyword stuffing your business name on Google. It breaks Google's guidelines and can get your profile suspended.
• Fake addresses. Virtual offices and PO boxes aren't allowed as locations on Google Business Profile.
• Copy-paste town pages. Twenty pages with the same text and a different town name are thin content and do you no favours.
• Several phone numbers spread across listings, so nothing matches.
• Buying reviews or links. Against Google's rules, and fake reviews are against UK consumer law.
• Set and forget. Hours change, services change, people move. Old details cause wrong turns and bad reviews.
• Ignoring the website. A great Google profile pointing at a slow, confusing site wastes the click.

If you only have an hour

Short on time? Do these first, in this order:

1. Claim and verify your Google Business Profile.
2. Set your primary category, services, hours and description.
3. Make sure your name, address and phone match on your website and profile.
4. Upload ten real photos.
5. Text your review link to five recent happy customers.
6. Run your home page through PageSpeed Insights and note the biggest problem.

Then come back to the rest of the list a section at a time.

Keep a simple note of what you've done and when. It makes the monthly routine much quicker.

How I can help

I can take most of this list off your hands. My Google Business Profile set-up and optimisation covers categories, services, photos, posts and hours. The SEO, speed and accessibility tune-up handles titles, schema, speed and mobile on your site. Both are £100 each, paid once, with a £25-a-month website.

Get found locally