The technical floor. Run the Technical SEO Checklist for the full 40-point audit. If the foundation is shaky, nothing else works.
critical
Local SEO Checklist.
Fifty points across seven categories. The meta-checklist that ties every other surface together — technical foundation, on-page, Google Business Profile, citations, reviews, content, and competitive positioning.
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01 · Technical foundation
No accidental production blocks. Sitemap submitted to GSC. See the Robots.txt Generator if you're unsure.
critical
LocalBusiness on homepage (referenced via @id elsewhere), BreadcrumbList on every non-home page. Use the Schema Generator.
critical
Pick one canonical form and stick with it everywhere — sitemap, canonical tags, internal links, GBP website field, citation entries.
high
Test with PageSpeed Insights field data, not just lab data. Field data reflects real user experience and is what Google uses for ranking signals.
high
GSC verified with ownership confirmed. GA4 with enhanced measurement on. Both sharing access with at least one backup person. These are diagnostic essentials.
critical
Downtime during Googlebot crawls hurts rankings. Aim for 99.9%+ uptime. Use a monitoring service (UptimeRobot, Pingdom) to alert on outages.
high
02 · On-page SEO
Every page has a unique title that includes the primary query + brand. Check GSC for title rewrites by Google (indicates your titles aren't aligning well).
critical
Google rewrites ~60% of meta descriptions in SERPs anyway — write for the 40% that get through. Include a clear value proposition and ideally a CTA.
high
One H1 per page. Not identical to the title tag (search engines hate exact duplication). Should express the page's primary topic in user-facing language.
critical
No skipping levels (H1 → H3 skips H2). Subheadings reflect real content sections, not stylistic choices. Screen readers navigate by heading structure.
high
Alt text describes the image for screen readers AND feeds image search. Generic alt like 'image1' or repeated keywords are worse than no alt. One sentence per image.
high
Not keyword-stuffed — naturally. If it takes effort to fit in, the page probably isn't well-matched to the query. Let the topic do the work.
ongoing
Thin service pages don't rank. 600 words is a floor, not a target. Write enough to fully answer the query — which is usually 1,000-2,500 for competitive verticals.
high
03 · Google Business Profile
First and foremost. See the full 35-point GBP checklist.
critical
The single biggest ranking lever in local SEO. See GBP checklist for specifics.
critical
Up to 9 secondaries. Cover each distinct service line you want ranking for.
critical
Minimum 10 photos. Geotagged via phone EXIF. Refreshed quarterly to signal an active business.
highongoing
Offer posts, events, updates. Every post has an image and CTA button.
ongoing
Recency matters more than total volume after a threshold. See the Review Acquisition Checklist.
criticalongoing
Positive, neutral, negative — all responded to. Templates available at review-responses.
criticalongoing
Preempt common questions. Covers hours, pricing, services, payment methods, emergency availability.
high
04 · Citations & listings
Use the NAP Checker to audit. Inconsistencies suppress map pack visibility.
critical
Six high-authority sites that feed most other aggregators. All claimed and populated with canonical NAP.
critical
These feed hundreds of downstream directories. Fix upstream; the ecosystem updates over weeks.
high
Medical: Healthgrades. Legal: Avvo. Home services: Angi, Houzz. Auto: CarGurus. Match your vertical.
high
Duplicates dilute authority and confuse Google. Search your business name + variations on each Tier 1 site. Request removal of any duplicates.
high
Real-world membership citations carry trust weight. Local chambers, industry associations, certifications — each adds a high-quality backlink.
ongoing
If your canonical is acmehvac.com, every citation shows that — not acmehvac.com/specials or a tracking URL. Consistency is the point.
high
05 · Reviews & reputation
Google is primary (target 60-70% of new reviews there). Other platforms rotated for diversity.
criticalongoing
Below 4.5 and CTR from SERPs drops measurably. Below 4.0 and you're filtered out of many searches entirely.
critical
SMS/email triggered by service completion. 48-hour delay. Single-click review link. See full acquisition checklist.
high
Response speed is a ranking signal per Google. Use templates (50 available) to maintain quality at speed.
highongoing
Someone's job to acknowledge, investigate, take offline, and resolve. Template language ready. Escalation path clear.
high
Track attempts. Report via Google's flag tool. Document with screenshots. Most real fake reviews eventually get removed — persistence matters.
ongoing
06 · Content & pages
Each distinct service gets its own URL, H1, meta, schema. 'HVAC services' landing page + 'AC repair' + 'Furnace install' + 'Duct cleaning' — each ranks for its specific query.
high
Real city pages — unique content reflecting actual local presence, not boilerplate. Gilbert page mentions Gilbert-specific context (ZIPs, neighborhoods, nearby landmarks).
high
Consistency matters. Signals active site to crawlers. Feeds internal-linking opportunities. Long-tail query capture compounds.
ongoing
FAQ hub at /faqs. Individual pages at /faqs/{slug} with FAQPage schema. Surface in AI Overviews and featured snippets.
high
Top pages reviewed yearly. Update dates, stats, screenshots, broken links. Run the Content Audit Checklist annually.
ongoing
Pillar page links to all subtopic pages; subtopics link back up and across. Reinforces topical authority signals.
high
Thin service pages, tag archives, author pages, paginated sequences. Either expand, consolidate, or noindex.
high
Identify your 5-10 best-performing or highest-intent pages. Pitch those pages for guest posts, roundups, citations. Link equity compounds.
ongoing
07 · Competitor analysis
Who consistently shows up in map pack + organic for your core queries. Document their GBP, site, review count, content strategy.
high
What primary category did they pick? What photos just started appearing? Where are they gaining review velocity? Competitive intelligence compounds.
ongoing
What are they ranking for that you're not? Ahrefs / Semrush content gap reports. Each gap is a ranking opportunity if the query has intent for your business.
high
Where are they getting links from? Industry directories, PR hits, sponsorships, guest posts. Replicate what's replicable.
ongoing
Tool: Local Falcon, BrightLocal, or GeoRanker. Grid-based tracking shows visibility at address-level granularity. Trends matter more than absolute positions.
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Are they getting 30 reviews a month while you get 3? That's a ranking gap that won't close with technical work alone.
ongoing
Virtual office addresses, keyword-stuffed business names, fake locations. Google's spam removal is inconsistent but not zero. Report systematically.
ongoing
Start here
This checklist is the meta. An audit is the map .
Running through 50 points tells you what exists. The $197 audit tells you what's actually limiting YOUR business — which 10 of the 50 points will move the needle most in the next 90 days.