The local SEO checklist I use for every new client

When a new client comes to me, the first thing I do is run through a checklist. It is not complicated, but it is thorough, and it shows very quickly where the biggest gaps are. I am sharing it here so you can run it on your own business. Tick each item honestly. Most businesses I audit score between 15 and 25 out of 40, which means there is almost always room to grow.

Section 1: Google Business Profile (12 points)

1. The profile is claimed and verified, and you (not an agency) are the primary owner.
2. The business name matches your real signage and documents exactly, with no added keywords.
3. The primary category is the most specific one that matches your main service, checked against your top competitors.
4. Relevant secondary categories are added, and irrelevant ones removed.
5. The address is correct and the pin is placed on your actual entrance, or the address is hidden if you are a service area business.
6. Business hours, including holiday hours, are accurate.
7. The phone number is a local number that matches your website and directories.
8. The website link goes to the most relevant page, not just the home page.
9. Every real service is listed with a short description, and products are added if relevant.
10. The description clearly explains what you do, for whom and where, in natural language.
11. At least 20 real photos are uploaded, including exterior, interior, team and work, with new photos added monthly.
12. Google posts are published at least weekly.

Section 2: Reviews (6 points)

13. You have a simple, regular process for asking customers for reviews.
14. You receive new reviews every month, not in occasional bursts.
15. Many reviews mention specific services and your area naturally.
16. Every review, positive or negative, receives a thoughtful reply.
17. Your rating and review count are comparable to the businesses in the top three for your main search.
18. You never buy reviews, offer rewards for them or filter unhappy customers away from Google.

For more on this, see how to get more Google reviews.

Section 3: Website (10 points)

19. The site loads in under three seconds on a mid-range phone using mobile data.
20. Every main service has its own page with a clear, specific title.
21. Each page has a unique title tag and meta description that mention the service and area.
22. Your name, address and phone appear on the site, exactly matching your Google profile.
23. Calling, WhatsApp and directions are one tap away on mobile.
24. LocalBusiness schema markup is present and accurate.
25. Pages are indexed in Google Search Console, with no major coverage errors.
26. Location pages exist only for areas you genuinely serve, each with unique, useful content.
27. Each important page includes a short FAQ answering real customer questions.
28. Internal links connect services, locations and helpful articles logically.

Section 4: Citations and consistency (5 points)

29. You are listed on the main directories for your country, such as Justdial, Sulekha and IndiaMART in India, or Yelp, BBB and Apple Business Connect in the US.
30. You are listed on the main directories for your industry, such as Practo for doctors or Zomato for restaurants.
31. Your name, address and phone are identical across all of them.
32. Old or duplicate listings have been removed or corrected.
33. Your social profiles show the same details and link to your website.

Section 5: Links and mentions (3 points)

34. You have links from at least a few local sources, such as news sites, associations, sponsors or partners.
35. You have links from relevant industry sites.
36. You avoid paid link packages, private blog networks and spammy directories.

Section 6: AI search visibility (4 points)

37. When you ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for businesses like yours in your area, you check whether you are mentioned and how you are described.
38. Your business facts, such as services, hours, location and founding year, are consistent everywhere AI tools might read them.
39. Your website answers common customer questions directly, in clear, answer-first paragraphs.
40. Your site has structured data and an About page that explains who you are and why you are credible.

My AEO and GEO guide explains the AI section in detail.

How to use your score

• Under 20: There are fundamental gaps. Fixing the Google profile and NAP consistency should come first and will likely show results quickly.
• 20 to 30: The basics are in place but there is room to grow. Focus on reviews, the website and citations.
• Over 30: You are ahead of most competitors. Progress now comes from consistency, content and authority building.

The order to fix things

If you are short on time, work in this order: primary category, NAP consistency, profile completeness, review process, landing page, then everything else. Doing things out of order, such as building links before fixing basic profile errors, is the most common way local SEO budgets get wasted.

For the detailed method behind many of these points, see how to rank higher on Google Maps.

Your weekly, monthly and quarterly routine

A checklist gets you to a good starting point. Rankings come from what you do afterwards, consistently. Here is the routine I follow for clients, which you can adapt if you are doing it yourself.

Every week

• Publish at least one Google post about a service, offer, update or common question.
• Reply to every new review.
• Answer any new questions on the profile and check messages.
• Ask customers for reviews at the right moment, using your direct link.

Every month

• Upload a few new photos of your premises, team or work.
• Review your Business Profile performance: calls, directions, website clicks and search terms.
• Check Search Console for new errors and for queries that bring traffic.
• Add or correct a handful of citations.
• Check that no one has edited your profile details without your knowledge. Google accepts suggested edits from the public, and they are sometimes wrong.
• Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity about businesses like yours in your area, and note whether you are mentioned.

Every quarter

• Re-run this full checklist.
• Compare yourself with the top three competitors again: categories, reviews, photos and website.
• Update service pages with new information, prices or FAQs.
• Plan content or posts for seasonal peaks in the coming months.
• Look for new local link opportunities, such as events, partnerships and associations.

Common mistakes when working through the checklist

• Changing everything at once. Big simultaneous edits to name, address and categories can trigger re-verification or suspension. Make important changes one at a time.
• Adding keywords to the business name. It may seem like a shortcut, but it breaks Google’s guidelines and is often reported by competitors.
• Creating many thin location pages. Ten pages with only the area name changed will not help and may hurt.
• Buying citation packages. Hundreds of low-quality directory listings add little and are hard to keep consistent.
• Ignoring the website. A great profile linked to a slow, unclear website loses customers at the last step.
• Stopping after a good month. Competitors keep working. Rankings drift if activity stops.

Free tools to work through the checklist

• Google Business Profile dashboard for profile status, performance and reviews.
• Google Search Console for indexing, coverage errors and search queries.
• PageSpeed Insights for mobile speed and Core Web Vitals.
• Google’s Rich Results Test for checking schema markup.
• An incognito browser window for checking how you appear without personalisation.
• A simple spreadsheet for tracking citations and review counts month by month.

Checklist variations by business type

Some points matter more in certain categories:

• Clinics and hospitals: practitioner profiles, doctor credentials on the website, and careful review replies. See local SEO for doctors and clinics.
• Restaurants and cafes: menu, photos, hours and food platform listings matter more than blog content.
• Service area businesses: hidden address, realistic service area and strong area pages on the website.
• Manufacturers and B2B: product pages, IndiaMART and industry directories, and a credible factory profile.
• Multi-location brands: one profile and one landing page per real location, with consistent naming.

Frequently asked questions

Written by Hemant Chaudhary

Freelance Local SEO and Google Business Profile specialist in Chandigarh since 2011. Top Rated on Upwork with a 100% Job Success Score. More about me.