Local SEO Checklist for Service Businesses

Local SEO is the work of appearing when people near you search for what you do. It differs from general SEO in one important way: location and reputation count for as much as the website itself.

Work through this list from the top. The earlier items matter most.

Google Business Profile

• Profile claimed and verified
• Business name matches your signage exactly
• Primary category is the most specific fit
• Service area or address is accurate
• Hours are correct, including holidays
• Services listed with descriptions
• At least ten real, recent photos
• Website link points to the right page

More detail: how to improve your Google Business Profile.

Name, address and phone consistency

Google cross-checks your details across the web. Inconsistencies create doubt.

• Decide on one exact format for your name, address and phone number
• Use that format on your website, in the footer of every page
• Update it on Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places and any industry directories
• Fix or remove old listings with a previous address or number

You do not need hundreds of directory listings. A dozen accurate ones on sites people actually use is plenty.

Your website

• Each service has its own page
• Page titles include the service and the area, written naturally
• The homepage states where you work
• Phone number is tap-to-call on mobile
• The site loads quickly on a phone
• A contact page shows your name, address or service area, phone and hours
• A map or a clear description of your service area is included

About location pages

If you serve several towns, you may be tempted to create a page for each one. That works only when each page says something specific and true about that place: jobs you have done there, local regulations, travel or call-out details, photos.

Twenty pages that are identical apart from the town name are what Google calls doorway pages, and they can hurt the whole site. Three good location pages beat thirty copies.

Reviews

• You ask every satisfied customer for a review
• You send a direct link to the review form
• You reply to every review
• You have reviews on at least one platform besides Google that matters in your industry

Steady, recent reviews count for more than a burst two years ago.

Local reputation

• Listed with your chamber of commerce or trade association
• Listed by suppliers or manufacturers that publish installer directories
• Linked from any local organizations you sponsor or support
• Mentioned in local news or community sites where you have a genuine story

Tracking

• Google Search Console is set up and you look at it monthly
• You know which searches bring people to your site
• You ask new customers how they found you and write it down

That last one is low-tech and surprisingly valuable. Analytics cannot tell you that someone saw your van, then searched your name.

What to expect

Local results can shift faster than ordinary search results, because a complete profile and a handful of new reviews are quick to act on. In a competitive area, expect it to take months of steady effort to move into the top three. How long SEO takes explains why.