Local SEO checklist for small businesses

Local SEO is everything you do so that people nearby find you when they search for your service on Google and in maps: "hairdresser Lozenets", "car service Plovdiv", "dentist near me". If you run a salon, a restaurant, a workshop or a clinic, here is the short version: verify and complete your Google profile, write your name, address and phone number the same way everywhere, give your services and towns their own pages, collect reviews, and earn links from local websites. Below is the full list, item by item, so you can work through it yourself in an afternoon or two.

What local SEO actually is

Local SEO is the part of search engine optimisation aimed at searches tied to a specific place [1]. The difference from "regular" SEO is that you are not competing with the whole internet, only with the businesses around you. That is why a small business has a real chance.

Google explains that local results are based mainly 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) [2]. You cannot change the distance. The other two are entirely up to you, and that is what this checklist is about.

1. Your Google profile: the foundation

If you only have time for one thing, do this. Your Google Business Profile is what people see in maps and on the right of the results. Google itself says that businesses with complete information are more likely to show up in local results, and that verifying your profile makes it more likely to appear [2]. If you do not have a profile yet, start with how to set up your Google Business Profile, step by step.

• The profile is verified and you have access to it.
• The name is exactly your real-world business name, as on your sign and website. Google's guidelines do not allow unnecessary information in the name, such as keywords or a neighbourhood [3].
• The primary category describes exactly what you do; extra categories are only for services you really offer.
• The address is precise. If you visit customers (plumbing, roadside assistance, cleaning) and do not serve them at your address, remove the address and set service areas instead [3].
• Your service areas are realistic. Google allows up to 20 service areas and advises that the overall area should not be more than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based [4].
• The phone number connects to this location, and your website is listed.
• Your opening hours are correct, including special hours for holidays [2].
• There are real photos of your premises, team and work, not stock images. More in website photos: why real beats stock.

2. Name, address and phone: identical everywhere

This is often called NAP (name, address, phone). The idea is simple: your name, address and phone number should look the same everywhere you are mentioned online. Mentions of your business on other websites, for example in a chamber of commerce directory, are called "citations" [1].

When your website says "12 Ivan Vazov St", Facebook says "Iv. Vazov 12, 2nd floor" and an old directory still shows the phone number from three years ago, people and search engines both get confused. So:

• On your website, your name, address and phone are written as text (not only in an image), usually at the bottom of every page and on the contact page.
• They match your Google profile letter for letter.
• Your Facebook page, Instagram profile and any industry directories show the same details.
• Add your business to Apple's maps too. Apple Business Connect (now part of Apple Business) is a free tool that lets businesses claim and manage their place card in Apple Maps and other Apple apps [5].
• Old addresses and phone numbers are corrected or removed, and duplicate listings are merged.

3. Your website: pages that answer local searches

The profile brings people in; the website convinces them. For local SEO your site needs a few things:

• A separate page for each main service. If "hair colouring" and "manicure" share one general page, neither service gets a place of its own where Google can send someone searching for exactly that. To find the words people actually use, see keyword research for small businesses.
• The town in your titles. The page title and main heading name the service and the place, for example "Bathroom renovation in Sofia". See page titles and meta descriptions that get clicks.
• City pages, only if you work in several towns. Each needs genuinely local content, not the same text with a different name. Details in website pages by city.
• A map and directions on the contact page, plus a call button that works with one tap on a phone.
• Your site actually shows up on Google. If you are not sure, go through why my website is not on Google.

4. Reviews: trust and visibility at once

Reviews are one of the first things people check before they call you. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, and recommends replying to them, because it shows customers you value their feedback [2].

• You have a direct review link and send it after every job done well.
• You reply to every review, good and bad, calmly and personally.
• You never buy reviews or offer discounts in exchange for them.

In detail, with a sample message for customers: how to get more Google reviews.

5. Local links and mentions

Your prominence also depends on how many websites link to your business [2]. This is not about hundreds of links, but a few real ones from your area:

• Suppliers and partners you work with have a "Partners" or "Where to find us" page.
• Your trade association or chamber of commerce has a member directory.
• Local media have written about you: an opening, an event, an interesting project.
• You have sponsored a local team, festival or school event, and your name is on their website.

Do not buy link packages. Google's spam policies explicitly name buying or selling links for ranking purposes as spam [6]. One link from the local paper is worth more than a hundred from sites nobody has heard of.

How to tell if it is working

Local SEO does not pay off in a week. How long it takes and what it depends on is explained in how long does SEO take. Meanwhile, keep an eye on two places: the performance stats in your Google profile (calls, direction requests, website clicks) and Google Search Console, where you can see which searches your site appears for. If searches that include your town are growing, you are heading the right way.

A short list to print

1. Verify your Google profile and complete it fully.
2. Check the name, category, address or service areas.
3. Update your opening hours, including holidays.
4. Upload real photos.
5. Write your name, address and phone the same way on your site and everywhere else.
6. Add your business to Apple Maps.
7. Give each main service its own page, with the town in the title.
8. Add a map and a call button to your contact page.
9. Ask for reviews and reply to every one.
10. Earn two or three links from local partners, associations or media.

If you would rather have someone else look after the website, Studio V1 builds small-business websites with an SEO-ready setup, hosting and maintenance for about €50 a month, and the first version goes live within 7 business days. See what the plan includes or get in touch and we will go through the list together.

References

1. Wikipedia. "Local search engine optimization." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_search_engine_optimization
2. Google Business Profile Help. "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google." support.google.com/business/answer/7091
3. Google Business Profile Help. "Guidelines for representing your business on Google." support.google.com/business/answer/3038177
4. Google Business Profile Help. "Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses." support.google.com/business/answer/9157481
5. Apple Newsroom. "Introducing Apple Business Connect." apple.com/newsroom
6. Google Search Central. "Spam policies for Google web search." developers.google.com/search