Whether you’re a local banana stand or a multinational coconut distributor, Google offers various platforms to help you reach your target audience when they’re looking for what you do. In this guide, we’ll explore three primary ways to get your business on Google, touch on the benefits of each, and then swing into action with how-to’s to help you get started.

Let’s get it on!

Table of Contents: How to Get Your Business on Google

• Three Ways to Get Your Business on Google
  • Google Business Profile
  • Google Ads
  • Google Organic
• Where Do You Want Your Business on Google
• Google SERP Overview
• How to Get Your Business on Google: Steps to Success
  • Google Business Profile
  • Google Ads
  • Google Organic
• Use Our Google Business Profile Setup Service

Three Ways to Get Your Business on Google

As the world’s leading search engine, Google offers multiple avenues for businesses to connect with potential customers. Let’s explore the three primary methods to ensure your business stands out and effectively reaches its target audience on Google.

1. Google Business Profile

Ideal for local businesses wanting to increase their visibility in local searches and on Google Maps. Formerly known as Google My Business, the Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free tool that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. 

When users search for businesses near them or specific services in their vicinity, Google Business Profile listings often appear at the top of search results, prominently featuring on Google Maps as well. In fact, a staggering 64% of consumers have used Google Business Profiles to find businesses and their contact information.

This platform is not just a directory; it’s an interactive profile that can engage customers and drive traffic both online and offline.

Here’s why it’s essential:

• Visibility: By setting up a GBP, your business can appear in local searches, making it easier for customers to find you.
• Engagement: Customers can leave reviews, ask questions, and even book appointments directly from your profile.
• Insights: Google provides analytics on how customers searched for your business and where they come from.

2. Google Ads

Suitable for businesses looking for immediate visibility and have a budget for advertising. Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that allows businesses to display their ads on Google’s search results, partner websites, and YouTube. With its pay-per-click (PPC) model, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, making it a cost-effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website. 

Here’s why it’s beneficial:

• Targeted Reach: You can target specific keywords, demographics, and locations.
• Flexibility: Set your budget, choose where your ads appear, and adjust campaigns in real-time.
• Measurable: Track the performance of your ads and ROI with detailed analytics.

3. Google Organic

Perfect for businesses aiming for long-term visibility and are willing to invest time and effort into SEO. Organic search refers to the non-paid results that appear in Google’s search engine result pages (SERPs). 

These listings are determined by Google’s algorithm, which considers hundreds of factors to rank websites. Climbing the organic rankings requires a strategic approach to local search engine optimization (SEO) that will require continual investment in order to see maximum results.

Here’s why it’s crucial:

• Credibility: Websites that rank high organically are often viewed as more trustworthy by users.
• Cost-Effective: Unlike paid ads, organic traffic is free. However, it requires consistent SEO efforts.
• Long-Term Results: Once you rank high organically, you can maintain that position with regular updates and quality content.

Where Do You Want Your Business on Google?

Deciding where you want your business to appear on Google depends on your goals. Here’s how you can prioritize the three opportunities. 

1. If you want immediate visibility and have a budget, Google Ads might be the way to go. 
2. For local businesses wanting to attract nearby customers, a Google Business Profile is essential. 
3. And for long-term, sustainable visibility, investing in organic SEO is crucial.

In a perfect world you would be investing into all three ways to get your business on Google.

The more links you have on a Google’s local search engine results page (SERP) the more likely you are to earn a click. Plus, appearing multiple times within the local SERP reinforces that your business is a prominent one in Google’s eyes.

Google SERP Overview

The Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is where users see the results of their queries. It consists of:

• Paid Ads: These are at the top and bottom of the page and are marked as “Ad.”
• Local Pack: This section displays local businesses related to the search query and is directly linked to Google Business Profile listings.
• Organic Results: These are non-paid listings that Google deems most relevant to the user’s query.

Understanding the SERP components can help you strategize where you want your business to appear. Ideally, you want to get your business on Google in all three spots.

How to Get Your Business on Google: Steps to Success

Now that you have an idea of where your business can appear on Google, let’s talk about some specific steps you can take. Below we’ll guide you through a streamlined approach to getting your business on Google, laying out the essential steps to successfully establish and enhance your business’s footprint on the mighty search engine. At the end of each section we will include additional links to more in-depth guides or information that can help support your efforts.

Google Business Profile: 

If you do not have a Google Business Profile, you can create one for your business for free. You can also use our Google My Business Setup Service for a quick and easy way to get an optimized profile.

How to Set Up a Google Business Profile:

1. Visit the Google Business Profile Website: Navigate to the official GBP site to start the process.
2. Sign In: Click on “Manage Now” and sign in using your Google account. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create it.
3. Enter Business Details: Provide accurate information about your business, including its name, address, phone number, and category. This information will be visible to users, so ensure it’s correct and consistent with other online listings.
4. Verification: Google will send a postcard with a verification code to the business address you provided. This step is crucial to confirm the authenticity and location of your business. Once you receive the postcard, enter the code on the GBP platform to verify your listing.
5. Optimize Your Profile:
   1. Photos: Upload high-quality images of your business, products, services, and team. This gives potential customers a visual insight into what you offer.
   2. Hours of Operation: Clearly state when you’re open or closed. This helps customers plan their visits.
   3. Business Description: Write a concise and engaging description, highlighting what sets your business apart.
   4. Services/Menu: If applicable, list the services you offer or the menu items if you’re a restaurant.
   5. Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews and always respond to feedback, both positive and negative, to show you value customer input.

By setting up and optimizing your Google Business Profile, you’re taking a significant step towards enhancing your local online presence, attracting more customers, and building trust in your community.

Google Ads: 

If you want to start getting calls and leads right away, you’re going to need a Google Ads account. If you do not have one, don’t worry. You can get one set up for your business (or have us do it for you) with a bit of time and effort. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started:

1. Visit the Google Ads Website and Sign Up: Navigate to the official Google Ads website. If you already have a Google account, you can use it to sign in. If not, you’ll need to create one. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your Google Ads account.
2. Set Your Advertising Goals and Budget:
   1. Determine Your Goals: Before creating an ad, decide what you want to achieve. This could be increasing website visits, generating leads, making sales, or raising brand awareness. You should also know how many leads you need, since this will influence your budget.
   2. Decide on a Budget: Google Ads operates on a daily budget. Determine how much you’re willing to spend each day. Remember, you only pay when someone interacts with your ad, so allocate a budget that makes sense based on your conversion metrics. The goal is to get your campaigns to a Cost Per Lead (CPL) that fits your profitability.
3. Create Your Ad and Choose Your Target Audience:
   1. Ad Types: Google Ads offers various ad formats, including search ads, display ads, video ads, and shopping ads. Choose the one that best fits your campaign goals.
   2. Keyword Research: For search ads, identify keywords relevant to your business. These are the terms users might type into Google when looking for products or services like yours.
   3. Targeting Options: Google Ads provides a plethora of targeting options. You can target based on demographics, location, interests, behaviors, and more. This ensures your ads reach the most relevant audience.
   4. Ad Copy: Write compelling ad copy that resonates with your target audience. Include a clear call-to-action (CTA) to prompt users to take the desired action.
4. Monitor and Optimize Your Campaigns for Better Results:
   1. Analyze Performance: Regularly check your Google Ads dashboard to see how your ads are performing. Look for metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
   2. A/B Testing: Experiment with different ad variations to see which one performs best. This could involve testing different headlines, ad copy, or CTAs.
   3. Adjust Budget: Based on the performance, you might want to increase the budget for high-performing ads or reduce it for those not delivering desired results.
   4. Refine Targeting: Over time, you’ll gather data on which audience segments are most responsive. Use this information to refine your targeting and reach users more likely to convert.

Google Ads is a dynamic platform that, when used effectively, can drive significant traffic and conversions for businesses. By setting clear goals, continuously monitoring performance, and making necessary optimizations, you can make the most of your advertising budget and achieve your business objectives.

Google Organic: 

You’re going to need a website if you want to show up in the Google Organic search results. That’s too large of a tutorial for this guide, but we do have some SEO tips to help guide your website optimization efforts.

How to Improve Organic Ranking:

1. Create High-Quality, Relevant Content:
   1. Understand Your Audience: Research and identify what your target audience is searching for. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to gain insights.
   2. Regularly Update Content: Fresh, updated content is favored by search engines. Regularly update your blog, articles, and other site content.
   3. Use Relevant Keywords: Incorporate keywords naturally within your content. Avoid keyword stuffing, as it can harm your rankings.
2. Optimize Your Website for Mobile:
   1. Responsive Design: Ensure your website adjusts and looks good on all devices, including smartphones and tablets.
   2. Mobile-Friendly Test: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check if your site meets mobile optimization standards.
3. Build Backlinks from Reputable Sources:
   1. Guest Posting: Write articles for reputable websites in your industry and include a link back to your site.
   2. Engage in the Community: Participate in forums, webinars, and other community events to build relationships and earn backlinks.
   3. Online PR: Reach out to bloggers and journalists with stories about your company and content you’ve created that their audience may find valuable.
4. Ensure Your Website is Fast and User-Friendly:
   1. Page Speed: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site’s speed. Optimize images, use caching, and consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve load times.
   2. User Experience (UX): Ensure your website is easy to navigate, with a clear structure and intuitive design. A good UX can reduce bounce rates and increase time spent on your site.

Achieving a high organic ranking on Google requires time and effort, the benefits are substantial. By focusing on creating valuable content, optimizing for mobile, building quality backlinks, and ensuring a seamless user experience, businesses can enjoy sustained visibility, trust, and higher conversions from their audience.

Use Our Google Business Profile Setup Service

Google offers multiple platforms to help businesses reach their target audience. By understanding each platform’s benefits and implementing best practices, you can ensure that your business has a strong online presence on the world’s most popular search engine.

If you need a Google Business Profile and don’t have expertise or time to do it yourself, our Google Business Profile Set Up Service is perfect for you. Let one of our Google Business Profile experts get you set up and optimized today!

Unfortunately, you don’t have a big budget. In your attempt to try and save some money, you start looking into how you can do your own local SEO audit. You might even have reached out to a local marketing agency to inquire about their services and have been presented with an offer for a free local SEO audit.

Now you might be thinking that doing it yourself or getting a free local SEO is your ticket to low cost local SEO success. In reality, unless you’re already a local SEO expert, or savvy internet market, a DIY local SEO audit is going to cost you both money (for tools) and time (to do the work) which quickly add up.

Plus, that free local SEO audit offer is more of a sales tactic than a helping hand – no one would give away hours of time and decades of experience in local SEO for free unless they expected to be making it back somehow.

We know that as a company that offers a professional local SEO audit, we might seem biased, but these free local SEO audit offers and softwares are a waste of your time. It’s much easier to understand why your website isn’t getting any traffic and how to improve with a professional local SEO audit and action plan created by a local SEO expert who has your best interest in mind.

Let’s take a quick look at a local SEO audit and then get into why using a free local SEO audit to develop your strategies is a bad idea.

What is a Local SEO Audit?

Local SEO audits are different from traditional SEO Audits. Here’s how.

SEO audits are very beneficial. An audit is usually performed before planning a new website, content marketing, link building, or SEO campaign. SEO audits are also a great way to benchmark performance and even verify that SEO vendors are doing the right things for you.

Traditional SEO audits focus heavily on an analysis of your website and backlinks. This is because content and links are the two main factors that drive higher rankings in organic search results. Items such as indexing, page speed, page title optimization, backlink analysis, and other factors that improve organic search visibility are covered.

A local SEO audit is every bit as beneficial as a traditional SEO audit, but it’s a bit different. The main difference is that local SEO audits focuses on additional areas of your online presence, since there are different ranking factors for local SEO. (If you are not familiar with local SEO, feel free to learn more about it in our local SEO guide.)

Local SEO audits take into consideration your Google My Business profile (and maybe Bing Places), your listings on business and industry directories, as well as your online reviews. Of course, a local SEO audit will still include a review of your website, and backlinks, but this will be done through a local lens. For example, keyword targeting will be looked at for a particular city, town, or zip.

Often times you will see an offer for a free local SEO audit offers usually come from an agency, consultant, or software vendor. While you might be tempted to take them up on their offer and dream of local SEO success, the reality is that free local SEO audits are usually a bad idea.

Here’s 7 Reasons a Free Local SEO Audit is a Bad Idea

Why is a free local SEO audit a bad idea? There are several.

In general, free local SEO audits are a bad idea because you get what you pay for.

It takes years to master local SEO to the point where you can properly perform an audit. Professional local SEO audits also take hours, if not days, to complete. No one would give this away for free unless they were using it as a tool to make more money.

This means your free local SEO audit is usually used as a sales hook, a way for a company to get their foot in the door to sell you something. These audits often biased, light on details, and big on fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).

This is why we created Local SEO Audits. We were tired of free local SEO audits that were shilling bad data and agencies using them to sell services you don’t need. With Local SEO Audits, you get a professional audit performed by a local SEO consultant with years of experience and documented expertise helping companies around the world.

But, perhaps you’re not convinced just yet that you need to pay for a professional local SEO audit. It’s okay, here’s seven reasons you should consider running away from that free local SEO audit.

1. Results May Not Be Accurate

Free local SEO audits often rely heavily on software that often returns inaccurate information.

This is the major one for us. Free local SEO audits are not made to be accurate. Time and time again, we meet with clients who are frustrated after performing their own audit based on a free local SEO template or analysis software tool. The results often say the same thing that a generalized article would tell you about local SEO.

This information is typically not accurate or exclusive to your business. It’s a generalized result based on a few factors that may or may not even pertain to your business strategy and goals. When it comes to detailed information that’s helpful to your business, you need someone who is going to take the time to analyze your website and content correctly.

2. Misleading Grading and Scoring

Free local SEO audits use grading and scoring systems that are misleading at best.

Some software may lead you to believe that you need more content or a deeper analysis for recommendations, misleading you with inaccurate grades and scores so you’ll purchase the “pro” version.

In many cases, these free local SEO audit tools were designed to spit out scores with red underlining that will scare you into thinking that you need more help than you can do on your own. This is because they don’t want you to read further than the score. If you were shown the deeper analysis of what’s going on with your website, you may see some simple errors in the free local SEO audit that would take a few minutes to correct. In other cases, you may need more help to fix local SEO problems on your site, but these scores don’t provide a plan to do so.

3. Not Customized for Your Business

Free local SEO audits fail to take into account historic context and your future goals.

When you get a free local SEO audit, you probably found it off of a generic website or software company not related to your industry. If you want to start your strategy off with the right information, wouldn’t you want it to have knowledge of your business, what you do, and what you want to do in the future? These audits typically can’t go much further than showing you where to place content and sign up for Google My Business. There’s more to your local SEO content strategy than that.

4. Marketing Schemes to Sell You Software

Free local SEO audits are typically used as a way to sell you something, even if you don’t need it.

You already signed up for the free local SEO audit because you didn’t have the budget for something else, so why is this same company asking for your email address? Because you’ll likely receive an email about software and tools that you can buy to help with your website. However, this still won’t help with your local SEO strategy, which is all you wanted to find out about in the first place.

The software is only built to capture your information and make promises to you that the salesperson will follow up on. You may not even get any information to help with your business’ SEO strategy.

5. No Expert, Custom Analysis

Fee local SEO audits do not include insight about what was found (you’re left to draw your own conclusions).

There’s a bunch of numbers with no context or analysis below. It simply tells you that you don’t have the right keywords and backlinking strategy. What does that mean? What does it all mean? You will likely have to bring these results to an SEO analyst or consultant to help you figure out what’s going on with your site. A free local SEO audit isn’t going to do that much. What if you had just done that from the start?

6. Does Not Provide an Action Plan

Free local SEO audits lack the next steps you should take to improve your local SEO.

Finally, recommendations are not provided with free local SEO audit templates and software. You won’t see an action plan to help you rank up in local search results for your business. This means that you’ll still have to figure out all of the analysis and how to tactically execute a plan on your own.

7. No Q&A With Local SEO Experts

Free local SEO audits do not include discussion and feedback on what’s best for your situation.

What if you have questions about the results? Can you call a customer support line? Can you talk to your personal SEO analyst? Neither! You won’t be able to ask the right questions and get speedy answers with free software. Instead, you’ll have to wait or even worse, sign up for a sales demo to understand what the results mean and how to proceed with a new strategy.

What You Get with Professional Local SEO Audits

Why you should pay for a local SEO audit

As you can see, there are many reasons relying on a free local SEO audit to help your SEO efforts a bad idea. These reasons are a big reason why you should pay for a local SEO audit.

Here are a few more that we’ve heard directly from clients of ours:

1. Accurate Data and Analysis

A professional local SEO audit can offer accurate details of technical errors, content problems, missing information on profiles, negative reviews and other issues with your local online presence that are not allowing you to rank properly in local search results. The reason for this is professional local SEO audits are created using both software and the expertise of the auditor in order to make sure the data and analysis is accurate. Armed with this accurate data, you can expect to receive an accurate action plan that improves your rankings.

2. Access to All Information

A free local SEO audit is often only a surface level view that requires you to sign-up or pay for a “pro” version to get all the information and analysis. With professional local SEO audits you know upfront what you are going to get because it is outlined upfront. When it comes to your SEO efforts, you don’t want half the information, or better yet waste time thinking you got a deal only to find you have to pay more than you would have for professional audit. Remember, you get what you pay for.

3. Detailed, Expert Evaluation

There are many software companies out there that think they can develop a tool that makes the human element of SEO obsolete. While many have tried, all have failed: there is no such thing as a simple scan, diagnostic, or crawler that can replicate what an expert can do. The local SEO tools are definitely valuable (we use them daily), but they are not a replacement for experience and expertise.

This is partly because these tools are designed for one-size-fits all scenarios which is rarely the case with local SEO. These software tools lack context of your goals, and also all of the data required to make an honest representation as to what you should be doing (or stop doing). The only way to get this is by paying to have a local SEO expert deliver an audit.

4. Insights, Opportunities, and Threat Detection

What about helpful recommendations to grow your business and prepare for the future? We all want to understand our options when it comes to improving our search rankings, while also being mindful of threats that lie ahead. That’s why paid SEO audits do a complete SWOT analysis, as well as look at insights from your industry and audience, in order to turn the audit data into an actionable plan. It’s this analysis, not the benchmarking, or performance data, that makes difference between a great audit and a free lousy one.

Better yet, you don’t want to have to necessarily pay the person who did the audit to also do the work. A lot of consultants and agencies offering free local SEO audits due so in order to slant things in their favor. With a professional local SEO audit, you’re paying to get information on what’s best for you, not what’s most profitable for the agency or consultant.

5. Prioritized Action Plan

Once you have a local SEO audit, you’re only a third of the way there. The next step is knowing what to do with all of the information. This is where the professional really shines.

Any piece of software or free audit can tell you a bunch of information, but how does that translate into an actionable plan? You can only get this kind of information from an expert analyst. For example, at Local SEO Audits, we provide full analysis with an explanation of results and a step-by-step action plan that coincides with your business strategy and goals.

Remember, the data means nothing if it’s not actionable. Part of what you get with a professional audit is help with how to fix things along with the steps you should take capitalize on opportunities.

6. Expert Q&A with Discussion and Feedback

A local SEO audit may be the data you’ve needed to support making changes to your efforts, but who will support you during the project? Working with local SEO experts gives you access to an account manager and analyst who are there to answer your questions and even implement the plan for you with help of your agency. They can also help you make decisions on how to prioritize your time or budget, in addition to point you to helpful tutorials on local SEO.

Why Paying for a Local SEO Audit is Worth It

Most people look for free options first because it seems more budget-friendly. However, as you can see, it could actually end up wasting a lot of your time and not provide any change. Here’s why paying for a professional local SEO audit is well worth it.

1. Experienced Professional Reviewing Your Local SEO

If you’re making a sizeable investment into your local SEO efforts, having an experienced professional review your efforts ensures you will maximize your returns. This is true whether you are doing this yourself, with an in-house team, or through an outside agency. Even if you are just getting started with local SEO, paying to have an expert review your current state, business goals, market, and competition as it relates to local SEO will save you hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in rookie mistakes that are made every day.

2. Information Verified for Accuracy

How do you know an audit is truthful if it’s provided by a third-party who is trying to sell you local SEO services? The same is true for local SEO tools that claim to be only thing you need, but in reality only tell you half the story. If you read through comments and complaints about these local SEO software tools, you’ll notice a common thread: they’re not accurate and lack all the information to help someone with a successful local SEO strategy.

3. In-depth Insights on Your Efforts

What’s the difference between slightly tweaking or adding on to your content vs re-doing all of it? How to get more positive reviews on your GMB profile so that you can improve your reputation and rankings? A free local SEO audit or tool may suggest that your site lacks a certain element or has over 100 errors. What does that mean for you? Are you supposed to stop what you’re doing? What should you improve first? Getting a bunch of data quickly is great if you’re a local SEO expert…but if you’re reading this…you’re probably not one yet. That’s why paying for a local SEO audit is worth it – you don’t have to be the expert!

4. Actionable Next Steps for Improving

Wouldn’t it be awesome if a free local SEO audit gave you a plan for implementing all the findings? Sure, but that’s not how these free local SEO audits and tools work. With a professional audit, part of what you pay for is an action plan that’s tailored to your business and growth goals. This action plan takes into consideration your goals, resources, and experience in order to prioritize the efforts that will bring you the best results, in the fastest time possible.

5. Access to Local SEO Expert for Q&A

Last, but certainly not least, a paid audit from a local SEO professional is worth it because of the access you get to their expertise. You can talk to someone who cares about your success and ask them questions so that you understand why your site is ranking the way that it is–as well as how to improve. Free local SEO audits are not are not meant to provide this type of expertise, because real experts would not give away their hard earned knowledge for free. Would you?

Do You Need a Professional Local SEO Audit?

Many businesses have gone through an SEO audit before, but they didn’t have the right plan of action to tackle the issues and improve their rankings. SEO audits provide abundant information about problems, but they rarely provide a step-by-step guide to fixing those issues.

This is where local SEO strategists and SEO experts can truly help your business. With a local SEO audit performed by experts, you’ll know exactly what areas of your website need help and what tactics you can implement to start ranking.

Want to learn about local SEO, but don’t have a lot of time? This is the Local SEO Guide for you. Learn from a local SEO expert how you can be successful – in less time.

What follows is 10+ years of local SEO knowledge and experience in a guide you can read in 20 minutes. Put the insights gained from 1,000+ local SEO audits to work for you today!

What is Local SEO?

Oh no, more lingo! Learn what is meant when people say, “Local SEO” (Don’t worry it’s easy to understand!)

SEO, short for search engine optimization, is a set of search marketing strategies and tactics that make it easier for potential customers to find your website when they search for something related to it (I.E. what you do, sell, or offer). SEO is one of the most popular ways to generate traffic to your website, and of course get more leads, sales, and revenue. This is because unlike advertising, you do not pay for every click or impression.

Local SEO is a subset of search engine optimization (SEO). Local SEO is a set of strategies and tactics that help ensure your website appears highly for localized searches. It has become more important in the last five years as search engines have introduced new search engine result page (SERP) layouts.

Google and other search engines recognize that for many search queries (I.E. healthcare providers, home and professional services, hospitality, restaurants, etc) customers typically want a provider that is close to their home. As a result, Google et al have changed their search engine results pages (SERPs) to cater to these types of searches by showing results consisting of nearby businesses. 

Localized search results are visually characterized by the appearance of a map, and a listing of three to four businesses underneath, at the top of the page (usually below the Google Ads). This area is commonly referred to as the, “maps and local pack,” respectively by Local SEO Consultants. Achieving higher rankings and visibility in this area requires a different set of strategies from traditional SEO.

These localized results also show traditional organic search results. For many of these queries the results return links to websites in the intended geography. This means that important organic search tactics such as link building are still important for local SEO.

A good example of this is to go to Google and search “Restaurants Near Me” or “Dentists Near Me” to get an idea of what a localized SERP looks like. Even product searched return results showing products that are available from a nearby retailer!

Now to really experience what your customers are doing, type in your industry or specialty and see what appears! This will give you a great idea of what your potential customers are seeing. Also feel free to search your brand or trade name. 

Why local SEO is important

These are the major reasons why local SEO is important to you and your search marketing efforts.

Similar to the search you just did for yourself, instead of pulling out the yellow pages, or asking a friend for recommendation when in need of a solution, your customers are turning to search engines to find a business like yours when they need them.

The largest of the big three search engines, Google is the main starting point for the majority of customer discovery online (outside of ecommerce, where Amazon can stake a claim as the starting point for finding products).

From 2015-2017 there was a 900% increase in “near me” searches on Google. This explosion was brought on by the continued increase in mobile phone usage. A major cause for Google shifting the SERPs to show the local pack and maps, as well as nearby businesses in the organic results. 

Today almost half (46%) of all Google searches are looking for a local business. It seems customers want a pizza place in their neighborhood; not one five states away. Google knows this and has adjusted their results to reflect what the majority of customers want (and don’t forget what benefits Google).

What’s more, the majority of customers visiting your website don’t come from paid ads, social media, or referrals. Believe it or not, well over 90% of all Internet users conduct a search at least once a week. This means they’re heading to Google first and probably seeing your Google My Business (GMB) profile or clicking on a search result for your website before actually typing in your web address.

In fact, an average of sixty-four percent of your potential customers online come from organic search results, meaning they typed a search term into Google, and your website appeared in the results.

This makes local SEO one of the largest drivers of new customers for businesses. It’s also one of the marketing channels with the highest ROI since you can often front load your efforts and enjoy longer term benefits with minimal maintenance (although this is starting to change as SEO continues to get harder and Google takes over more of the screen real estates with ads and their own properties).

What is the difference between SEO and Local SEO?

SEO can be confusing. Here’s what you need to know about these two search marketing channels.

The difference between local SEO, and regular SEO, is that with local SEO, search engines like Google take in account a different set of ranking factors in determining who is #1. In the past, appearing highly for search phrases required you to focus on having a well optimized, modern, website that had high quality backlinks.

As a result of the switch to showing localized SERPs for those queries that indicate a nearby solution is desirable, Google et al are using a different set of factors to determine who ranks #1 on the map and the local pack. These local SEO ranking factors include:

• A searchers location at the time of the search, 
• Proximity of the searcher to your business location (as determined by your GMB address), 
• Quality of your Google My Business (GMB) profile,
• Volume and rating of your GMB reviews,
• And the authority of the website associated with GMB profile

All of this means businesses and marketers need to pay attention to a number of off-page SEO factors that they may not have had to address in the past. Since Google uses the information found on your GMB profile to power maps and local pack results, it also makes managing and optimizing your GMB profile important. 

Don’t forget that traditional SEO tactics, such as on-page optimization, and link building are important to rank highly in the localized organic section of SERPs. If you execute on strategies designed to target both local pack/maps, and the organic results, you have a chance of appearing at least twice in each SERP. The more listings you have on the SERP, the more likely you are to get clicks (and sales)!

Local SEO is still an emerging area of search marketing, so there is a tremendous opportunity to win additional customers, and stay ahead of your competitors today. This is especially true as Google and other search engines continue to deliver more and more localized search results.

How much does Local SEO cost?

You want to start doing local SEO, but you are not sure how much it will cost? It will cost this much…

The short answer is “it depends.”

Doing it yourself?

If you want to do it yourself, of course you first have to have an interest, and then time, to learn how to do local SEO effectively. You will spend a lot of time upfront, which is expensive but over time, you should be able to better leverage your time and reduce the amount spent on local SEO, which can be very cost effective.

Hiring someone else to do it?

If you want to hire someone, you are going to spend more money out of pocket, over a longer period of time. You may lack time, and or the interest in gaining local SEO expertise, so this might actually be a cheaper option for you.

How many services and or products do you effort need to support?

The amount of money (and or time) you will need to invest into local SEO will depend on the number of products and services you are trying to promote. The more products and services, the more it will cost because it will require more resources to execute. If you’re just getting started with local SEO, start with one product, service, or location, then add on over time.

Targeting only one location and geography, or multiple locations and cities? 

Similar to the number of products or services you wish to promote, the number of locations (offices, clinics, retail storefronts) you wish to promote will determine the cost of local SEO services. The more locations that need to be promoted, the more you should expect to pay.

Many agencies and consultants will charge you based on the number of locations, products, and or services you want their efforts to support. (The same goes for products and services, in many cases.) This is something you should know going into any pricing conversations.

Local SEO Consultant

Best option for smaller businesses or for when you are just getting started with local SEO and want to set a great foundation. This is often a great place to begin if your goal is do the work yourself, or build an in-house team in the future.

Expect to pay between $75 and $200+ per hour depending on experience, expertise, and your market.

Don’t let cost fool you though; more expensive does not always mean better. Ask for case studies and references.

Pros

• Get direct access to high level expertise in a short amount of time
• Great for audits, one time optimizations, and or on-going direction of execution
• Avoid the overhead costs associated with agencies or in-house professionals
• Allows for better knowledge transfer (I.E. you can learn more by working directly with them and you can use this knowledge to DIY in future)

Cons

• Wide range in costs, experience, and expertise
• Can get expensive if working on an hourly basis
• Often difficult to vet and verify their expertise, since everyone starts to sound “the same”
• Consultants are often limited in their ability to execute on the work they recommend be performed, which will require you, staff, or another person to do the work

Local SEO Agency

Best option for an established business that has the budget and time to see results. Also good if you have budget, but lack the in-house expertise and or personnel to devote to the project.

Expect to pay between $1,000 and $2,500+ per month. This will vary based on the market and the number of locations, products, and services you wish to support.

Be wary of low cost providers; they often charge recurring fees for one time services and sell software tools as professional services!

Pros

• You don’t have to do any of the work, and with a good agency you likely don’t need to spend much time becoming “well versed” in local SEO
• You can leverage the agencies processes and talent that have proven they can generate local SEO results
• Your agency can often scale with you, providing strategy, direction, and on-going execution in-definitely 

Cons

• Agencies are generally more expensive than consultants or DIY require greater results in order to ensure positive ROI
• It can be difficult to vet potential agencies, their offerings, and make the right decision
• Agencies are notorious for getting stagnant after a period of time (usually after the first renewal, if they get that far), so they do require active management and oversight, which requires your time

DIY Local SEO

If you have the interest, and time, this is the best option for local SEO success. It will cost you time (and maybe a little frustration) upfront, but long term it will be the lowest cost option. 

Expect to spend anywhere from 10 to 40hrs+ on local SEO if you are doing it yourself. This really depends on the competitiveness of your market, and the breadth of your efforts. Remember, larger businesses may have a whole staff dedicated to their marketing and or local SEO efforts.

You will also need to factor in the cost of local SEO software (see next section below). Any good local SEO consultant or agency is going to be using both off the shelf and in-house tools in order to analyze, inspect, execute, and manage their efforts. You will want to arm yourself with the same, or similar tools.

Pros

• You can acquire a powerful new set of skills that can help you market your business (and others), which can be used as a competitive advantage
• You can save a ton of money long term on consultants and agencies, since you won’t have a need for them once you’ve mastered local SEO for yourself (unless of course you’re doing this at a very large scale, in which case knowing local SEO will make the consultant or agencies efforts that much more 

Cons

• You have to have the time and the appetite to get through the initial learning curve. Local SEO is not easy, and it takes time. If you are short on time, DIY will be painful. You will probably end up hiring a Local SEO Consultant or a Local SEO Agency. 

Local SEO Software

Local SEO software is similar to having super powers. Sure, you can have success without using them, but with them you can do most things better, faster, (and often cheaper).

There are a few pieces of Local SEO software that you should consider using:

• A keyword research tool such as Ahrefs or SEMRush.
• A keyword ranking tracking tool such as Brightlocal or Local Falcon.
• Google search console, which is free, and a big help in understanding how Google views your website. It’s also helpful for finding errors, understanding what pages are not in Google’s index, and even what sites are linking to your website.
• Google analytics, which is free, or another website analytics software.
• A citation finder, or listings management software such as Whitespark, that can help you clean up all of your business directory listings. You can also use a service such as Brightlocal, or Yext.
• Review management and monitoring software such as RepCheckup that you can use to get more reviews and quickly respond to them. 

For a more in-depth look at local SEO software, check out our Local SEO Software Buyers Guide. It contains details on our recommendations as well as the Pros and Cons of popular solutions.

How to do local SEO

A 7 step process you can use for executing on local SEO strategies to improve your rankings….and a note on “how long it takes to see results”

Start with a local SEO audit to find strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

We can help if you want an audit from a Local SEO Expert, contact us at GMB Gorilla. We’d be happy to help you and get your local SEO efforts off on the right foot.

We also recommend these tools that can help you conduct your own DIY local SEO audit:

• Ahrefs
• BrightLocal
• Moz Local
• RepCheckup
• SEMrush
• Yext

You can also use our Local SEO Checklist as a starting point if you want to do it yourself.

Conduct keyword research to understand what your customers are looking for related to what you do

Use a tool like Ahrefs or SEMRush to find out what people are searching for. These tools are perfect for getting additional ideas, learning how difficult it might be to rank for a particular keyword or search phrase, as well as understanding how other web pages are ranking highly for said term.

You should use their data relatively, and not absolutely, however, as these tools are not perfect. Most of the local SEO tools that offer keyword discovery and or research capabilities leverage data licensed from third parties that is then extrapolated to project a more realistic scenario. Quite often you will find that a tool under or overestimates things.

You can also use the free Google Ads keyword planner to get additional ideas and more accurate search volumes. This tool is much more accurate, because the data is directly from Google’s search logs.

If you don’t have a budget and don’t want to bother with a Google Ads account, you can always manually type in a keyword or search phrase as what Google auto suggests, mentions at the bottom of the SERP “what people also searched for”, and even pay attention to the “people also asked” snippets that sometimes appear in the SERPs.

Regardless of the method or tool you use, pull an initial list of 10 to 50 keywords that match what you do and have substantial traffic volumes (relative to what you do). If you are using a keyword research tool, you should try to find keywords that have lower competition and or difficulty. This is especially true if you are just starting out since it might take a year or more to build up to the type of effort required to rank #1 for very popular terms.

This is an important factor because it will determine the cost of improving your rankings for a given search phrase. Before doing any local SEO campaigns you should always calculate the potential gain and cost of doing the effort. Only if it seems like a positive return is likely should you proceed with actually doing the work.

Analyze the current SERPs to see what your customers see (when looking for what you do)

Go to Google and search for the phrases on your list. What types of sites and pages are coming up? This will let you understand a bit more about the searchers intent and how you can update or create better content on your site.

You should do this on both your mobile phone and your desktop as may see different results.

Make a spreadsheet that details what shows up for each search phrase. This will be helpful in the subsequent phases of your local SEO efforts. 

Claim and optimize your Google My Business / Bing Places

Before we get to implementing your research, make sure you’ve claimed and optimized your Google My Business profile. Google My Business profile data is used to power Google Maps and the local pack which shows at the top of most localized searches. This means if you want to be #1 on the page, you need to be #1 on the map!

If you don’t already have your profile claimed, or you need to create one, head here to get the process started. You will need to wait a few days for the postcard to come in with a confirmation code so you can verify your location, but you can use that time to gather logos, images, and other business information.

You should follow this same process for your Bing Places profile. While Bing has a fraction of the traffic, it is still a search engine used by millions every month, so it should not be neglected. Not everyone uses Google.

Fix any technical SEO issues with your website

Your Local SEO Audit could potentially uncover technical issues that are holding your website back from ranking higher. These could include issues such as:

• Your entire website or certain pages load slowly (use Google Page Speed as a benchmark)
• Your website is not optimized for different screens and browsers, especially mobile (Google has moved to a mobile first index)
• You have web pages that are not included in the search engine index (thus will never be seen by searchers)
• You have web pages with errors, such as 404 not found, that provide a poor user experience 
• Your website has links to other websites that are no longer or even other web pages that have moved or been removed.
• You could also be experiencing other technical issues due to bad code, or poorly implemented designs

These are just some examples of common technical issues that we’ve found doing over 1,000 audits. There are many others that may be hindering your performance. Unless you correct them, other changes you may make might not have any affect on your rankings. This is why it makes sense to get a local SEO audit and work with a local SEO expert who can make sure there’s nothing hiding under the covers.

Optimize existing pages and add new ones for missing search phrases

Once you have fixed any technical issues, it’s time to move on to optimizing your website for the search phrases you are targeting. This involves several things:

• Ensuring you have a high quality page for every the main search phrases you are targeting
• Making sure your site is easy to navigate, and that both users and search engines can easily find your content once they land on your site
• Optimizing your page titles and page content for the search phrase it is targeting (I.E. page titles, headers, keyword density, outbound links, etc)
• Interlinking from authoritative pages on your website to other pages that you want to see improved rankings

This is something to wrap it up and transition to the next steps

Promote your website (aka link building)

With any errors (or at least the major ones) fixed and your website updated with optimized content, it’s time for the most important (and hardest) step: link building.

The more high quality (i.e. high authority) links you have to your website overall and specific pages, the higher your website rankings will be. Links are the most important factor when it comes to ranking higher in organic search results. 

Link building is no easy task. Getting links to your website takes time. You will need to do research, be creative in your outreach, and be prepared to hear no a lot. Link building is the hardest part of SEO.

Before you begin building links to your website, it’s important to consider the following link classifications:

• High Authority Domain Relevant (HADR) – These are links to your website from a high authority website that is relevant to your niche. An example would be getting a link from WebMD to your website if you were a doctor.
• High Authority URL Relevant (HAUR) – These are links to your website from a page that is relevant to your niche, but the domain is not necessarily relevant to your niche. An example would be getting a link to your HVAC website from an NYT article about HVAC contractors.
• High Authority No Relevance (HANR) – These are links to your website from a highly authoritative source, but neither the page or the domain are relevant to your niche. An example of this would be a link from a popular business blog post on well designed websites, even though you don’t design websites.
• Low Authority Domain Relevant (LADR) – These are links to your website from lower authority websites that are relevant to your niche. An example of this would be a link to your website from a new industry association you joined.
• Low Authority URL Relevant (LAUR) – These are links to your website from a page that is relevant to your niche, but the domain is not necessarily relevant to your niche. An example of this could be a local resource page created by school to help parents find a place to buy supplies.
• Low Authority No Relevance (LANR) – These are links to your website from low authority websites that have nothing to do with your niche. An example of this would be a link from a fishing store to your flower shop website.

In general, and whenever possible, it’s best for you to focus on how you can get HADR, HAUR, and LADR links as these will be the best for improving your rankings. These links will often take the most effort and be the hardest to get. These links also will have the biggest payoff, so don’t give up.

The best place to start your link building efforts is to use a local SEO tool to analyze the backlinks for the pages that already rank for a targeted keyword phrase. For example, if you want to rank for “Florist near me,” you first want to know how many links the existing sites ranking for the term have. This will give you an idea of both difficult and the amount of effort that will be required to obtain the proper number of links.

If you’re just getting started, you may want to focus on less competitive terms in order to get a few quick wins. Over time these quick wins can add up to a lot of traffic, and give you a solid domain authority to then go after more difficult terms.

Once you get an idea of what links the existing pages have, you should create two lists. One list is all of the shared links (or link overlap) by at least two of the sites. These links are often low hanging fruit as they are typically directory or resource pages that are more willing to add a new player. 

The second list should be of the unique links that each of the pages has. This second list gives you a “hit list” of prospects from which to figure out how to get links from them. Sometimes you may be able to convince them to replace the existing link with a link to your website (which may require payment). Other times you may be able to suggest adding yours as a way to offer greater choice, or even a way to update the post with new information if you can shed further light on the page’s topic. 

With link building lists in hand, it’s time to research and get creative. For each link on either list, go to the page, review what it’s about, and come up with an angle for your outreach. While you’re at the site, grab the main contact information (about us, contact page) so you have this handy for sending an email…or even calling them.

Last but not least is creative outreach. Notice I called it creative outreach. This is because it’s important to be creative in your ask via email. People get link requests all day, every day. Why should they respond to you? It’s really a sale. Think like a salesperson and give them your best pitch!

As the links start rolling in, keep track of them in a spreadsheet or a Local SEO Tool. It’s important to monitor links with software or manually. Pages update and links change all the time. Remember, not all links last forever. Plan to have to build “maintenance links.”

Repeat, repeat, repeat. Until you are number one, keep promoting that page!

Disclaimer: Doesn’t Google “officially” frown upon this? Yes, they do say “don’t build or buy links” (paraphrasing). In reality this is because links are so highly influential. They don’t want you to focus on building links because it works for achieving higher search rankings. Plus, they want you to spend that money on Google Ads instead.

Now, if you don’t want to go the direct outreach route out of unnecessary fear you will get in trouble, then there are other ways to “get links” that aren’t called link building. These include:

• Sponsorships – Sponsor non-profit organizations, community programs, and industry associations. Ask for a link back in return on their donor page. 
• Press Releases – While not as effective as they were in the past, putting out a press release and linking to a targeted page can help. It also may allow you to get more of the next two opportunities, since the press still watches these. Plus, these always feel good internally – a chance to celebrate a win with the team.
• Guest Editorial – Use a PR firm (or DIY) to reach out to related publications and offer to produce content for them as an industry expert in exchange for a byline that includes a link back to a page on your website of your choosing. If you can’t write yourself, hire a ghostwriter. This is still a viable way to build links, and your reputation as an expert.
• Expert Interviews – Hire a PR firm (or DIY) to offer you up to media outlets as an expert in your field. The media and press are always looking to speak with a subject matter expert – why not you? This is a great way to get those high authority, highly relevant, links.

If you couldn’t tell by the length of this section, next to your local SEO audit, link building is the most important part of success with local SEO. You can have the fastest website, the cleanest code, with the best content, and still not rank if you do not have enough of the right links. Make link building part of your local SEO strategy and get started with it early.

How long does it take for local SEO to work?

Ah, the question we all want answered – how long will local SEO take?

The best answer is it depends. The two biggest factors are the market and the competition. The larger the market, the more competitors, the harder, and longer it will take to see success. Success is also a variable. Your definition of local SEO success may differ from the next person. 

In order to set some general expectations, here are some benchmarks after 10+ years of doing SEO:

• How long before I show up on the map and local pack? If you’re in a small market or industry, this could happen in a month. For everyone else, it usually takes 3 to 6 months of consistent effort to positive movement and 6 to 9 months before you hit the local pack.
• How long does it take to SEO optimize a site? Usually 1 to 12 months, depending on the size of your site. A basic brochure website is one month. Optimizing a site like Yelp could take a year. For many, on-page optimization never stops since they’re always adding new pages.
• How long does it take to get a page one ranking? This depends on the term and how competitive, but for the most part, you should be able to get to the first page with 3 months of solid effort. Obviously if it is a term with tens of thousands of monthly searches it could take 6 to 9 months, maybe even a year.
• How long does it take to get a top five ranking? This again depends on the term and the competitiveness, but similar to getting to page one it can be done in 3 months (or less). Most often a top 5 ranking for a competitive term may take 9 to 12 months, or more.
• How long does it take to get a number 1 ranking? You should probably budget 12 or more months to pursue a number 1 ranking. This is just a loose estimate. It could take much longer, or happen much faster. This is why it’s important to start with a local SEO audit. An audit will help you determine the opportunities available to you and how long they will take in order to achieve them.

How can your website rank higher for localized searches in Google, Bing, and Yahoo!? That’s a question that business owners and marketers have asked since the invention of modern search engines. You can take the mystery out of higher rankings and visibility for your website today with this Local SEO Checklist from GMB Gorilla.

Technical Local SEO Checklist

How to ensure your website is built for people and search engines
Technical Local SEO deals with the underlying software and technology powering your website. Each of these elements influence how people use and search engines rank your website. The main goal is to have an issue free website that is easy to use and properly indexed in the major search engines.

• The website is hosted within the country it is primarily targeting website visitors
• The website page load speed is above average using Google Page Speed tool
• The website looks good, and functions properly on mobile phones, tablets, and computers
• The website navigation is simple to use and makes it easy to find information
• There are no 404 error pages or other redirection issues preventing visitor or search engine access
• A Google Search Console account is present and properly configured for use
• All website pages are appearing in the Google index
• A Bing Webmaster Tools account is present and properly configured for use
• All website pages are appearing in the Bing index

On-page Local SEO Checklist

What your website needs to delight people and search engines
On-page Local SEO addresses the actual content found on every page of your website. Each of these elements influence how people take action on and search engines rank your website. The main goal is to have an informational website that makes it easy for people and search engines to understand what you do best.

• There is a unique page title for each website page
• Each website page title is optimized for search phrases that match the pages content
• There is a compelling meta description for each website page
• Each website page has an H1 tag containing the targeted search phrase
• Each website page uses H2 tags containing related search phrases
• Each website page uses H3 tags containing related search phrases
• Each website pages uses image alt and title tags describing the image
• There is a location page for each business location that contains address, hours, and a map
• The business name, address, and phone number is found on every page
• The business name, address, and phone number is implement with structured markup
• Each website page has a specific call to action for the visitor to take

Off-page Local SEO Checklist

How the websites in even the most competitive niches outrank the rest
Off-page Local SEO concerns how other websites on the internet interact with your website. Each of these elements influence how visitors can find your website and how search engines rank your website. The main goal is to have as many links from other relevant websites as possible (or more than your competitors).

• The total number of backlinks to the website are on-par with competitors (or better)
• There are no unusual anchor text patterns or excessive use of optimized anchor texts in backlinks
• There are no manual penalties related to links pointing to your website in Google Search Console
• There is a plan in place for promoting your website online to increase links and business mentions

Google My Business Checklist

The amazing secret to increased local search engine visibility and rankings
Google My Business is a subset of Off-page Local SEO that greatly influences your rankings for localized searches and visibility within Google Maps. Each of these elements influences the relative weighting of your Google My Business profile versus others in your area. The main goal is to have claimed, accurate, profiles for all of your business locations, providers, or professionals.

• There is a Google My Business profile for each business, office location and or provider
• Each Google My Business profile for the business has been claimed and properly categorized
• Each Google My Business profile for the business has accurate and up-to-date information
• Each Google My Business profile has at least 30 positive reviews (4, 5 stars)
• Each Google My Business Profile responds to it’s review as they are left

Local Directory Listings Checklist

What people see first before they even visit your website or location
Local Directory Listings are a subset of Off-page Local SEO that often appear for search of your brand and have a small influence on search rankings. Each of the elements can potentially impact the first impressions of your and online reputation of your business.

• The business information has been scanned to find popular online listings and profiles
• All major listings and profiles for each business location, and or provider have been claimed
• All major listings and profiles for each business location, and or provider have accurate information
• All major listings and profiles for each business location, and or provider are being monitored

How to Get Started With Your Local SEO Checklist

What you need to do next to improve your local SEO
Now that you have a Local SEO Checklist, you’re probably eager to start auditing your online presence. After all, the goal of the checklist is improving your local SEO. If you’re not a seasoned internet marketer or SEO, you might not be confident in taking the next steps to put the Local SEO Checklist into action.

Below you will find a series of steps you should take. These steps should be taken in order to make auditing your online presence using the Local SEO Checklist. Let’s take a look at how you can successfully get started.

1. Setup Your Google Search Console

Find technical issues, ensure there’s no manual penalties, and get keyword search data. Creating and setting up your Google Search Console account gives you important data and tools. These data insights and search tools make determining issues with your website simple, and finding SEO opportunities, easy.

2. Setup Your Bing Webmaster Tools

View indexing information, find technical problems, and get keyword data about your website. With a Bing Webmaster Tools, you get similar data and tooling to what you get with Google Search Console, but specifically for the Bing search engine. This additional data and insights will give you further validation of any issues and or opportunities.

3. Setup Your Google Analytics

Learn how people use your website, get usage data, and uncover best performing pages. With a Google Analytics account, you will be able to understand exactly what happens once a person gets to your website. The information you find will allow you to understand if you need to make website performance improvements, on-page changes, such as stickier content.

4. Find and Setup Your Local SEO Software

Scan your website, and online presence to find issues, opportunities, and how you stack-up against your competition. Using a local SEO software tool, you can scan your website and online presence to get hundreds of relevant data points and comparisons. The best part of using a local SEO software is that it helps make the manual review much more efficient, and effective.

5. Head Over to Google Page Speed Tools

See how well your website performs when loaded on a desktop or mobile phone. Page load times are a technical SEO element that has recently gotten more attention. Remember, a search engine wants to show the best search results. If people want fast loading, good looking websites, and yours is not, you won’t rank highly.

6. Time to Review Your Website

Manually review each of your website’s pages for complete, engaging, content, and proper on-page technical structure. With all the information you will have at your fingertips from the first five steps, you can now begin reviewing all of your website pages. The most important thing to consider is what a person looking at the page would think. Of course, you will also want to look at the actual HTML of the page to ensure page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and other elements are present, and properly used. Expect to spend a lot of time here

7. Scan Your Online Profiles

If your local SEO software did not include a scan of your online listings, now is the time to do that. This should also include your Google My Business profile. There are a number of different solutions for scanning your online listings, even some that are free! That said, you choose one that will give you a broad scan of the most popular profiles for your business type and industry. Finding any issues with your data and correcting them is important for customer experience, and your local SEO.

Don’t Have the Time or Confidence to Do Local SEO Yourself?

At this stage, you should well on your way to checking off the boxes on your Local SEO Checklist. If you find that you are struggling to complete the steps or simply don’t have the time to do it yourself, consider getting your local SEO audit from us. We have dozens of years of experience, conducting hundreds of local SEO audits, that have resulted in more traffic, leads, appointments, and revenues for our clients.

Download the Local SEO Checklist

If you’re ready to get started assessing your local SEO performance, this local SEO checklist PDF will be helpful. Simply click on the link below to download!

Download the Local SEO Checklist PDF