Local Seo Checklist For 2025 [+ Free Interactive Template]

Follow our eventual conception SEO checklist to summation your conception business’s hunt visibility and get overmuch customers successful 2025.

To measurement your advancement pinch these conception SEO tasks, usage our free interactive checklist successful Google Docs.

1. Set Up Your Google Business Profile

Set up your Google Business Profile (GBP) truthful your business is eligible and overmuch apt to look successful Google’s map-based hunt results.

This is astir apt nan astir important task connected this conception SEO checklist because galore users observe businesses done Google’s conception results.

For example, a personification searching for a pizza parlor would spot results for illustration this:

Here’s a checklist for mounting up your GBP:

First, if you haven’t already, adhd aliases state your business connected nan GBP website. And spell done nan business verification process.

Then, tin retired and optimize your GBP by providing complete and accurate accusation astir your business. So users tin get each nan specifications they petition earlier visiting aliases contacting you.

If users personification submitted immoderate questions, reply them directly:

Finally, outline a strategy to negociate your GBP.

Ask yourself nan pursuing questions:

• Do you want to station connected GBP? If so, what’s your strategy?
• How will you respond to early questions quickly and strategically?
• Who’s responsible for keeping your GBP up to date?

Get thief managing your GBP erstwhile you subscribe to Semrush Local:

2. Manage Your Online Reviews

Manage your online reviews to maximize nan worthy they bring to your business.

Here’s a checklist to thief you negociate your reviews efficiently:

Start by adding your business to applicable reappraisal platforms and updating your existing business profiles, wherever necessary.

This allows you to turn your visibility and support powerfulness complete your online presence.

Next, spot nan reappraisal level that’s astir apt to thrust results for your business. This is nan level you should nonstop customers to and attraction your strategy around.

Google is usually nan astir important reappraisal level because Google reviews tin boost your GBP’s visibility successful hunt results. But nan champion level depends connected your circumstantial needs. 

For example, businesses targeting visitors whitethorn usage overmuch from Tripadvisor reviews.

After identifying a reappraisal platform, commencement asking your customers for reviews.

The champion measurement to get reviews connected your preferred level depends connected nan value of your business. Here are immoderate options to animate you:

• Send customers reappraisal petition emails featuring a nexus to your reviews page
• Add a reviews widget to your tract truthful visitors tin easy spot and taxable reviews
• Tell customers that you admit reviews erstwhile speaking to them face-to-face
• Convert your reviews page nexus into a scannable QR codification to spot connected business cards, posters, and different printed materials

When you personification reviews, respond to them arsenic quickly and tactfully arsenic possible. To show you attraction astir customer service.

If you subscribe to Semrush Local, you tin usage AI to draught aliases automatically respond to Google reviews. And measurement your ratings crossed aggregate platforms.

3. Build Local Citations

Build conception citations (online mentions of your business’s name, address, and telephone number—or NAP) connected relevant, high-quality websites.

This is 1 of nan astir important conception SEO tasks because it helps you scope overmuch imaginable customers. And citations tin boost your GBP’s rankings successful Google hunt results.

Use this checklist to commencement building conception citations:

You tin build your citations successful galore places, including:

• Business directories: List your business connected directories for illustration Yelp, Bing, and Apple Maps
• Social media platforms: Add specifications to your existing societal media profiles
• Review platforms: Add your business to reappraisal websites for illustration Trustpilot aliases Tripadvisor 
• Local websites: Ask statement bloggers aliases conception news outlets to mention your business
• Industry-specific sites: Get mentioned connected websites related to your business's industry

Use nan exact same name, address, and telephone number crossed each site. So Google tin nexus each your citations together and spot your information.

If you subscribe to Semrush Local, you tin create aliases update up to 79 citations simultaneously:

4. Acquire Local Backlinks

Local backlinks are links to your tract from different conception websites. These backlinks tin thrust valuable postulation and thief you rank higher successful web hunt results.

Use this conception backlink checklist to get started:

Here are immoderate speedy ideas connected really to build conception backlinks:

• Host statement events and database them connected conception arena directories
• Provide testimonials for your conception suppliers to show connected their websites
• Invite conception bloggers aliases reporters to reappraisal your establishment
• Sponsor conception events, sports teams, aliases charities and inquire them to nexus to your website
• Enter conception business awards and competitions
• Post business opportunities connected conception business boards
• Write spot releases astir immoderate newsworthy business updates (e.g., merchandise launches aliases hiring drives) and administer these stories to conception media outlets
• Check for unlinked mentions of your marque punishment and inquire creators to adhd a link

Before you begin, familiarize yourself pinch Google’s nexus spam policies. Violating these policies tin lead to a Google reward that harms your visibility successful hunt results.

5. Improve Your On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is nan process of optimizing circumstantial webpages to rank overmuch prominently for applicable hunt centrifugal terms, and it tin beryllium 1 of nan astir effective ways to summation conception website traffic.

Use this checklist to amended your on-page SEO:

To start, execute section keyword research. This process tells you what hunt position group usage to find conception businesses for illustration yours.

For example, “restaurants adjacent me” aliases “restaurants successful Chicago.”

Here are a less ways to find applicable conception keywords:

• Use Google Search Console to spot what position you already rank for
• Start typing applicable position into Google’s hunt barroom and look astatine nan suggestions
• Search for applicable position utilizing Google and look astatine nan related searches
• Search a keyword database pinch a instrumentality for illustration Keyword Magic Tool
• See what keywords competitors rank for pinch a instrumentality for illustration Keyword Gap

Adding keywords to applicable pages (in a earthy way) tin thief you rank higher for those keywords.

Choose a superior keyword for each page and adhd it to nan pursuing locations:

• Title tag: The page title that tin look successful hunt results
• Meta description: The page summary that tin look successful hunt results
• H1 tag: The main on-page heading
• URL slug: The unsocial information of nan webpage address
• The first paragraph of assemblage content

You tin repetition your keyword—and immoderate different applicable keywords—throughout nan assemblage contented and different heading tags, wherever appropriate.

6. Add NAP Information to Your Website

Add your business’s name, address, and telephone number (NAP) to your website truthful imaginable customers and hunt engines tin easy find that information.

This is nan checklist we impulse you follow:

If you personification 1 location, adhd NAP accusation to your footer truthful it’s visible connected each page. Like this:

Also create a “Visit Us” page aliases point akin that includes:

• Contact specifications (address, telephone number, email address, etc.)
• Opening hours
• High-quality photos of your premises
• An embedded Google representation showing your location
• Any different useful accusation (You tin get inspiration from your GBP.)

If you personification aggregate locations, create a page for each location.

Then nexus to these pages successful your main navigation insubstantial and/or footer, for illustration this:

7. Add Local Business Structured Data to Your Website

Local Business strategy information is codification that labels different types of conception business accusation connected your website truthful hunt engines tin decently usage and show this accusation successful hunt results.

Use this checklist to line your Local Business strategy accusation implementation:

For thief implementing strategy data, participate your conception business’s URL into Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.

Highlight a information of accusation you’d for illustration to tag. And premier nan correct spot type.

Google requires you to spot your business’s punishment and reside successful Local Business strategy data. But you should too adhd optional properties for illustration opening hours, wherever relevant.

Once you’ve tagged each your data, click “Create HTML.”

Google will proviso nan strategy accusation for you to adhd to your site. And you tin return JSON-LD aliases microdata formats.

If you’re not judge what format is champion aliases wherever to insert this code, speak to a web developer.

8. Run a Technical SEO Audit

A method SEO audit highlights method issues that could harm your website’s hunt visibility.

Use this checklist arsenic a line for your method SEO audit:

If you haven’t already, group up Google Search Console. This is simply a free level that helps you negociate your website’s visibility connected Google.

Then, cheque retired these reports:

• Page indexing: Shows which pages connected your tract are and aren’t indexed (stored successful Google’s database of imaginable hunt results). This study helps you spot crawling and indexing issues.
• Core Web Vitals: Shows webpage velocity and capacity metrics called Core Web Vitals. This study flags immoderate URLs classed arsenic “poor” aliases “need improvement.”
• HTTPS: Flags immoderate non-HTTPS URLs connected your website. Google recommends that you usage HTTPS (a unafraid type of nan HTTP protocol) crossed your website.
• Manual actions: Shows whether you’ve received a manual punishment that harms your hunt visibility. You tin personification penalties for violating Google’s nexus spam policies.
• Security issues: Highlights immoderate issues related to hacked content, malware aliases unwanted software, and societal engineering connected your website. You should spread these issues urgently.
• Sitemaps: Shows nan latest XML sitemap submitted to Google. Submitting an up-to-date sitemap (that lists each nan pages you want to index) reduces nan consequence of indexing issues.

You tin too usage Semrush’s Site Audit tool.

It checks for complete 140 issues relating to method and on-page SEO, provides connection connected really and why to spread each issue, and helps you to prioritize and negociate your tasks.

Plus, you tin schedule regular audits. To support connected apical of immoderate issues that arise.

If you petition thief dealing pinch these conception SEO tasks, scope retired to an SEO maestro aliases web developer.

9. Monitor your Local SEO Results

Monitor your conception SEO results truthful you tin amended understand your business capacity and make overmuch informed decisions successful nan future. 

Refer to this checklist for immoderate ideas connected really to measurement your results:

Five devices tin measurement nan section SEO metrics astir businesses need:

Tool	Description
Map Rank Tracker (part of Semrush Local)	Track your Google Maps rankings for target keywords successful hyper-specific personification locations Compare your Google Maps visibility to competitors’
Position Tracking	Monitor your website’s rankings for target keywords See whether your GBP appears successful nan conception battalion (the practice conception that tin look successful Google Search) for target keywords
Google Business Profile	See really galore users position your GBP Monitor level scheme interactions for illustration telephone clicks, guidance requests, etc.
Google Analytics	Find retired wherever your website visitors recreation from Analyze really hunt visitors interact pinch your website
Google Search Console	Monitor your mean position for up to 1,000 keywords chosen by Google See really galore impressions and clicks these rankings generate

Get nan Interactive Checklist

Track your advancement done this conception SEO checklist pinch our free interactive checklist for Google Docs.

It’s wholly free to use—you conscionable petition a Google account.