The

Local SEOChecklist

THE COMPLETE HOW-TO GUIDE FOR LOCAL SEO

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Google drives 96% of the mobile search traffic.With 75% of local intent searches coming from amobile device, your Google My Business (GMB)page needs to be a top priority. Whether you have 1 business location or 100+ it'simportant that you claim, clean, and optimizeevery GMB Listing.

Step #1G O O G L E M Y B U S I N E S S

1. Go to google.com/business and click Start now atthe top right corner of the page. 2. Sign in to your Google Account, or create one ifyou don’t already use Google services. 3. Enter the name of your business and click Next. 4. Enter the address of your business and click Next.5. You may also be asked to position a marker onthe location of your business on a map.

Step #1G O O G L E M Y B U S I N E S S

CREATE OR CLAIM YOUR GMB LISTING

C R E A T E O R C L A I M G M B L I S T I N G

 a. If you manage a service-area business, followthese additional steps: 

 a1. Check the box for I deliver goods andservices to my customers. Optionally, checkthe box for hide my address (it's not a store).

b. Click Next. c. Select a delivery area option andclick Next.

6. Search for and select a business category and clickNext. 7. Enter a phone number or website URL for yourbusiness. 8. To complete sign-up, verify your connection to thisbusiness by clicking Continue. 9. Select a verification option.

a. To verify at another time, select Try a differentmethod and click Later. If you’re not authorizedto manage the business, find the person in yourorganization who’s authorized and continue theprocess.

Note: If you see a page that says “This listing hasalready been claimed,” click Request ownership andfollow the directions to claim your business.

Review your listing to make sure everything is accurateand up-to-date. Check the following:    Business Name    Address (Include Zip Code + 4)    Phone Number    Website    Operating Hours    Business Category    Photos    Attributes    Products, Services, or Menu

Step #1G O O G L E M Y B U S I N E S S

REVIEW YOUR LISTING

In order to verify your listing, you need to request apostcard from Google. You can do so by identifying thered banner at the top of your GMB dashboard andselecting "Verify Now". Follow on-screen prompts tocomplete the request for your postcard.  The postcard will take a few weeks to arrive at yourbusiness. When it arrives, sign into your GMBdashboard, select "Verify Now" and enter theverification code. After a few weeks, your information will be live acrossall of Google. If you're looking to do this at scale. Contact Us to seehow we can help get your listings bulk verified. 

R E V I E W L I S T I N GI N F O R M A T I O N

V E R I F Y T H E L I S T I N G

VERIFY YOUR LISTING

Claim and clean listings on these Tier 1 sites first:

Step #2L I S T I N G S

CLAIM TIER 1 LISTINGS

Google

Yelp Bing Foursquare

Facebook Apple

CLAIM SMALLER LISTINGS THROUGHAGGREGATORS & LOCAL SITES

Contact these aggregators and local sites to claim andclean listings:

Factual Here Acxiom

Infogroup Neustar

C L A I M T I E R 1L I S T I N G S

C L A I M S M A L L E RL I S T I N G S V I AA G G R E G A T O R S   &L O C A L S I T E S

After you set up your Google My Business Listing, it'simportant to claim and clean your listings across everyonline directory. 

It's essential to find and remove any duplicate listings.To avoid confusion for customers and search enginesalike. Start with Facebook as most duplicates are foundthere.

REMOVE DUPLICATE LISTINGS

R E M O V ED U P L I C A T EL I S T I N G S

Claim and clean listings on these Tier 2 sites next:

Step #2L I S T I N G SCLAIM TIER 2 LISTINGS

C L A I M T I E R 2L I S T I N G S

Hotfrog Super Pages EnrollBusiness

Dun &Bradstreet

MerchantCircle

Yellow Pages

ExpressBusinessDirectory

Brownbook Show MeLocal

EZ Local Weblocal.ca Yalwa

n49 Cyclex CA Biz Sheet

Reviews have a major influence on your local SEO andreputation. By running an audit on your reviews acrossevery review site, you'll be able to better understand:

Step #3R E V I E W SAUDIT YOUR REVIEWS

A U D I T Y O U RR E V I E W S

R E S P O N D T OY O U R R E V I E W S

What areas you can improve in. Which locations are excelling and which needimprovement.How to improve your customer experience.How often you're responding to reviews. 

What to look for in an audit:  Review QuantityReview FrequencyAmount of Responses to ReviewsAverage Star RatingCompetitor Reviews + Responding

RESPOND TO YOUR REVIEWSAfter you audit your current review status, spend sometime responding to all your reviews. Responding toreviews not only increases listing rank but it also showsyour customers that you care. 

Social media is an easy way to build up your SEOpresence. Because social media sites already have greatauthority with Google and other search engines, it'seasy to rank on the first page through your social mediaaccounts. It's important to keep your social media pagesactive and engaging. 

Step #4S O C I A L M E D I AAUDIT YOUR SOCIAL PRESENCE

F A C E B O O K A U D I T

T W I T T E R A U D I T

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A TWITTER AUDIT

Engagement (likes, retweets, replies) Mentions

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A FACEBOOK AUDIT

Business page accuracyReviews (see step #3)Post engagement (comments, likes, shares)Geotagged photosMentions (@businessname)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN INSTAGRAMAUDIT

Engagement (likes, comments) Mentions or tagsGeotagged Photos

I N S T A G R A M A U D I T

O T H E R S O C I A LM E D I A A U D I T S

Follow a similar process for all other social mediaaccounts for each location.

In local search, you’re competing for views, clicks,calls, and requests for directions. 75% of users neverscroll past the first page and 20% of clicks go to thenumber one result. If you're looking to improve yourlocal rankings, you have to first benchmark whereyou currently rank. To benchmark your rankings, identify 5 - 10 unbranded keywords that your typical customerswould use to find your business. Use those keywordsto conduct a test search in different local markets.Don't forget to include some "near me" keywords inyour tests. Keep track of where you're ranking for eachkeyword at each location.

Step #5L O C A L R A N K I N G S &C O M P E T I T O R A N A L Y S I S

WHERE DO YOU RANK?

B E N C H M A R K Y O U RR A N K I N G S

B E N C H M A R KC O M P E T I T O RR A N K I N G S

While you benchmark your own rankings, see whereyou compare to your top competitors in each market.Who's outranking you and why? Do they have posts, istheir listing more complete, do they respond toreviews? By finding out why they're outranking you, it'seasier to identify where you can make improvements.

WHERE DO YOUR COMPETITORS RANK?

The Complete Checklist

B E N C H M A R K Y O U RR A N K I N G S

B E N C H M A R KC O M P E T I T O RR A N K I N G S

F A C E B O O K A U D I T

T W I T T E R A U D I T

I N S T A G R A M A U D I T

O T H E R S O C I A LM E D I A A U D I T S

C R E A T E O R C L A I MG M B L I S T I N G

R E V I E W L I S T I N GI N F O R M A T I O N

V E R I F Y T H E L I S T I N G

Step #1

C L A I M T I E R 1L I S I T N G S

Step #2

C L A I M S M A L L E RL I S T I N G S V I AA G G R E G A T O R S A N DL O C A L S I T E S

C L A I M T I E R 2L I S T I N G S

F I N D A N D R E M O V ED U P L I C A T E S

Step #3A U D I T Y O U RR E V I E W S

R E S P O N D T O Y O U RR E V I E W S

Step #4

Step #5

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