TL;DR
Local SEO is won in the Google Map Pack. Fix your Google Business Profile first (fastest wins, 2-6 weeks), then reviews, then citation consistency, then on-page location pages, then local links. Track Map Pack position, calls and direction requests monthly - not sitewide impressions.
1. Google Business Profile (do this first)
- Claim and verify the profile - unverified profiles rarely enter the Map Pack.
- Set the correct primary category; add secondary categories only where genuinely relevant.
- Fill the full services list with your money keywords as service names.
- Write a 750-character description that names your city and core services naturally.
- Add service areas (or a precise address for storefronts) - not both when you are service-area only.
- Upload 15+ real photos: exterior, interior, team, work in progress, products.
- Enable messaging and set opening hours plus holiday hours.
- Publish a Google Post weekly - offers, projects, FAQs.
- Answer the Q&A section yourself with the questions buyers actually ask.
2. Reviews and reputation
- Ask every completed customer for a review within 48 hours of delivery.
- Use a short direct review link (not a QR code buried on an invoice).
- Reply to every review, positive and negative, within 72 hours.
- Aim for steady velocity - 2-4 new reviews monthly beats 30 in one week.
- Get reviews that mention the service and the location in natural language.
3. Citations and NAP consistency
- Pick one canonical format for name, address and phone and use it everywhere.
- Fix the big aggregators and maps first, then industry directories.
- Add 5-10 local directories relevant to your city or country.
- Delete or merge duplicate listings - duplicates split your ranking signals.
4. On-page and site structure
- One page per service, per location - never one page targeting five cities.
- Put the city in the title tag, H1, first paragraph and image alt text.
- Embed a map and list neighbourhoods you actually serve.
- Add LocalBusiness schema with address, geo, opening hours and sameAs links.
- Show the phone number as clickable text in the header on mobile.
- Pass Core Web Vitals - local searches are overwhelmingly mobile.
5. Content and links
- Publish one local case study or project page per month with the location named.
- Get links from local sources: chambers, suppliers, sponsorships, local press.
6. Measurement
- Track Map Pack position by query and by location monthly, not sitewide averages.
How long before this works?
Google Business Profile changes are re-crawled within days, so Map Pack movement often shows in 2-6 weeks. Citation cleanup and review velocity compound over 2-3 months. Location pages and local links behave like normal SEO: 3-6 months. If an agency promises Map Pack position 1 in week two, walk away - and read our breakdown of local SEO vs regular SEO to check you are even investing in the right one.
Local SEO checklist FAQs
What is a local SEO checklist?+
A local SEO checklist is an ordered list of the optimizations that influence Google Map Pack and local organic rankings: Google Business Profile completeness, NAP consistency across citations, review velocity, location and service pages on your site, local schema markup, and tracking of calls, direction requests and Map Pack positions.
How long does local SEO take to work?+
Google Business Profile fixes can move Map Pack rankings in 2-6 weeks because the profile is re-crawled constantly. Citation cleanup and review velocity compound over 2-3 months. On-page and content work for local organic results typically takes 3-6 months.
What is the single most important local SEO step?+
Google Business Profile completeness - correct primary category, service area, hours, services list, products, photos and a steady flow of reviews. It is the strongest Map Pack ranking factor and the fastest to fix.
Do I need citations in 2026?+
Yes, but for consistency, not volume. Google uses citations to confirm your name, address and phone are the same everywhere. Fifteen accurate, relevant citations beat 200 auto-submitted ones with mismatched data.
How do I track local SEO results?+
Track four things monthly: Map Pack position for your top 10 queries by location, Google Business Profile calls and direction requests, local organic clicks in Search Console filtered by query, and form submissions or calls attributed to organic.
Want us to run this checklist for you?
We audit your Google Business Profile, citations and location pages, then send a prioritised fix list - free.