Local Business SEO Checklist: 7 Steps to Rank in Your Town
1
19
0
Table of Contents: Jump to Checklist Item
For local businesses, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a vital part of your digital marketing strategy. When implemented well, it helps your business rank organically on search engines which, in turn, builds trust, visibility, and authority. Plus, who doesn't love seeing their business naturally rank on the first page on Google?
How does a business begin to rank, especially without pouring money into sponsored ads? Rankings matter, since “consumers look for specific trust signals in local search. The top 3 factors that influence their decision to choose a business are: photos, Google reviews, and position on the search engine results page (SERP).” (ReviewTrackers)
So are you ready to start ranking using less money and more strategy? Utilize this SEO checklist:
Perform A Website Audit
Before you attempt to implement changes, you need to know what is and isn’t working for your business.
An in-depth assessment of your website will identify issues that can impact SEO like website health, organic traffic insights, crawlability, and more.
There are plenty of tools out there that can assess your website. Try SEMrush, Moz, or Google Search Console.
Once you know where your site stands, you can begin working on these next steps!
Optimize for Mobile
Begin to check your website for accessibility and navigation. Whether you’re a restaurant that needs a clear menu, an auto-body shop that needs up-front services, or anything in between, your website often makes that first impression for those searching on whatever screen they use
Pull up your website on your phone and see how it looks. Is it easy to navigate? Can you find the important info quickly? If not, your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) ranking could take a hit. Once you’ve taken a look, check if your website platform (like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress) offers any mobile optimization tools or plugins.
If your site has a lot of pages or custom features, making it mobile-friendly might take some time, but once it’s set up, keeping it optimized gets much easier.
Conduct a Local Business SEO Keyword Search
Regularly conducting SEO keyword research is crucial to knowing your audience, what content you can be producing, and where you are already a source of authority.
For instance, if you are a local bookstore, you can benefit from regularly performing keyword searches that help you curate blogs about reading habits, promote a book or author on your social media, and so much more! Keywords are the foundation of an effective multi-channel marketing strategy.” See checklist items #5, #6, and #7 for more details on how and where to apply SEO.
Tons of tools have SEO keyword search features that allow you to capitalize on your business offerings. SEMrush or Ahrefs are just one of many options at your disposal!
Enhance Your Business’s Google (and other Search Engines) Profile
Have you ever steered clear of a business because you saw one too many negative reviews? You can avoid that with both your in-store vibe and your online presence. Take time to establish and enhance your business’s profile. This is a free and simple process
Review your store’s information, ensure accuracy, implement keywords into relevant descriptions, and respond to any Google Reviews! For a tutorial on updating your Google profile, click here.
Organic SEO tip: Include relevant keywords to your business profile, every little bit counts!
Implement Geo-Targeting Digital Marketing Tactics
One of the most powerful tools in your local marketing toolkit is geo-targeting. Geo-targeting (also known as geo-fencing) lets you focus your ad spend and digital efforts on people in your specific area.
Rather than wasting your budget on ads that reach someone 600 miles away, you can make sure your marketing shows up for the people most likely to walk through your door.
Here’s how to start:
On Google Ads: Set location targeting to focus on your town, surrounding neighborhoods, or specific radius. You can even exclude areas where your customers aren’t likely to come from.
On Meta (Facebook & Instagram): When creating an ad, choose “Audience” settings and narrow by location.
On LinkedIn: Target professionals in your local area by setting geographic filters during ad setup.
On YouTube Ads: Use Google Ads to set geographic parameters for video campaigns.
Organic SEO tip: Include your city or neighborhood name in page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text, and headers to improve your visibility in local searches—even without running paid ads.
Geo-targeting helps you get more from your budget and ensures you're reaching the right people right where they are.
Create Relevant, Local Content
Having a cache of resources that shows you are a trustworthy source of authority is great—and even better if catering to your location!
Use your list of keywords to determine what might make great blogs or articles. You can also leverage a niche topic and become a source of authority on it to use in a campaign across your platforms (see checklist item #7).
Promote Content Across All Your Channels
If you have the capacity, don’t limit yourself to one medium! When you utilize your keywords across multiple platforms, you'll have better reach, better engagement, and better authority.
Great examples of incorporating SEO strategies across your mediums include:
Posting fresh content regularly to boost engagement and search visibility.
Publishing blogs on your site and on social media using local keywords to reinforce your authority.
Using videos—like how-tos, behind-the-scenes, or customer stories—to enhance local engagement.
Empowered with Local Business SEO Strategies
Staying on top of local SEO doesn’t have to feel like a full-time job; but we get it: when you’re running a business, your time is already spoken for. If you’re ready to grow your online visibility but don’t have the bandwidth to manage all the moving parts, Spark is here to help.
We specialize in helping small businesses like yours rank higher, attract more local customers, and build long-term digital authority.
Schedule a free consultation to see how Spark can partner with your business to build and maintain a local SEO strategy that works so you can focus on what you do best.
