Local SEO self-audit checklist

35 checks you can run yourself with free tools. Anything you can't check off is your to-do list, roughly in order of payoff. Each section matches a chapter of the free guide at schreiergroup.com/free-seo.

1 · Google Business Profile

1. Verified, and I own the login.Helpers are managers, not owners. The login is under an email I control.
2. Business name is my real-world name.No extra keywords or towns added.
3. Primary category matches my core service.Compare with the category under the top three names on Maps.
4. Secondary categories are only things I really do.
5. Every real service listed, with a plain description.Prices or ranges where I can.
6. Description, hours and holiday hours are right.Service-area business: address hidden, towns listed.
7. Real photos added this month.Work, team, outside and inside. No stock.
8. Website button points to the matching page, with a tracking tag.Example: ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp
9. One real post in the last week or two.

2 · Reviews

1. Every customer gets the same review ask, right after the job.Use the "Ask for reviews" link from the profile.
2. New reviews arrived this month.Steady beats a burst.
3. Every review has a reply.Bad ones: once, calm, offer to fix it offline, no private details.
4. No incentives, no gating, no fake or staff reviews.Google rules and the FTC's 2024 review rule.

3 · Name, address, phone and listings

1. My one true name, address and phone record is written down.
2. Bing Places and Apple Business Connect claimed and matching.
3. Yelp, Facebook, BBB and Nextdoor match exactly.
4. Chamber, trade and supplier directories match.
5. Old phone numbers and old addresses searched and fixed.Search each one in quotes.

4 · Website

1. PageSpeed Insights run on mobile; the big red items fixed.pagespeed.web.dev. Speed is a tiebreaker for Google and a dealbreaker for callers.
2. On my phone: what, where and tap-to-call show without scrolling.
3. One page per service, each with a plain heading: service + town.
4. Every page has its own title (about 55 characters) and description.
5. LocalBusiness schema passes the Rich Results Test.search.google.com/test/rich-results
6. Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools set up; sitemap submitted.

5 · AI search

1. robots.txt doesn't block AI crawlers.Open yoursite.com/robots.txt. Look for Disallow under OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Bingbot.
2. A 3 to 5 sentence answer block near the top of key pages.What, where, price method, credentials, how to reach me.
3. Same facts everywhere.Founding year, services, service area, phone.
4. Optional: llms.txt with real [name](link) links.

6 · Security and trust

1. HTTPS only, http redirects, HSTS on.
2. Security headers graded and improved.Mozilla HTTP Observatory.
3. SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass.mxtoolbox.com. Domains that never send mail: locked with -all and p=reject.
4. BuiltWith shows nothing old or leftover.builtwith.com: old plugins, removed pixels, outdated libraries.
5. Real photos, license numbers, service area and prices on the site.

7 · The map

1. I searched my main service from several spots around my area.Or ran a geo-grid map check. Noted where I'm top three and where I disappear.
2. I'll repeat it next month with the same spots and the same words.

My score: ______ / 35    Check again on: ____________