A local SEO audit answers one simple question: why does your business show up, or not show up, when people nearby search for what you do? Instead of guessing, you check each part of your local presence in order and write down what is broken.
You don’t need expensive software to do it. Most of the checks below take a browser, your Google Business Profile and an hour of focused time. At the end you will have a short list of fixes, ranked by how much they matter.
Key takeaways
- Start with your Google Business Profile. It drives the map results, so problems there cost you the most.
- Check your rankings from your customers’ locations, not from your office. Local results change from street to street.
- Finish with a prioritised fix list. An audit is only useful if it tells you what to do first.
Before you start
Open a simple spreadsheet with three columns: what you checked, what you found, and how serious it is (high, medium or low). Then collect a few things:
- Access to your Google Business Profile and Google Search Console.
- Your business name, address and phone number exactly as they should appear everywhere.
- A list of 5 to 10 searches a customer would type to find you, such as “dentist near me” or “emergency plumber Leeds”.
Step 1: Check your Business Profile is yours and verified
Search for your business name on Google Maps. Make sure the profile that appears is verified and managed by someone in your business, not a former employee or an agency you no longer work with. Check who has owner and manager access, and remove anyone who shouldn’t be there.
Look for duplicates too. Google’s guidelines say there should be only one profile per business, and only one per location. Duplicate profiles split your reviews and confuse Google about which listing is real. If you find one, ask Google to merge or remove it.
Step 2: Compare the profile with Google’s guidelines
Google publishes clear rules for Business Profiles, and breaking them can get a profile suspended. Check these points against Google’s guidelines:
- Name: your real business name only. Google says not to add taglines, locations, phone numbers or product details to it.
- Address or service area: if you serve customers at their address and don’t receive them at yours, Google says you should hide your address and set a service area instead.
- Hours: your regular, customer-facing hours, plus special hours for holidays.
- Categories: the most specific primary category that describes what your business is, and as few extra categories as possible.
Step 3: Audit the details customers see
Now read the profile as a customer would. Is the description clear and up to date? Are your main services listed? Do the photos show your real storefront, team and work, and were any added in the last few months? Is the website link correct, and does it open a page that matches the profile?
Every gap here is a missed chance. Complete, accurate details help Google match you to more searches and help people choose you once they find you.
Step 4: Check where you rank on the map
Search each of your 5 to 10 phrases and note whether you appear in the map results. Do this from a few locations in your area, because local results depend on how close the searcher is. A business can rank first near its office and not at all two kilometres away.
You can do this by hand with a phone while moving around your area, or use a geo-grid rank tracker, which checks your position at many points on a map. Either way, the goal is to see where you are visible and where you disappear.
Step 5: Study the businesses that beat you
For each important search, look at the three businesses that appear above you. Compare them with your profile: their primary category, number of reviews, average rating, how recently they were reviewed, and how complete their profile is.
You are not trying to copy them. You are looking for clear gaps. If every competitor has more than 100 recent reviews and you have 12, that is your answer.
Step 6: Review your reviews
Check the total number of reviews, your average rating, and how recent the latest ones are. Then read the last twenty. Are there complaints that keep coming up? Have you replied to them?
Google says that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. Just as important, people read reviews and your replies before they call. A steady flow of new, genuine reviews with polite replies does more than a large number of old ones.
Step 7: Check your name, address and phone number everywhere
Search for your business name and phone number and look at the directories that appear, such as Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Facebook and the directories that matter in your industry. Note every listing with an old address, an old phone number or a different version of your name.
Inconsistent details make it harder for search engines to trust your information. Fix the most visible listings first.
Step 8: Audit your website for local signals
Your website should confirm what your profile says. Check that:
- Your name, address and phone number appear on the site and match the profile exactly.
- Each core service has its own page, and each location has its own page if you have several.
- Page titles and headings mention your location where it is natural.
- The site has LocalBusiness structured data with your correct details.
- Pages load quickly and work well on a phone. Read our guide to Core Web Vitals to see which speed issues actually matter.
Step 9: Look at your local search data
In Google Search Console, filter your search results for queries that include your city, your area or “near me”. Look at impressions and clicks over the last three months. Rising impressions with few clicks often mean your titles or descriptions need work. If you are not sure where to look, our guide on how to read Google Search Console walks through the main reports.
In your Business Profile, check the performance numbers: calls, direction requests and website clicks. These are the actions that turn into customers.
Step 10: Turn your findings into a fix list
Go back to your spreadsheet and sort the problems. Fix anything that breaks Google’s guidelines first, because it can get your profile suspended. Next, fix wrong information such as hours, phone numbers and duplicate listings. Then work on growth: reviews, photos, service pages and citations.
Write down your current rankings and numbers before you change anything. That gives you a baseline, so you can see what improved when you repeat the audit.
How often should you run a local SEO audit?
A full audit every three to six months is enough for most small businesses. Check your Business Profile more often, ideally every month, because details can change without you noticing, and new reviews need replies. Run an extra audit after big changes, such as moving premises, changing your phone number or launching a new service.
If you want a list of the tasks to work through after your audit, use our local SEO checklist. It covers the fixes in the order that matters.
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