Local SEO checklist: 35 steps in priority order

Every step below links to the monthly local SEO plan at the point a business decides to hand the list to an agency instead of finishing it alone.

1. Claim and verify your Google Business Profile

   Claim the profile matching your business name and address at business.google.com, then complete the postcard, phone or email verification Google offers. A profile is not eligible to rank in the map pack until verification finishes. Done when: the profile shows a verified status in the dashboard. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

2. Match the business name to your signage

   Enter the exact name printed on your storefront, truck or invoices, with no added keywords such as "best" or the service type. Google treats extra words in the name field as a policy violation that risks suspension. Done when: the profile name matches your signage exactly. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

3. Choose the most specific primary category

   Pick the one category that completes "This business is a…", as narrow as Google’s list allows ("Nail salon", not "Salon"). The primary category carries more ranking weight than any other profile field. Done when: the primary category names your core service. Free tool: Google Business Profile editor.

4. Add additional categories for distinct lines of work

   List up to 9 additional categories for every other service you perform, such as adding "HVAC contractor" to a plumbing business that also installs furnaces. Done when: every distinct service line has a matching category. Free tool: Google Business Profile editor.

5. Set your address or your service areas

   Storefront businesses show a verified street address; service-area businesses hide the address and list up to 20 service areas, each within about 2 hours’ driving of the office. Ranking follows the verified address; the service-area setting is visual only. Done when: the address or service-area list matches how customers reach you. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

6. Set regular and special hours

   Enter weekly hours and add special hours for holidays before they occur, so the profile never shows an incorrect "Open now" status. Done when: profile hours match the hours on your website and door signage. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

7. List every service and product

   Add each service or product the business sells as its own list item, with a short description, in the profile’s services and products sections. Done when: every service offered on the website also appears on the profile. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

8. Write a factual business description

   Write a description of what the business does, the areas it serves and what makes it different, stating facts the business can prove rather than promotional claims. Done when: the description reads as fact, not as an ad. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

9. Upload photos and select attributes

   Upload a logo, a cover photo, and photos of the location, team and completed work, then select every accurate attribute, such as "Wheelchair accessible" or "Free Wi-Fi". Done when: photos and attributes are current and accurate. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

Step 3, choosing the primary category, is worth doing carefully: see picking a primary GBP category for the full list of categories by trade. A business that has completed steps 1 through 9 and still is not visible can hand profile management to GBP optimization instead of maintaining it alone.

10. Match your website NAP to the profile

    Publish the identical business name, address and phone number in the website footer and contact page, matching the profile character for character, down to suite numbers and abbreviations. Done when: the website NAP matches the profile NAP exactly. Free tool: side-by-side browser tabs.

11. Publish one page for each service

    Create one dedicated page per service instead of one page listing every service, since a dedicated page for each service is the top local organic ranking factor in Whitespark’s 2026 survey. Done when: every core service has its own URL. Free tool: none, a content task.

12. Publish one page for each city you serve

    Create one page per city or county in the service area, each naming neighborhoods, landmarks or housing types specific to that place. Done when: every served city has its own page. Free tool: none, a content task.

13. Put the service and city in each title tag

    Write each page’s title tag with the service and the city together, such as "Furnace Repair in Overland Park, KS", to match the wording a searcher types. Done when: every service and city page’s title contains both terms. Free tool: page source (Ctrl or Cmd+U).

14. Link the profile to the matching page

    Set the Business Profile’s website field to the specific service or city page a searcher needs, not always the homepage. Done when: the profile’s website link opens the most relevant page for that listing. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

15. Embed a map and directions on the contact page

    Add an embedded Google Map and written directions from a nearby landmark to the contact page, so visitors and Google can both confirm the location. Done when: the contact page shows a working map and directions. Free tool: Google Maps embed.

16. Pass Core Web Vitals on mobile

    Test the homepage and one service page in PageSpeed Insights and fix any metric flagged "poor" on mobile, since slow mobile pages lose both rankings and visitors. Done when: PageSpeed Insights shows no "poor" Core Web Vitals on mobile. Free tool: PageSpeed Insights.

17. Audit your existing listings for NAP mismatches

    Search the business name across Google, Bing, Yelp and Facebook, and record every listing that shows an old address, a wrong phone number or a misspelled name. Done when: every existing listing is logged with its current NAP. Free tool: Google Search.

18. Claim Bing Places and Apple Business

    Create or claim listings on Bing Places for Business and Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Connect), matching the same NAP used on the Google profile. Done when: both listings are live and verified. Free tool: Bing Places, Apple Business.

19. Claim Yelp, BBB, Facebook and Nextdoor

    Claim the business page on Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Facebook and Nextdoor Business, completing the category, hours and description fields on each. Done when: all 4 profiles are claimed and complete. Free tool: each platform’s business signup.

20. Submit your business to the data aggregators

    Submit the business once to Data Axle and Foursquare for Business, the aggregators that feed downstream directories, maps and apps with the business’s NAP. Done when: both aggregator submissions are confirmed. Free tool: Data Axle, Foursquare for Business.

21. Merge or remove duplicate listings

    Search the business name and address for a second, unclaimed listing, then request a merge or removal; Google states a listing considered a duplicate will not show on Search or Maps. Done when: only one profile remains for the location. Free tool: Google Business Profile support.

A verified list of where to submit these citations, sorted by tier, county and cost, is in KC citation sources.

22. Create your review link and QR code

    Open the profile’s Read reviews panel and select Get more reviews to generate a direct review link and a QR code; the QR code generates on a computer browser only. Done when: the link and QR code are saved for reuse. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

23. Ask every customer within 24 hours

    Send the review link by text or email to every customer within 24 hours of finishing the job, while the experience is still fresh. Done when: a review request goes out the same day as every completed job. Free tool: text or email.

24. Reply to every review

    Reply to every review, positive or negative, within a few days, thanking the reviewer or addressing the complaint factually. Done when: no review sits without an owner reply for more than a week. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

25. Offer no incentives and skip no customers

    Ask every customer for a review, never a selected few, and never offer a discount, gift or drawing entry in exchange for a review; Google’s policy prohibits both incentives and selective solicitation. Done when: the request process treats every customer the same. Free tool: none, a policy task.

26. Report fake reviews to Google

    Flag any review naming a service the business does not offer or a visit that never happened, using the Report review option, then follow up if it is not removed. Done when: every suspected fake review has been reported. Free tool: Google Business Profile.

27. Join a Kansas City chamber of commerce

    Join the chamber of commerce for the city of your verified address, which lists members in a public directory with a link to their website.

28. Sponsor a local team, event or nonprofit

    Sponsor a youth sports team, a community event or a local nonprofit that publishes a sponsors page, earning a link from a site Google already associates with the metro. Done when: at least one sponsorship page links to the business. Free tool: none, an outreach task.

29. Request supplier and manufacturer listings

    Ask suppliers, manufacturers or franchisors for inclusion on their find-a-dealer or find-a-provider locator page. Done when: the business appears in at least one supplier locator. Free tool: none, an outreach task.

30. Pitch local news and best-of lists

    Pitch a Kansas City newsroom or a best-of list publisher with a fact the business can prove; presence on expert-curated best-of lists is the top AI-search visibility factor in Whitespark’s 2026 survey. Done when: at least one pitch has been sent. Free tool: none, an outreach task.

31. Add LocalBusiness schema to your site

    Add JSON-LD LocalBusiness markup stating the name, address, phone, hours and URL on the homepage, matching the text already visible on the page. Done when: the markup is present in the page source. Free tool: a text editor.

32. Validate the markup

    Paste the page URL into the Rich Results Test and fix any error it reports before publishing the markup live. Done when: the Rich Results Test returns zero errors for the page. Free tool: Rich Results Test.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Your Business Name",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main St",
    "addressLocality": "Your City",
    "addressRegion": "KS",
    "postalCode": "00000"
  },
  "telephone": "+1-913-000-0000",
  "openingHours": "Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00"
}

Example markup only — every value must match the text already visible on your own page.

33. Tag the profile’s website link with UTM parameters

    Add UTM source, medium and campaign parameters to the website link inside the Business Profile, so profile clicks appear separately from other traffic in analytics. Done when: the profile’s website link carries a UTM-tagged URL. Free tool: Google’s Campaign URL Builder.

34. Track calls and form leads

    Connect a call-tracking number or the profile’s built-in call button to analytics, and confirm every website form submission logs an event. Done when: calls and form leads both appear as tracked events. Free tool: Google Analytics 4.

35. Run a monthly grid rank report

    Check map pack position from multiple points across the service area once a month, since a single search from the office address hides how the business ranks in other neighborhoods. Done when: a grid report has run in the current month. Free tool: a manual multi-point search from Search Console’s URL is the free substitute for a paid grid-rank checker.

1. Do first (week 1): steps 1–9, 21, 22 and 23.
2. Do next (weeks 2–4): steps 10–14, 17–20, 24–26.
3. Do monthly: steps 27–30 and 33–35.

Steps 15, 16, 31 and 32 also fall in weeks 2–4.

A business that scores under 25 completed steps, or cannot tell which steps are done, is a candidate for a fixed-price SEO audit instead of a self-score. Kansas City SEO Pros serves the cities we serve in Kansas and Missouri and reviews all 35 steps as part of that audit.