How To Do A Local SEO Audit
Ella Pybus |
10 July, 2025 |
5 minute read |
Blog, Digital Marketing, SEO
If your business isn’t showing up in Google when locals search, then you’re losing out on potential customers. 4 out of 5 consumers turn to search engines when looking for information about local businesses.
A local SEO audit is like your roadmap to being seen online by the people in your area who are actively looking for what you offer. It’s a process of reviewing how your business appears in local search results and identifying areas for improvement to increase visibility, traffic, and conversions.
Whether you’re a plumber in Newcastle, a hairdresser in Manchester or even a cafe in Edinburgh, local SEO is important, and if you’re not on top of it, chances are your competitors are.
In this blog, we’ll discuss what a local SEO audit involves, how to do one yourself, and why it’s so important to grow your business.
Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the first thing people will see when they search for your business – even before they click on your website.
If it’s out of date, incomplete, or inconsistent, you could be affecting your chances of showing up for local SEO.
It’s a good idea to take a few minutes to review your profile. We’d recommend reviewing the following:
- Are your business name, contact information, and address correct and consistent across all your channels?
- Are opening hours up to date, especially around bank holidays and special events? You don’t want someone turning up to your café for breakfast to see that you’re shut, all because your opening hours were incorrect on Google.
- Are you using the most recent photos and often updating them?
- Are you responding to reviews regularly? Both the good and the bad! 75% of consumers say they “always” or “regularly” read online reviews when researching local businesses.
Responding to reviews shows potential customers that you care, and also tells Google that your business is active and engaged.
Even something as simple as adding a new photo or posting an update once a month can keep your profile fresh and improve your chances of being found.
More than your GBP
Google pulls data from across the web to verify the accuracy of your business details. Ensure your business name, address, and phone number match exactly across all platforms, not just your Google Business Profile; even small differences, like using ‘Street’ vs. ‘St.’ can affect consistency.
Want to dig deeper? Check out our beginner’s guide on How to Dominate Local SEO
Review your website’s local SEO basics
Once your Google listing is optimised, it’s time to focus on your website. Think of your site as the home for all your local SEO; it should communicate who you are, what you do, and where you do it.
Local Content
Your homepage and contact page should naturally reference your service area, ideally in key headings, body content, and metadata (such as title tags and meta descriptions). This helps search engines connect your business to relevant local searches. Ensure you avoid keyword stuffing – write for humans first, and Google second.
If you cover multiple locations, consider creating dedicated location pages with unique content tailored to each area you serve. You should also implement location-specific schema markup to give search engines more structured information about your business and improve visibility in local search results.
Make Sure Your Website Loads Quickly and is Mobile-Friendly
Most local searches occur on mobile devices, so your site needs to load quickly and be easy to navigate. A slow or awkward mobile experience can send potential customers straight to a competitor.
Schema markup
This one’s a bit more technical, but adding local business schema to your site helps Google understand your business better. Schema can include your business name, location, hours, reviews, and more, and can boost your chances of showing up in rich search results.
Check your contact page
- Is your full address listed?
- Is there a contact form and a clickable phone number?
- Have you embedded a Google Map showing your location?
All of these signals to both users and search engines that you’re a real, local business they can trust.
Don’t forget local citations and backlinks
Beyond your website and Google profile, local citations play a big role in building trust with search engines.
A citation is any online reference to your business’s key details — typically your name, address, and phone number (NAP). Citations come in two forms:
- Structured citations, which appear in online directories like Yelp, Yell, or Google Business Profile listings.
- Unstructured citations, which are more informal mentions, such as a blog post or news article that includes your business information.
Both types help search engines verify your business’s legitimacy and location, which can support better local search rankings.
The more high-quality, consistent citations you have, the more trust Google has in your business.
Our final thoughts
A local SEO audit is one of the most important, and surprisingly doable, steps for any local business.
By reviewing your Google Business Profile, polishing your website’s local signals, and ensuring your business info is consistent across search engines, you’ll be in a much stronger position to rank, attract, and convert local traffic.
It doesn’t need to be perfect, but it does need to be better than your competitors.
Explore more insights in our blog ‘why local SEO matters’ to boost your business’s visibility where it counts.
Photo© by jane2812 from pixabay.
