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Interactive checklist

The complete local SEO checklist

The steps that move a local business up the map pack and the local organic results, in one list. Check items off as you go; your progress saves in this browser, and you can print the list for your team.

Your progress

0 of 44 done

Google Business Profile

0/11

Reviews and reputation

0/5

Citations and directories

0/6

Local signals on your website

0/7

Website technical basics

0/5

Links and local PR

0/5

Tracking

0/5

How to use it

Work through the list from the top

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. You can’t move your building, so the work goes into the other two. Relevance comes from a complete Google Business Profile, the right categories and service pages that name your cities. Prominence, Google says, draws on information such as how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.

The checklist covers seven sections: your Google Business Profile first, then reviews, citations, local signals on your website, technical basics, links and tracking. Where one of our free tools can check a step for you, the step links to it. For background, see the guides to the Google Business Profile, citation building and the Local Pack. Several items, such as photos and posts, repeat, so come back to the list each month.

Frequently asked

How long does local SEO take to work?
It depends on the change and on your competition. Fixes to your Google Business Profile, such as the category, services and photos, take effect once Google updates the profile; reviews, listings and pages on your website build up over months. Measure before and after each change so you can see what moved.
Do I need to do every item on this checklist?
No. A business with one location and one language can skip parts of the technical work, and some items are habits you repeat. Finish the Google Business Profile and reviews sections, get your listings consistent, then prioritize what your competitors do better than you. The checklist saves your progress, so working through it over weeks is expected.
Why does my map pack rank change across town?
Distance is one of the three main factors Google names for local results, so results change with where the searcher is. A business can rank first two blocks away and seventh across town. That is why a single rank check misleads, and why the tracking section suggests a geo-grid scan that checks your rank from many points across your service area.
Does this checklist help with AI assistants like ChatGPT?
It can. Assistants that search the web read many of the same sources this checklist improves: your website, directories and reviews. The tracking section links to a free AI visibility check so you can see whether ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini recommend you today.

See if AI names you when customers ask who’s best.

Enter your website. In about two minutes, Rank.ai asks ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini 12 questions your customers ask and grades how often they name you.

  • Your grade out of 100How often AI names you, cites your site, and how high it ranks you.
  • Who gets namedEvery competitor in the answers, most named first.
  • The pages AI readsThe sources behind each answer.
  • Three fixesWhat to fix first, with a brief for the first page.