The local SEO checklist

If you run a local business and want more calls from people nearby, you do not need a 40-page strategy. You need to get the basics right, in the right order. This is the short list - work top to bottom, and you will have done more than most of your competitors. For the bigger picture of why each step matters, start with our local SEO overview.

1. Claim and verify your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (you may still call it Google My Business) is what puts you on Google Maps and in the local results. Search your business name on Google Maps - if a listing already exists, claim it; if not, create one. Then verify that you own it, because Google will not show it publicly until you do. Full walkthrough: how to get your business on Google and how verification works.

2. Fill out every field

A bare profile barely shows up; a complete one is what ranks and earns clicks. Set your hours, write a real description, list your services, and add plenty of photos. Pick the most accurate primary category - it is one of your biggest levers. The optimization checklist covers the fields that actually move rankings, and it feeds your Profile Score.

3. Start earning reviews - and reply to them

After your profile itself, Google reviews are the next biggest factor, both for ranking and for convincing someone to call you instead of the shop next door. Ask every happy customer, and make it one tap with a review link or QR code. Reply to the reviews you get - good and bad. See how to get more Google reviews the right way, which feeds your Reviews Score. This matters even more in trades where customers vet you hard, like dental and roofing.

4. Make your website say where you work and what you do

Your website wins the results below the map. Put your city and service area in your page titles and headings, give each main service its own page, and show your name, address, and phone number on the site. Our guide to on-page local SEO for your website walks through the basics, and it feeds your Website Score.

5. Keep your name, address, and phone number identical everywhere

When your business shows up in other directories and listings, the details should match your profile exactly - same spelling, same suite number, same phone. Mismatched information makes Google less sure it can trust you. This is what local citations are about, and consistency is the whole game.

6. Then keep it up

The first five items are setup. The reason most businesses slip is that nobody watches the profile after launch - hours go stale, a competitor passes you, a bad review sits unanswered for a week. That is the part Retriever Score is built for: it watches your Google presence and tells you what needs attention, so the checklist stays done instead of decaying.

Work this list in order and the foundation is in place - whether you run a plumbing company, an HVAC business, or any other local service. Once the basics are solid, the next question is usually timing: see how long local SEO takes to work.