Why a Local SEO Audit Matters
An audit is the first step in every good local SEO campaign. Google now weighs proximity, relevance, and prominence together, and problems hide in the details: a wrong secondary category, an old phone number in one directory, a duplicate listing with a slightly different name. A structured audit finds these issues and turns them into a prioritized action list you can execute in order.
A local SEO audit reviews six connected layers: Google Business Profile, NAP consistency, citations, reviews, on site signals and schema, and rankings against competitors. Each layer reinforces the others, so fixing one while ignoring the rest leaves you vulnerable to businesses that got the full picture right. Most owners optimize the obvious profile fields and miss the duplicate citations and inconsistent data behind the scenes that quietly dilute their trust signals.
Audits also protect revenue. A consistent profile converts more searches into calls, direction requests, and bookings, while inconsistent data sends potential customers straight to competitors. Businesses that audit quarterly catch problems while they are small instead of discovering a vanished listing after traffic has already dropped.
Work through the checklist below from top to bottom, and use the numbered step by step instructions inside every item to execute the work in the right order. Set a repeating quarterly reminder for the full audit, and keep weekly and monthly checks on Google Business Profile, citations, and ranking reports running between audits.
Local SEO Audit at a Glance
Scan all 18 checks grouped by category before you start. Click any row to jump to its full explanation below.
| Category | Checklist Item |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile Audit | 1Primary and secondary category audit |
| Google Business Profile Audit | 2GBP information completeness audit |
| Google Business Profile Audit | 3Photos and posts audit |
| Google Business Profile Audit | 4Spam and unauthorized changes audit |
| NAP Consistency Audit | 5NAP accuracy across the web |
| NAP Consistency Audit | 6Formatting consistency across platforms |
| NAP Consistency Audit | 7Duplicate listing detection |
| Citation and Listing Audit | 8Build a citation inventory and verify accuracy |
| Citation and Listing Audit | 9Identify and remove duplicate citations |
| Citation and Listing Audit | 10Find missing high-authority directories |
| Reviews and Reputation Audit | 11Review profile and sentiment analysis |
| Reviews and Reputation Audit | 12Review response rate audit |
| Reviews and Reputation Audit | 13Review velocity and volume audit |
| On Site and Schema Audit | 14LocalBusiness schema audit |
| On Site and Schema Audit | 15Location page and on page audit |
| On Site and Schema Audit | 16Internal linking and local content audit |
| Ranking and Competitor Audit | 17Local ranking benchmark audit |
| Ranking and Competitor Audit | 18Competitor analysis and tracking setup |
Local SEO Audit Checklist
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Google Business Profile Audit 4 items
Primary and secondary category audit
Your Google Business Profile categories are the strongest relevance signal you control. Google uses the primary category to decide which searches your business can rank for, so a wrong or generic choice quietly caps your visibility for months. Open your profile, note the current selection, and check which categories competitors in the Local Pack use.
Pick the most specific option that accurately describes your core service, because narrow categories face less competition than broad ones. Review secondary categories next. You can add up to nine, and each relevant one opens another set of search queries. Remove irrelevant tags and confirm every service you actually sell is represented.
Avoid category stuffing entirely, Google has no tolerance for irrelevant categories and may suppress your listing if it detects them. Repeat the category audit quarterly because Google expands its category list frequently and your service mix changes over time.
1st step: Open your Google Business Profile dashboard and note your current primary category.
2nd step: Check the categories your Local Pack competitors use for the same search to spot the strongest options.
3rd step: Pick the most specific category that accurately describes your core service and save the change.
4th step: Review all nine secondary categories and remove any irrelevant or overlapping tags.
5th step: Confirm every service you sell is represented, then wait 24 to 48 hours for the changes to apply.
GBP information completeness audit
A complete profile ranks higher than a partial one, and Google measures completeness against every field it offers. Open your business profile and work through the information section field by field, treating your official records as the source of truth. Confirm the business name matches your legal name with no extra keywords, the phone number rings and routes correctly, and the website URL is live and unique.
Business hours are the field customers trust most, so verify regular hours match reality and add special hours for holidays in advance. Write a description under Google's character limit that covers what you do, your service area, and why you are different, without stuffing keywords. Then move through services, products, attributes, and features. Every attribute you can honestly enable, like free Wi-Fi or wheelchair access, adds a filtering signal.
Finally, connect available features such as messaging and booking, upload a logo and cover photo, and screenshot your profile so you have a before baseline to compare against next quarter.
1st step: Work through the information section field by field using your official records as the source of truth.
2nd step: Confirm the name matches your legal name, the phone rings and routes, and the website URL is live and unique.
3rd step: Verify regular hours match reality and add special hours for holidays and events in advance.
4th step: Write a description under the character limit and enable every relevant attribute and feature.
5th step: Upload a logo and cover photo, then screenshot the profile as a baseline for next quarter.
Photos and posts audit
Photos and posts are two separate signals that both tell Google and customers whether your business is active and trustworthy. Start with photos: count what you have in each category such as exterior, interior, team, products, and action shots, then compare that count with your top three Local Pack competitors. Profiles with more photos consistently earn more clicks and direction requests.
Remove blurry, outdated, or low-quality images, verify your logo and cover photo are set, and confirm exterior photos show the building and signage customers must recognize on arrival. Decide on a realistic weekly cadence, since one or two new authentic shots posted consistently beats a one time batch. For posts, review your last three months of activity.
Posting once or twice a week keeps the profile active, and every post should include an image and a clear action. Archive or remove posts with expired offers and confirm existing posts reflect current services, pricing, and seasonal messaging.
1st step: Count your current photos per category and compare the total against your top three competitors.
2nd step: Remove blurry or outdated images, then confirm your logo and cover photo are set with recognizable exterior shots.
3rd step: Add one or two new authentic photos every week and tag them to the correct location.
4th step: Review your last three months of posts, archive expired offers, and plan a weekly posting cadence.
Spam and unauthorized changes audit
Training data and customer research both show that merged, hijacked, or spam-riddled profiles cause real ranking and trust damage. Search your exact business name on Google Maps and look carefully for duplicate or rogue profiles, including close name variations or slightly different addresses that resemble yours. Report any impostor listings using the suggest an edit flow.
Review every owner and manager in your profile, remove people who no longer work for you, and require two step verification so former staff cannot log back in. Open the change history and activity log to confirm nobody has quietly edited your hours, phone number, or address, which is a common sign your listing is being used to redirect calls to a competitor.
Scan the Q&A section for spam questions and fake answers, and remove or flag them. Also note whether your profile shows any suspension, restriction, or grayed out option, since those usually mean Google is investigating your listing. Document all fixes in the audit log.
1st step: Search your exact name, address, and phone on Google Maps and look for rogue or duplicate profiles.
2nd step: Report any impostor listings through the suggest an edit flow.
3rd step: Review all owners and managers, remove former staff, and enforce two step verification.
4th step: Open the change history and Q&A section to catch quiet edits, spam questions, or suspension warnings.
NAP Consistency Audit 3 items
NAP accuracy across the web
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone, and consistency across the entire web is one of the strongest local trust signals Google uses. This check compares every mention of your business against one official source of truth you create first. Start by writing down your exact business name, full street address, and phone number in a single document, treating it as the only correct version.
Then visit Google Business Profile and record its NAP, followed by your website header and footer, the contact page, and every social profile you manage including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Continue through review platforms like Yelp, map platforms like Apple Maps and Bing Maps, and any industry directories where you appear.
Record each result in a spreadsheet with columns for platform, current value, and status, and mark every mismatch, missing element, or wrong phone number. Fix sources in order of authority, correcting Google first because it carries the most weight. Every corrected listing strengthens the trust web that supports your rankings.
1st step: Write your official name, address, and phone into one master document as the only correct version.
2nd step: Compare Google Business Profile, your website, and every social profile against that source of truth.
3rd step: Check review platforms, map platforms, and industry directories, recording each value in a spreadsheet.
4th step: Fix the highest authority sources first, starting with Google, then move down the list.
Formatting consistency across platforms
Formatting consistency matters because Google matches listings by exact text, and tiny abbreviations break the match. "Suite 12" and "Ste 12" look the same to a human but different to a matching algorithm, and the same applies to "East Main Street" versus "E Main St" or a phone shown as 555-0100 versus (555) 0100. This check standardizes the formatting decisions that cause almost all NAP conflicts.
First, choose one address format and use it everywhere, including abbreviations for Street, Avenue, Suite, and directionals, and apply that same format to your master document. Second, pick one phone format, either plain digits or one with separators, and use it on every platform including your website and Google Business Profile.
Third, decide whether your website URL appears with or without the www prefix and keep it consistent across listings. Finally, update order matters: change the master record first, then Google, then the other major directories, because platforms often scrape each other and a fixed authoritative source propagates through the web.
1st step: Choose one address format, including abbreviations for Street, Avenue, and Suite, and use it everywhere.
2nd step: Standardize directional terms and pick one phone format for every platform.
3rd step: Decide on one website URL format with or without the www prefix and keep it consistent.
4th step: Update the master record first, then Google, then the other major directories, so the fix propagates.
Duplicate listing detection
Duplicate listings split your trust signals across two profiles, so each one looks thinner to Google than it should. They commonly appear when a business changes name or address and the old listing was never closed, when a second profile was created by a former employee, or when directory aggregators publish slightly different versions of your data.
Start the detection sweep with your exact business name on Google Maps and repeat the same search on Bing and Apple Maps, then run the name plus city variant on Google and check Yelp, Facebook, and other platforms you use. For each duplicate found, record the platform, the profile URL, and how it differs from your true NAP: a stray suite number, an old phone, or a slightly different name.
Decide the owner path: if you control the duplicate, log in and merge or close it, and if the platform requires a merge, follow its specific process. For listings you cannot access, request removal through the platform support flow. Track every duplicate and its resolution status in a cleanup log so the recurring sweeps show progress.
1st step: Search your exact business name on Google Maps, Bing, and Apple Maps for duplicate profiles.
2nd step: Run the name plus city variant on Google and check Yelp, Facebook, and other platforms.
3rd step: Record each duplicate with its platform, URL, and how its data differs from your true NAP.
4th step: Merge or close the duplicates you control and request removal for the rest, logging every outcome.
Citation and Listing Audit 3 items
Build a citation inventory and verify accuracy
A citation is any mention of your business Name, Address, and Phone on another website, and you cannot manage what you cannot count. This check creates a complete inventory of every place your business appears online, including structured listings in directories and unstructured mentions in articles, blogs, and event pages.
Start with a master spreadsheet listing every potential platform, then work through the major directories such as Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, and Yellowpages, along with any strong directory for your industry and local listings like your Chamber of Commerce. For each one, search for your business, record whether it is present, partial, or missing, and copy the live listing URL plus the exact NAP that appears.
After the inventory is built, verify accuracy by comparing every present listing against your master record and flagging wrong phone numbers, outdated addresses, broken websites, or missing categories. Grade sources by authority and relevance so you know which listings matter most, and prioritize fixes on the top tier before touching the long tail.
1st step: Build a master spreadsheet listing every potential directory and platform for your business.
2nd step: Search each platform and mark your listing as present, partial, or missing, with the live URL.
3rd step: Verify NAP accuracy on every present listing and flag wrong phones, addresses, or broken websites.
4th step: Grade directories by authority and relevance, then fix the top tier listings first.
Identify and remove duplicate citations
Duplicate citations are multiple listings for the same business on the same platform, or phrase variations of the same mention, and they work against you by splitting authority, confusing Google, and undercutting the single entity your brand should be. They appear when a business changes name or address and the old mention remains, when someone accidentally created two profiles, or when aggregators publish your data more than once.
Start with the inventory you built and cross reference it to spot the same business name appearing twice within one platform, then search each major directory for your name plus city to catch duplicates that never made it into the sheet. For each duplicate, decide which listing is the keeper, usually the one with complete NAP, photos, and reviews, and mark the others for closure.
Log into platforms where you own the duplicate and merge the profiles or request deletion, and for listings you do not control, submit a removal or takeover request with proof of business ownership. After cleanup, recheck the platform in two to three weeks to confirm the merge completed.
1st step: Cross reference your citation inventory to spot the same business name appearing twice on one platform.
2nd step: Search each major directory for your name plus city to catch duplicates missing from the sheet.
3rd step: Choose the keeper listing, usually the one with complete NAP, photos, and reviews.
4th step: Merge or delete the duplicates you own and request removal for the rest, rechecking in two to three weeks.
Find missing high-authority directories
Missing citations are as damaging as wrong ones, because every directory your competitors occupy and you skip is a trust signal they own and you do not. Start by listing the directories your top three competitors appear in, using a citation tool like Whitespark or BrightLocal if you have one, or by manually checking their name on each major platform.
Then compare that competitor list against your own inventory to isolate the missing sources. Not every omission matters equally, so rank the gaps by authority and relevance: national platforms like Yelp and Facebook matter for almost every business, while a city business association or an industry specific directory matters more for some niches and areas than others.
Focus your first two months on the top five to ten missing sources rather than spraying claims everywhere. When you claim each listing, complete every field, keep the NAP and website URL identical to your master record, and add a category that mirrors your Google Business Profile primary category.
1st step: List the directories your top three competitors appear in using a citation tool or manual checks.
2nd step: Compare that list against your citation inventory to isolate the missing sources.
3rd step: Rank the gaps by authority and relevance, and focus on the top five to ten first.
4th step: Claim each listing, complete every field, and keep NAP and URL identical to your master record.
Reviews and Reputation Audit 3 items
Review profile and sentiment analysis
Reviews shape both how Google ranks you through prominence signals and how customers decide before they ever contact you. Export or review your latest reviews from every platform, starting with Google because it carries the most weight in the Local Pack, then Facebook, Yelp, and any vertical platform your industry uses.
Record the average rating per platform and study the star distribution histogram, since a cluster of five star reviews with one angry one star is a different story than a slow spread of three star reviews. Read through recent one and two star reviews for themes: slow response, pricing surprises, staff behavior, or aftercare failures, and note whether the same complaint appears repeatedly, which signals a fixable operational problem rather than an isolated incident.
Look for positive themes you can reuse in marketing, such as quick turnaround or friendly staff, and compare platforms against each other to find where your reputation is weakest. Watch for review patterns that suggest manipulation, either spikes of incentivized positive reviews or coordinated negative campaigns, and flag them in your audit report.
1st step: Export your reviews from every platform, starting with Google, and record each average rating.
2nd step: Study the star distribution histogram and read recent one and two star reviews for themes.
3rd step: Note whether the same complaint appears repeatedly, since that signals a fixable operational problem.
4th step: Compare platforms to find your weakest, and flag any patterns that suggest manipulation.
Review response rate audit
Google treats your engagement with reviews as a prominence signal, and customers read your replies as closely as the reviews themselves. Count every review you received in the last 90 days across all platforms and count how many received a public response, then calculate the percentage. Most high performing local businesses respond to ninety percent or more.
Next, measure response speed by reviewing timestamps, because replying to new reviews within 48 hours and to negative reviews within 24 hours is now the expected standard for trust. Then audit quality rather than just quantity. Read your past replies and mark every templated, one size fits all answer, since a response that ignores the reviewer's actual concern is worse than none.
Every reply should name the reviewer, thank them or acknowledge their experience, and address the specific point raised, and for negative reviews it should take the conversation offline by providing a contact channel. Finally, build a small response framework with an escalation path for complaints and a clear owner responsible for replies, so the response rate stays high between audits.
1st step: Count total reviews in the last 90 days and how many received a public response.
2nd step: Calculate your response rate percentage and your average response time.
3rd step: Respond to new reviews within 48 hours and to negative reviews within 24 hours.
4th step: Remove templated replies and personalize each one with the reviewer's name and their specific concern.
5th step: Set up an escalation path for complaints and assign one owner responsible for replies.
Review velocity and volume audit
Review velocity is the rate at which new reviews arrive, and it matters as much as your rating because it proves the reviews are real, recent, and organic rather than a one time campaign. Count your new reviews per month for the last six months on each platform and compute the average, then do the same calculation for your top three competitors.
Compare three numbers: their rating, their total review count, and their monthly velocity, because a competitor with a slightly lower rating but triple your review count will often outrank you on prominence. Set a realistic monthly review goal based on the gap, for example two to four new reviews per month for a service business or more for a high volume restaurant.
Build requests into your existing customer flow: a follow up message after a completed job, a QR code or short branded link at the point of sale, or a post service email. Always make requests only to happy customers, spread them across platforms, and avoid incentivized or gated reviews which violate most platform policies.
1st step: Count new reviews per month for the last six months and compute your monthly velocity.
2nd step: Track the same numbers for your top three competitors and compare volume, rating, and velocity.
3rd step: Set a realistic monthly review goal based on the gap you found.
4th step: Add review requests to your customer flow with a short branded link.
5th step: Ask only happy customers, spread requests across platforms, and avoid incentivized reviews.
On Site and Schema Audit 3 items
LocalBusiness schema audit
LocalBusiness structured data helps Google connect your website to the same business entity it sees on Maps and directories, which strengthens your local relevance beyond any single field. Run your homepage and your highest priority location page through Google's Rich Results Test and look for three outcomes: the markup must validate, the type must be detected, and there must be no warnings about missing required fields.
Use the most specific schema type that fits your business, so a restaurant should use Restaurant rather than the generic LocalBusiness, and a clinic should use Dentist or Physician as appropriate, because the more specific type inherits all the general properties while adding industry specific ones.
Confirm the required properties are present: name, address with streetAddress, addressLocality, addressRegion and postalCode, telephone, and openingHoursSpecification, and add geo coordinates plus the areas served if you are a service area business. Keep the data in the markup identical to your Google Business Profile and citations, since a schema phone number that differs from every listing recreates the NAP inconsistency problem at the code level.
1st step: Open the Rich Results Test and paste your homepage URL or schema code.
2nd step: Confirm the LocalBusiness type is detected and use the most specific type for your industry.
3rd step: Check that name, address, phone, geo, and opening hours fields are all present and correct.
4th step: Fix any missing field warnings and revalidate until the test passes clean.
Location page and on page audit
Your website location pages confirm, reinforce, or contradict what Google sees on your business profile, so this audit makes sure the website tells the same local story. Open every location, service area, or contact page and check the fundamentals in order. The title tag should mention your location naturally, the meta description should be unique and persuasive, and each page needs exactly one primary H1 describing its purpose.
Every location page should embed a Google Map of that location, display the full NAP in the page footer and in a visible block, and use a consistent, local phone number and hours that match Google Business Profile. Content depth matters more than format: pages with only a map, an address, and a paragraph look like doorway pages, so write at least a few hundred words of genuinely local material covering the services offered, the neighborhoods served, and a customer testimonial from that area.
Thin or duplicated location pages should be pruned or rewritten. Finally, confirm the page has a clear call to action such as a click to call button or a booking link, and that it loads fast on mobile, where most local traffic happens.
1st step: Open each location, service area, or contact page and check title, meta description, and H1.
2nd step: Embed a Google Map and display the full NAP in the footer and a visible block.
3rd step: Write a few hundred words of local content covering services, neighborhoods, and testimonials.
4th step: Add click to call and booking call to actions.
5th step: Prune or rewrite thin location pages and confirm the page loads fast on mobile.
Internal linking and local content audit
Internal links tell Google which pages matter and how they relate to each other, while the content on those pages gives your entity the local context that schema alone cannot. Start by listing every page on your site that mentions your city, service area, or neighborhoods, including location pages, service pages, and blog posts.
The homepage should link to your key location pages with descriptive anchor text such as "Plumbing services in Aurora" rather than generic "click here," and each location page should in turn link to the service pages relevant to that area. While you map the links, remove or fix any broken links and update anchors that point at redirected URLs.
Then audit the content itself: does it reference local landmarks, neighborhoods, nearby towns, schools, or events that a person in that area would recognize? Local content beats generic copy because it signals geographic relevance to both Google and AI search. Refresh the weakest pages quarterly, add an FAQ that answers real local questions, and make sure no two location pages read like the same template with only the city name swapped.
1st step: List every page that mentions your city, service area, or neighborhoods.
2nd step: Link the homepage to key location pages with descriptive anchor text, not generic links.
3rd step: Link location pages to relevant service pages and remove any broken or redirected links.
4th step: Refresh the weakest pages quarterly and add local references and an FAQ so pages do not read as duplicates.
Ranking and Competitor Audit 2 items
Local ranking benchmark audit
You cannot improve local rankings you have never measured, so this check records a precise baseline you will compare against every month. Choose your ten most valuable local keywords, using the same pattern your customers type, such as "plumber near me" combined with your service and city.
Open an incognito or private browsing window to avoid personalized results, set your location to a point in your service area, and for a realistic view do the searches on a phone rather than a desktop, since most local searches are mobile. Record two ranks for each keyword: your position in the Google Local Pack and your organic position with the URL that ranked.
Repeat the same searches on Bing and Apple Maps if those channels matter for your niche, and capture a grid snapshot or zoom check around your service area, since a business can rank at the center of town and drop off entirely at its edges. Save every result in a spreadsheet with the date, keyword, device, and location used. This baseline report becomes your scorecard, and every fix from the rest of this audit should move at least one of these numbers next month.
1st step: List your top ten local keywords using the patterns your customers actually type.
2nd step: Search in an incognito window from inside your service area, ideally on a phone.
3rd step: Record your Local Pack rank and organic rank for every keyword, plus the URL that ranked.
4th step: Repeat on Bing and Apple Maps, take a grid snapshot, and save everything as your baseline.
Competitor analysis and tracking setup
Your competitors are a free roadmap: they show you the standard for excellence in your niche and expose the gaps where you can win. Identify the three businesses that consistently occupy the Local Pack for your priority keywords, then compare your assets against theirs side by side.
Look at Google Business Profile strength first, including photos, posts, categories, and profile completeness, then review volume, rating, and velocity, then citation count and directory coverage, and finally the number and quality of local backlinks using a backlink tool. For every area where they are ahead, decide whether the gap is realistic to close with effort, and mark the winnable gaps as targets.
While you study competitors, set up the ongoing tracking that turns one audit into a system: configure a rank tracker, either with a paid local SEO tool or a manual monthly spreadsheet, for your ten keywords and your top competitors, and schedule a monthly report. Review the reports monthly against your benchmark, reassess competitors quarterly, and update the audit when Google changes its local interface.
1st step: Identify your top three Local Pack rivals for your priority keywords.
2nd step: Compare Google Business Profile strength, reviews, citations, and backlinks side by side.
3rd step: Mark the gaps you can realistically close with effort as targets.
4th step: Set up a rank tracker for your ten keywords and your competitors, with a monthly report.
5th step: Review reports monthly, reassess competitors quarterly, and update the audit when Google changes its local interface.
Local SEO Audit Tools
Free and paid tools to run every check in this audit.
BrightLocal Local Search Audit
Scans your entire local presence in one report: citations, NAP consistency, rankings, reviews, and competitor gaps.
PaidMoz Local
Centralized listing management that distributes consistent NAP data to major platforms and flags duplicates for cleanup.
PaidScreaming Frog
Website crawler that surfaces broken local links, missing schema, thin location pages, and title tag issues fast.
FreeWhitespark Local Citation Finder
Finds citation opportunities your competitors use that you are missing, plus pin point duplicate detection.
PaidRelated Checklists
Keep exploring the local SEO series.
Google Business Profile
Optimizing every field, category, photo, and post on your listing.
Local Citations & Directories
Building consistent citations and cleaning up duplicate listings.
Reviews & Ratings
Generating, managing, and responding to customer reviews.
Local Schema & Structured Data
LocalBusiness markup, GeoCoordinates, and rich result testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common local audit questions.
Start with your Google Business Profile and check completeness, categories, photos, and posts. Then verify NAP consistency across the web, audit citations and duplicates, review your reputation signals, validate local schema, and benchmark rankings against competitors. The full process takes 4 to 8 hours and should be repeated quarterly, with GBP and reviews checked more often.
A complete GBP audit checks primary and secondary categories, business information like name, address, phone, hours and website, description length, services, products, attributes, photo quality and quantity, posting cadence, the Q&A section, manager access, and signs of spam or unauthorized edits. Category mistakes and incomplete info are the most common issues this audit surfaces.
Write your official Name, Address and Phone in one master document, then compare that value against Google Business Profile, your website, social profiles, review platforms, and every directory listing. Record every mismatch in a spreadsheet, fix the highest authority sources first, and standardize address abbreviations and phone formatting everywhere at once.
A citation audit builds a complete inventory of every place your business appears online, from Yelp and Facebook to industry directories, and flags duplicates, inaccuracies, and missing high-authority listings. Use a tool like BrightLocal or Whitespark for automated scanning, or manually search each platform, then merge duplicates, correct NAP errors, and claim the most important missing platforms.
For automated scans use BrightLocal Local Search Audit for citation and ranking analysis, Whitespark for citation finding, Moz Local for listing management, and Screaming Frog to crawl your website for on page issues like missing schema or broken location links. Google Business Profile insights and Search Console are free and should always be part of the audit.
Export your reviews from every platform and study rating, star distribution, response rate, response time, velocity, and sentiment themes. Respond to every review within 48 hours, fix recurring complaints in operations, and compare your review volume against the businesses that outrank you so you can set realistic monthly review goals.
Run a full audit quarterly and after any major change like a move, rebrand, or phone number change. Check Google Business Profile weekly for unauthorized edits and spam, respond to reviews daily, monitor citations monthly, and review ranking reports monthly against your baseline.