Is your local SEO broken without you knowing it?
Plenty of businesses assume their local SEO is ticking along fine, right up until the phones stop ringing or their spot in the search results vanishes. This guide is your x ray for local visibility problems. It walks you through 25 quick, practical tests to help you spot hidden issues that might be holding your local rankings back, and how to fix them fast.
Here's What We Have Covered In This Article
Google Business Profile and Citations
Test 1: Is your Business Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) consistent everywhere?
Think of your NAP like your business’s online passport. If it’s inconsistent across listings, Google starts to question your legitimacy.
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Tools to use: Moz Local, Yext, BrightLocal, Yelp
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Common issues: Old addresses, typos in phone numbers, different formats like ‘Street’ versus ‘St.’
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Quick fix: Do a citation audit and fix the most authoritative listings first
Test 2 to 5: Other key citation checks
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Any duplicate listings on key directories?
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Are you missing from top level local directories?
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Do your category choices match across profiles?
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Is your Google Business Profile info aligned with your website?
Pro Tip : Refresh your Google Business Profile regularly so new details are always accurate.
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On Page SEO and Local Landing Pages
Test 6: Are your pages using location keywords properly?
Your service pages need to show exactly where you work. If you’re a plumber in Brighton, make that obvious on your homepage and landing pages.
Test 7: Have you added local Schema markup?
Use RankMath or Schema.org tools to embed structured data, like your business address, contact info, and service area.
Test 8: Do your internal links help reinforce local relevance?
Link between local service pages using anchor text that includes both your service and location. For example, “boiler repair in Brighton”.
Test 9: Is your contact page built to boost trust?
Include a clickable phone number, matching NAP, embedded map, and contact form. These are all signals of local credibility.
Test 10: Do you reference local landmarks or areas?
Mentioning well known streets, neighbourhoods, schools or parks makes your site more contextually relevant to your area.
Pro Tip: Link your service pages to local landmarks or neighbourhoods to strengthen local relevance.
Technical SEO and Indexing
Test 11: Can Google actually index your pages?
Head to Google Search Console to check for crawl errors, noindex tags, or broken internal links. Anything stopping Google from seeing your content will block rankings.
Test 12: Is your mobile site fast and smooth?
Google prioritises mobile usability. PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse will show you how you score for Core Web Vitals like Largest Contentful Paint.
Test 13: Is your site secure?
All websites need to run on HTTPS. It affects trust and can influence rankings, especially for transactional or lead generation sites.
Test 14: Is your sitemap up to date?
Make sure your XML sitemap includes all important pages and is submitted in Google Search Console.
Test 15: Any broken links or messy redirect chains?
These waste crawl budget and frustrate users. Screaming Frog or Sitebulb can help you find and fix them quickly.
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Reviews, Reputation and Engagement
Test 16: Are you getting recent reviews?
A regular stream of new Google reviews boosts both visibility and trust. Older reviews lose relevance, so keep them coming.
Test 17: Are you replying to reviews?
Replying shows engagement and signals activity to both Google and potential customers. Don’t skip the negative ones. Show how you handle problems.
Test 18: Are you breaking any review rules?
Review gating, which means filtering out unhappy customers, breaks Google’s rules and could get your reviews removed.
Test 19: What kind of sentiment are your reviews showing?
Look at the trend over time. Are reviews getting more positive or negative? Sentiment signals influence local rankings.
Test 20: Are you listed on the right review sites?
Beyond Google, be where your industry matters. Use TripAdvisor, Trustpilot, Checkatrade, or sector specific directories.
Local Authority and Backlinks
Test 21: Got any links from local websites?
Local backlinks carry geographic trust. Aim to get links from local newspapers, blogs, suppliers, or event pages.
Test 22: Are people in your community mentioning you?
Mentions without links still matter, especially if they’re on reputable sites. Use Google Alerts to track brand mentions.
Test 23: Have you cleaned up bad backlinks?
Toxic links from irrelevant or spammy domains hurt performance. Run a backlink audit and disavow if necessary.
Test 24: Is your anchor text varied?
Healthy backlink profiles include a mix of branded, keyword-rich, and neutral anchor text. Avoid overoptimising.
Test 25: Are your competitors getting more local links?
Compare referring domains using Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Majestic. Look for patterns. Are local blogs or directories favouring them??
Your SEO Health Snapshot – What to Fix First for Fastest Visibility Wins
Start with quick wins like fixing NAP inconsistencies, improving mobile page speed, refreshing reviews, and improving your Google Business Profile. These can produce noticeable results quickly.
Track progress using tools like BrightLocal, Google Search Console, and GMB Insights. If it feels like too much, tackle one section per week. Each improvement builds local visibility.
Local SEO issues do not fix themselves. Even small changes, if made consistently, can help your business get seen, and stay seen, in your area.
