Thinking about hiring a local SEO agency? It’s a big step, and you’re right to be careful. How do you find a true partner instead of just another vendor making empty promises?
Here’s the secret: you can’t pick the right one if you don’t know where you’re starting from. Hiring an expert without understanding your own online presence is like starting a road trip without a map. You’ll spend money, but you’ll have no idea if you’re getting closer to your goal.
This guide is your map.
We’ve created a simple, step-by-step local SEO audit checklist that you can perform yourself. This isn’t just a list; it’s the essential first step to taking control of your online presence. It will empower you to ask the right questions, evaluate potential partners intelligently, and hire with confidence. By investing a little time now, you will avoid costly mistakes and ensure every marketing dollar you spend delivers measurable results.
It’s about turning uncertainty into strategy. Just look at the results from our client, Hairtalk by Williard.
After nearly five years in business, Williard, a highly skilled stylist, found his online presence wasn’t delivering. His salon was practically invisible in local search results for key terms, which led to significant gaps in his appointment book. He knew he needed help but was unsure of the next steps.
We began with a baseline audit, similar to this one. It showed us exactly how competitors were outranking him and identified the critical gaps in his digital brand. This meant we weren’t just guessing at SEO; we were building a strategy based on a clear understanding of his starting point.
Armed with that knowledge, we executed a professional rebrand and a targeted local SEO campaign over a 4-week timeline. The result? Williard saw an estimated 65% increase in customer bookings. His story is a perfect example of how a clear, initial audit isn’t just a preliminary step—it’s the foundation for real, measurable growth.
What a Local SEO Audit Is (And Why It’s Your Most Powerful First Step)
A local SEO audit is a health check for your business’s visibility on Google. It’s a quick way to diagnose what’s working, what’s broken, and where your best chances are to attract more local customers.
Understanding these elements is your most powerful first step before you even talk to an agency. An audit provides a clear, data-backed starting point for any future marketing efforts, but more importantly, it shows you exactly what’s at stake. The data is clear: 28% of “near me” searches result directly in a purchase (Source: Google). Furthermore, a remarkable 88% of consumers who perform a local search on their smartphone will either call or visit a related business within 24 hours (Source: Backlinko).
This makes local search one of the highest-converting marketing channels available. This guide on how to do a local SEO audit equips you with the knowledge to capture those customers, evaluate an agency’s proposal intelligently, and ensure you invest in solutions you actually need.
The 5-Point DIY Local SEO Audit Checklist
It’s time to get your hands dirty now. These five steps will help you get a better idea of how well your local SEO is doing. This process doesn’t require any expensive software, just a little bit of your time and attention to detail.
Step 1: Your Digital Storefront – Google Business Profile (GBP) Audit
The most important thing for local SEO is your Google Business Profile. When someone searches for your services, it’s often the first thing they see. Think of it as your online store. If it’s messy, incomplete, or wrong, customers will just walk by. On the other hand, a well-optimized profile builds trust and visibility right away. Check this list to see how yours stacks up. This is a key part of any small business SEO audit.
- Claimed & Verified: Has Google claimed and fully verified your profile? Find the tiny blue check mark.
- NAP Accuracy: Is your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) 100% correct and the same on your website?
- Categories: Are your business categories clear and correct? If a more specific category is available, don’t use a broad one.
- Completeness: Are all sections filled out? This includes services, products, operating hours, and attributes (e.g., “wheelchair accessible,” “free Wi-Fi”).
- Reviews: How often and how recent are your reviews? Are you responding to all feedback right away?
- Google Posts: Are you using Google Posts to share news, offers, or updates?
Step 2: On-Page Local Signals – Is Your Website Speaking Google’s Language?
Your GBP profile tells people to go to your website. But what does your site say when they get there? Your website needs to back up the same local signals that you set up in your Google profile. This lets Google know that your business really is a part of the community you say you serve.
This short list will help you make sure that your website supports your local authority.
- NAP Visibility: Is your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) easy to find on your homepage and in the footer of your website? This information has to be exactly the same as what is on your GBP listing, even down to the last comma.
- Local Keywords in Important Places: Do your main service pages and homepage title tags include your city or service area? “Boutique Barber in Ellenville,” for example, is much better than just “Boutique Barber.”
- Locally Relevant Content: Does your blog or portfolio have content that is relevant to your area? This could include case studies of local clients, posts about events in the community, or guides to your service area. This shows that you are a business that is open and doing business in your area.
- Mobile Experience: Is it easy for people to use your website on their phones? People do most of their local searches on their phones. If your site is hard to read and works poorly, it will send people who might want to buy from you to your competitors.
Step 3: The Online Echo – Citation and NAP Consistency Audit
Google looks for an “online echo” of your business information on other websites besides your own. These echoes are called local citations—mentions of your business’s Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) on other websites. These can be online directories like Yelp and Apple Maps, sites that are specific to your field, or blogs that are based in your area.
What does this mean? Google sees consistent NAP information on the web as a big sign of trust. Google trusts your business more if your information is the same everywhere and it is clear that it is open and running where you say it is. On the other hand, inconsistencies make things unclear and break that trust.
This is where I think most companies make mistakes. It’s not usually one big mistake. The real issue comes from small, repeated mistakes that make you look untrustworthy. The most common problems come from small differences in your business name, like having “My Business LLC” on one site and just “My Business” on another. Search engines can get confused by even the way addresses are written, like “Suite 201” versus “#201.” One of the fastest ways to gain Google’s trust is to clean up this “digital clutter.”
Actionable Step:
Open a new tab in your browser and look for your business name on a few major directories, such as Yelp, Apple Maps, and any other sites that are specific to your industry. Is the name, address, and phone number on each site exactly the same as what is on your Google Business Profile? Write down any differences you find.
Step 4: Check your local reputation by reading online reviews.
What people are saying about you online is one of the most important things that affects your local ranking. Google knows that your business is open, trustworthy, and provides good service to the people in your area when it gets a lot of positive reviews. It’s like word-of-mouth marketing in the digital world, and it has a direct effect on both your visibility and your profits.
It’s not enough to just get reviews; you also have to manage them. Moz did some research and found that 90% of customers are affected by how owners respond to reviews. Your involvement has a direct effect on how much customers trust you.
This checklist will help you quickly check your online reputation.
- Average Rating: What is your average star rating on important sites like Google, Yelp, or sites that are specific to your industry?
- Review Velocity: How often do you get new reviews? A steady stream is better than a sudden burst of sound followed by silence.
- Sentiment Analysis: Is there a common thread in critical feedback? This can help you find problems with how things are running that you need to fix.
- Response Rate: Are you responding to all reviews on a regular basis? When you respond to feedback, it shows that you care about your customers.
Step 5: A Quick Technical Check-Up
You don’t need to be a web developer for this one. A quick technical check-up can reveal major issues that hurt your user experience and, consequently, your local rankings. The single most important technical factor for a local business is mobile site speed.
Most of your local customers are searching for you on their phones, often while they are on the go. If your website is slow to load, they won’t wait around. They’ll simply hit the “back” button and give their business to your faster competitor. Google knows this, which is why page speed is a confirmed ranking factor.
Actionable Step:
Go to Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool—it’s free. Enter your website’s homepage URL. Pay close attention to the “Performance” score for Mobile. Is it in the green? If it’s in the orange or red, it signals that your site speed needs improvement and could be a significant factor holding back your rankings.
Now You Have Data: How to Use Your Audit to Hire the Right SEO Agency
You’ve completed the audit. You now have a clear, data-informed snapshot of your business’s local SEO health. This is more than just information; it’s leverage. You are no longer just a passive buyer of services. You are an informed business owner ready to hire a strategic partner. A key takeaway from this local seo audit before hiring an agency is confidence.
Now that you have your results, you can ask sharp, specific questions during consultations. This will help you quickly tell the difference between real experts and salespeople who use generic pitches.
Based on what you may have learned, here are some strategic questions to ask potential agencies:
- “My audit of my Google Business Profile showed that some parts were missing and that there weren’t many new reviews. What would be your top priority for my Google Business Profile GBP optimization, and why?”
- “I found more than a dozen citations that didn’t match up in major directories. Can you tell me how you specifically clean up and manage citations?”
- “My website’s on-page SEO isn’t optimized for local keywords. What is your strategy for integrating local signals into my site’s content and structure?”
Having this data allows you to have a much more productive conversation. You can use this data to better understand local SEO pricing and evaluate their proposals more effectively. Now that you have a baseline, deepen your understanding of what local SEO is.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How often should I check my local SEO?
Once a year, a full audit is great. But you should look at important things like your GBP reviews and website speed every three months. This helps you find small problems before they turn into big ones.
What is the difference between an SEO audit for a specific area and a general SEO audit?
A general SEO audit looks at bigger things, like your overall backlink profile and your national keyword rankings. A local SEO audit looks closely at the signals that matter for geo-targeted searches, like your GBP, local citations, and location-specific keywords. Even though there is some overlap, a local audit is made just for businesses that serve a certain area.
Is it possible for me to do this if I have more than one business location?
Yes, for sure. You will need to do this audit for each individual location. Each business address should have its own optimized Google Business Profile and a consistent set of local citations. Managing more than one location is more complicated, which is often why businesses hire an agency to help them.
From Audit to Action
This local SEO audit checklist does more than just give you a list of things to do. It changes the way you see things at a basic level. You are no longer just guessing what your marketing needs are or passively accepting an agency’s pitch. You are now a smart business owner with information that will help you grow.
You now have a plan that will help you make a smart, data-driven choice about what to do next. You are starting from a place of knowledge and control, whether you decide to make these changes yourself or hire someone to do them.
Are you ready to talk about the results of your audit? Get in touch with us for a free, open-ended strategy session to talk about how we can build on the work you’ve already done.
