Local SEO and Google Business Profile audit in one hour

A local SEO audit sounds like something you pay an agency for. Most of it is not. If you have an hour, a laptop and access to your Google Business Profile, you can find the problems that matter most for a UK local business and write down what to fix.

This is the order we would work in. Each step says what to look at and what counts as a problem. The timings are rough, so spend longer where you find trouble.

Before you start

Open a blank document or spreadsheet with three columns: what you checked, what you found, what to do. Have these to hand:

• Your Google Business Profile login.
• Your website address.
• The two or three searches you most want to be found for (for example "emergency plumber", not "plumber Leeds").
• A list of the other places you are listed online, if you have one.

The audit, step by step

Step 1: your Google Business Profile (10 minutes)

Look at your Google listing as a customer would. Search your business name on Google and on Google Maps.

• Is the name exactly your real business name, with no extra keywords stuffed in?
• Are the phone number, address and website correct?
• Are opening hours filled in, including bank holidays if you close?
• Is there a description that says plainly what you do and where?
• Are your services listed? These help Google understand what you offer.
• Are there recent photos of the premises, the team and the work?

Check too whether there is a second listing at the same address, perhaps an old business name or a duplicate someone created. Two listings for one business can split your reviews and confuse Google. Our Google Business Profile optimisation post covers each field in more detail.

Step 2: categories (5 minutes)

Your primary category tells Google what kind of business you are, which feeds the relevance part of how it ranks local results.

Check it is the most specific one that fits ("Emergency locksmith service" rather than a general one if that is really your main work). Then check the additional categories cover your other main services without drifting into things you do not do.

A quick way to sense-check is to look at which categories the businesses at the top of the map use. You do not have to copy them, but if every one of them uses a category you have left off, that is worth a look.

Step 3: the map (10 minutes)

Now search your main terms from a few different places, not just your premises. Use your phone at different spots if you can, or ask a friend on the other side of town. Note where you appear in the top three, where you drop lower, and where you vanish.

This is the slowest part to do by hand and the least reliable, because a handful of searches only gives you a handful of answers. A local rank tracker does this properly with a grid of points. Either way, what you are looking for is patterns: areas where you are consistently missing.

Step 4: competitors (10 minutes)

For each main search, write down who holds the top three. Then compare yourself with them on things you can see:

• Number of reviews and average rating.
• How recent their reviews are.
• Number and quality of photos.
• Primary category.
• Whether their name, description and services mention the service being searched.

You are not trying to copy anyone. You are looking for gaps that would be reasonable to close, say 40 reviews against their 150.

Step 5: reviews and review topics (10 minutes)

Look at your own reviews for three things: how many, how recent, and whether you reply. Then look at what they talk about. On many profiles Google groups review wording into topics shown above the reviews, such as "friendly staff" or a specific treatment.

Compare those topics with the services you most want to be found for. If a service matters to you and nobody mentions it, make sure every customer who has that service gets your review link, whatever their visit was like.

Don't ask them what to write: Google's rules don't allow it. Our post on getting more Google reviews has wording you can use.

Step 6: website schema and map pin (5 minutes)

Many websites include structured data (LocalBusiness schema) that tells search engines your name, address, phone and location. Paste your homepage into Google's Rich Results Test or the Schema Markup Validator and look at what comes back.

• Does the name, phone and address match your Google listing?
• If there are map coordinates (latitude and longitude), do they point to your premises?

That last one is easy to miss. A pin copied from an old template can sit a long way from your door, and nobody notices because it isn't shown on the page. It is a small fix once you know it is there.

Step 7: citations and NAP (5 minutes)

Search your business name on Yell, Thomson Local, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect and Facebook, plus any trade directory you use. Check that the name, address and phone (NAP) match your Google listing.

Old addresses and tracking numbers are the usual problems. Our NAP consistency guide goes through this in full, and our guide to local citations shows which directories Google puts in front of customers.

Step 8: AI assistants (5 minutes)

Ask ChatGPT a question a customer would ask, such as "Can you recommend a good emergency plumber in Southampton?" Ask a few times, because the answer varies. Note whether you are mentioned, who is named instead, and which websites it points to. Those websites are often directories, and they tell you where to make sure your listing is complete.

The audit at a glance

Turning findings into a plan

Sort what you found by how much harm it is likely to do, then by effort. Wrong phone numbers and duplicate listings go first. A photo refresh can wait a week. Write each fix as a single clear action so it actually gets done.

If you would rather not redo the map and competitor steps by hand every month, Kerbrank runs those checks weekly and turns what it finds into a ranked task list.

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