Checklist · 7 min read
The UK Local SEO Checklist
Everything that moves local rankings, in the order it's worth doing.
Google Business Profile
The single highest-return item for most local businesses. Work through it fully before touching anything else.
- Correct primary category — this one field has outsized influence
- Every relevant secondary category added, nothing irrelevant
- Services listed individually with descriptions
- Service area or address accurate and consistent
- Hours correct, including bank holidays
- Real, recent, geo-tagged photographs of actual work
- Weekly posts tied to what you want to sell
- Questions seeded and monitored, not left to strangers
Website foundations
The profile ranks better when the site behind it supports it.
- One page per service, one per genuine location
- Town and county named naturally in headings and body copy
- LocalBusiness schema with matching name, address and phone
- Sub-two-second mobile load time
- Click-to-call visible without scrolling on mobile
- Embedded map and directions on the contact page
Citations and consistency
Inconsistent business details across directories dilute local signals and are cheap to fix.
- Identical name, address and phone everywhere
- Listed on the main UK directories for your trade or profession
- Duplicate and outdated listings claimed or removed
- Trade bodies and accreditation sites linking to you
Reviews
Recency matters as much as total volume, and the reply matters as much as the review.
- Automated review request sent at the moment of highest satisfaction
- A steady flow rather than an occasional burst
- Every review answered, positive or negative, within a few days
- Reviews that mention the service and the town, because customers write naturally
Questions