Local SEO Audit has become an essential aspect of digital marketing for businesses of all sizes. With more and more consumers relying on online search to find local products and services, having a strong local SEO strategy is crucial for success.
However, simply implementing local SEO tactics may not be enough. It is equally important to regularly conduct a thorough local SEO audit to identify areas for improvement and ensure that your business is being accurately represented in search results.
In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of conducting a comprehensive local SEO audit to help you identify and address any issues that may be hindering your local search visibility.
From reviewing your website’s on-page optimization to analyzing your online presence on directories and review sites, this guide will provide you with the necessary steps to conduct a successful local SEO audit. By following these steps, you can ensure that your business is effectively reaching your target audience and staying competitive in the local market.
So, let’s dive in and discover how to conduct a thorough local SEO audit for your business.
A Comprehensive Practice
SEO is a comprehensive practice that involves analyzing keywords, content, and competition. Local SEO, on the other hand, focuses on specific tasks aimed at establishing a business’s relevance and authority within a targeted geographical location.
Before you can convince local consumers that your search result is the best solution for their needs, it is crucial to prove your worth to search engines and achieve a high ranking. Google and other search engines consider various factors to determine the top results in organic search, featured snippets, maps, local packs, images, videos, and other SERP features.
So, how can you identify and prioritize optimizations that have the potential to drive converting traffic to your website and physical location?
In this article, we will thoroughly evaluate each aspect of your local search presence and uncover the most promising opportunities for improving your search rankings.
Various Crucial Elements
A comprehensive checklist for conducting a thorough local SEO audit encompasses various crucial elements that contribute to enhancing online visibility and driving organic traffic. These essential components include:
1. Keyword Research and SERPs Analysis:
Identifying relevant keywords and analyzing search engine result pages (SERPs) to determine the competitiveness and ranking potential of targeted keywords.
2. Website Evaluation:
Assessing the overall health and performance of your website, including its structure, navigation, URL structure, page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and user experience.
3. Optimization of Google Business Profile:
Optimizing your Google Business Profile by ensuring accurate and up-to-date information, selecting relevant categories, adding compelling descriptions, and regularly monitoring customer reviews.
4. Effective Review Management:
Implementing strategies for managing customer reviews and feedback on various platforms, such as Google My Business, Yelp, and industry-specific review websites, to maintain a positive online reputation.
Consistent And Accurate
5. Local Business Listings and Citations:
Ensuring consistent and accurate information across various local business directories, online directories, and citation sources to enhance the credibility and visibility of your business in local searches.
6. Crafting Localized Content:
Developing high-quality, locally-focused content that resonates with your target audience, addresses their needs, and showcases your expertise in a specific geographic area.
7. Utilizing Google Search Console:
Leveraging Google Search Console to monitor website performance, identify indexing issues, manage sitemaps, and analyze search queries to improve website visibility in organic search results.
8. In-depth Analytics:
Utilizing robust analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, to track website traffic, user behavior, demographic insights, and conversion metrics, enabling data-driven decision-making for your local SEO strategy.
9. Backlink Analysis:
Conducting a thorough examination of your website’s backlink profile to evaluate the quality, relevance, and diversity of incoming links, which play a crucial role in organic search rankings.
10. Competitor Analysis:
Analyzing the online presence and strategies of your key competitors to identify opportunities, understand industry trends, and fine-tune your local SEO approach accordingly.
By considering these essential elements within your comprehensive local SEO audit checklist, you can effectively optimize your online presence, improve search engine rankings, and attract a targeted local audience to your business.
The tasks define below are generally come after in sequential order during a comprehensive audit, although it is worth noting that certain tasks can be carry out simultaneously.
1. Analysis of Keywords and Search Engine Results PagesKeyword/SERP Audit
To conduct a thorough local SEO audit, it is essential to start by examining the search engine results pages (SERPs) for the specific keywords and phrases that you want your business to be find for. This analysis will help you understand your position relative to competitors and other websites in terms of visibility and relevance.
By conducting this research, you can quickly identify areas where you have already established some level of authority or momentum, which can serve as a foundation for further growth. Additionally, this analysis will highlight keywords that may not be worth your time and effort to pursue.
It is important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy, and no keyword should be dissolve outright. However, it is generally advisable to prioritize keywords that you realistically have a chance to rank for and drive traffic to your website.
In some cases, you may find that certain keywords are suitable for short-term results through a paid Google Ads strategy. This approach can help you build up your local organic authority over time.
Fortunately, there are several excellent SEO and keyword research tools available that can automate the process of gathering search results for specific keywords or topic groups. These tools can also provide valuable insights by assigning value to keywords based on metrics such as search volume or keyword difficulty.
A Breakdown Of Different Types Of Search Features
Ideally, the tool you choose should provide a breakdown of different types of search features, allowing you to determine whether you or your competitors have secured any of these valuable search positions. Armed with this information, you can devise effective strategies or tactics to proceed accordingly.
Alternatively, you can manually conduct your own searches. If you choose this route, it is advisable to use an Incognito Window in Google Chrome or a Private Window in Safari to eliminate potential bias or personalization tied to your Google login, location, or search history. Most automation tools have similar processes in place to ensure unbiased results.
For businesses that are also running PPC campaigns, it is crucial to pay close attention to the keywords and search terms that are performing well in those campaigns. It is likely that these top-performing PPC keywords will also yield positive results from an SEO standpoint. Therefore, it is mention to make sure that your SEO and PPC efforts are line up to maximize overall performance.
Remember that different people have different search habits, so it is important to expand your research beyond single keywords. Consider the various ways and phrases that your target audience may use to find your business or products. Your keyword analysis and resulting content should address the search intent of your audience, which can vary depending on where they are in the buying cycle. Some may be in the initial research phase and seeking information, while others may be ready to make a purchase immediately.
Taking a broader view of keywords will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the strength of your online presence and guide you in focusing your attention where it is most needed.
2. Evaluation of the Digital Presence
Once armed with your meticulously gathered keyword data, it is time to embark on a comprehensive evaluation of your website’s keywords and technical aspects to guarantee optimal crawlability, indexability, and visibility.
This evaluation, commonly known as an audit, aims to scrutinize the fundamental structure, content, and overall user experience of your website.
Fortunately, an array of auditing tools are available to analyze your website, pinpoint any issues, and recommend specific actions based on SEO best practices.
To streamline the process, a website audit and optimization can be categorized into various sections or aspects that require attention.
Page Optimization
Optimizing web pages involves ensuring that they are properly structured, centered around relevant keywords, and provide a positive user experience. When a search engine crawls a web page, it looks for indications that determine the page’s topic and the questions it can address.
These crawlers thoroughly analyze the entire page to establish its focus, with a particular emphasis on Page Titles and Headings as primary descriptors. Ideally, pages should be keyword-focused and distinct from one another.
Therefore, it is essential to consistently employ keyword variations in Titles, URLs, Headings, and meta descriptions. Search engines like Google value well-organized pages and will extract or generate the necessary elements to generate a search engine result, similar to the example shown below for the search term “breakfast in Barrie.”
Observe how the keyword “breakfast” is highlighted in the meta description.
In particular, during an audit, potential concerns will be brought to light in relation to:
- Absence of Title tags, excessively lengthy tags (limited to 60 characters maximum), or duplicated tags.
- Deficiencies in headings (especially H1s), whether they are missing or replicated.
- Inadequate or excessive meta descriptions (limited to 160 characters maximum), or instances of duplicated descriptions.
In an audit, there is another crucial concern that can arise related to tags, specifically regarding image alt text. To ensure best practices, it is essential to provide relevant descriptive filenames and alt text for all images, incorporating important keywords if applicable.
This becomes especially significant when images play a central role in your business, such as product or service photos, as they can be displayed in web search results through image carousels. It is imperative to carefully consider the images that appear on your primary ranking pages in every instance.
Internal Link Audit
Over time, the interconnected pathways within a website can lose their freshness and accuracy due to content relocation or removal.
Conducting a comprehensive link analysis aids in swiftly identifying potentially misrouted or nonfunctional links, which can lead to a subpar user experience on your website.
Moreover, links serve as vital cues for search engines to comprehend the structure and navigational efficiency of a website, enabling them to guide users towards reliable and relevant answers to their queries.
As part of this meticulous examination, it is crucial to recognize opportunities for crosslinking influential web pages.
For instance, if a particular page on your site contains keywords that relate to content available on another page, establishing a link between them can have a mutually beneficial impact.
By doing so, both pages receive a boost in visibility, provided that the link intelligently directs users towards more pertinent information or an appropriate point of conversion.
In addition, external links should not be disregarded, particularly when an opportunity arises to link to a reputable and authoritative source of information.
For local businesses, this may involve connecting with pertinent local organizations or events.
Insider tip: It is advisable to configure these links to open in new browser windows, ensuring that your website visitors can seamlessly continue their exploration on your site even after exploring external links.
Schema Review
In the realm of Google search results, featured snippets are gaining prominence over traditional organic listings. Google’s objective is to furnish direct answers to users’ queries within its search engine result pages (SERPs).
For local businesses, this shift presents a valuable opening to showcase their content through featured snippets. To capitalize on this opportunity, businesses must focus on two key factors:
- Publishing highly authoritative and pertinent content that addresses users’ needs effectively.
- Implementing structured schema markup to tag their content, including essential details about their local business, products, events, and frequently asked questions (FAQs).
By adhering to these practices, local businesses can enhance their chances of securing their rightful place within Google’s featured snippets, thereby further increasing their online visibility.
A comprehensive examination of local SEO should involve the meticulous scrutiny of website content, with a key focus on identifying elements that can benefit from the application of schema.
Mobile Audit
The increasing number of consumers using mobile devices to search, especially for local services, emphasizes the need for local businesses to prioritize a positive mobile web experience. This is crucial as it directly impacts how these businesses are perceived and ranked by search engines.
To achieve this, websites must focus on loading speed, easy navigation, and seamless user interaction. Google provides various free mobile testing options and three mobile-specific monitoring tools (Page Experience, Core Web Vitals, Mobile Usability) through its Google Search Console.
For more comprehensive user experience and SEO analysis, Google Lighthouse is an excellent tool. However, local business owners may find it beneficial to seek assistance from a web developer to implement the recommendations provided by this tool.
Duplicate Content
Ensuring the authenticity and reliability of your website’s content is crucial for maintaining high standards. This means that all content on your website should be original and of top-notch quality.
It is important to inform Google if there are any pages or content on your website that you did not create. This can be done by adding a canonical tag to the HTML header of the respective page.
Neglecting to do so can negatively impact your website’s authority and, consequently, hinder its ability to rank well. It is worth noting that many site auditing tools are capable of identifying content that necessitates or contains improperly formatted canonical tags.
3. An Analysis of Your Google Business Profile
The presence of a Google Business Profile (GBP) serves as an additional website and prominent digital representation for countless local businesses. Ensuring the utmost accuracy and inclusiveness of this GBP is of utmost importance in order to establish a strong online presence in both Google Maps and the organic search results.
A Thorough Examination
Conducting an evaluation of a Google Business Profile requires a thorough examination of multiple components to ensure their accuracy and completeness. These include:
- Verification of business information and precise location details.
- Ensuring the correct primary business category is assigned.
- Validating the accuracy of operating hours.
- Verifying the accurate pin location on Google Maps.
- Properly categorizing the profile as a physical location or service area business.
- Assessing the inclusion of products and services offered.
- Reviewing the quality and relevance of uploaded photos.
- Checking for any available special offers.
- Assessing the frequency and relevance of updates.
- Evaluating the presence of upcoming events.
- Verifying the inclusion of appointment links, if applicable.
- Checking the presence of informative content to engage potential customers
Enhances Its Credibility
Having a comprehensive profile greatly enhances its credibility as a trustworthy local source, leading to a higher chance of gaining prominence in search results.
Once you have successfully claimed ownership and obtained authorization to manage your GBP, you can conveniently access and modify your information directly from the search results.
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4. Overview of Review Management
One crucial element to consider when it comes to a GBP is the significance of reviews. These days, customers of local businesses have the opportunity and inclination to share their experiences through reviews, which are displayed on the GBP for others to see.
These reviews play a vital role in determining the visibility of a business in the local map pack.
Whenever reviews are submitted, Google promptly notifies business owners, who should respond to them as soon as possible. It is important to address both negative and positive reviews in a timely manner.
However, with our busy schedules, it is possible for some reviews to go unnoticed. Therefore, a comprehensive audit should include an evaluation of all reviews to ensure none have slipped through the cracks.
This exercise can also help identify any recurring customer service or satisfaction issues that need to be addressed.
It Is Essential To Account
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that reviews can be submitted on various platforms, including Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Houzz. These reviews can show up in search results, and it is essential to account for them during a full audit.
Both search engines and savvy consumers are likely to come across these reviews, so it is essential to be aware of what is being said about your business.
If you wish to explore lesser-known review platforms, a simple search using your business name followed by “reviews” can quickly provide you with insights. Alternatively, there are effective software platforms available that can assist business owners in requesting and managing their reviews on GBP and other review sites.
A helpful tip is to encourage customers to leave positive reviews and suggest that they mention the specific product or service they are reviewing. This can positively impact keyword rankings, providing an added benefit for your business.
5. An In-depth Evaluation of Local Business Listings and Citations
Local business listings and citations play a crucial role in establishing the credibility and locality of a business within a specific geographic area. To establish a strong online presence, it is imperative to be listed in reputable local directories, review sites, business directories (such as the Chamber of Commerce), or local partner sites.
Conducting an audit of your listings and citations can be done through automated or manual methods, depending on the size and scope of your local business. Utilizing business listings and citation management tools can simplify the process of finding, monitoring, and updating your primary citations, including your Name, Address, Phone Number (often referred to as NAP), and other essential business details found in broader listings (such as your website address or business description).
If you have a limited number of locations and sufficient time, a quick way to identify where your current listings can be found is by conducting a search using your business name. Typically, the first 3-4 pages of search results will reveal your existing listings.
To identify areas where you may be missing listing and citation opportunities, you can conduct a search using the keywords you have thoroughly researched and wish to be found for. The directories and listing sites that appear in the search results for these keywords are the most valuable ones to consider.
Lastly, it is crucial to locate and resolve any duplicate listings to avoid confusing both customers and search engines with outdated or inaccurate information. Maintaining accurate and up-to-date listings is key to ensuring a positive online presence for your business.
6. Analysis of Regional Content
It is important to acknowledge that individuals have different search preferences and information needs depending on their stage in the buying process.
To establish a strong local online presence, it is crucial to create and distribute tailored content that aligns with each stage of the customer journey, thus increasing visibility and awareness.
The goal is to ensure that your business is discoverable throughout your customer’s search experience.
Conducting a content audit enables you to assess whether you have adequate content for each stage of the customer journey.
For instance, informative content can be shared through social media or other external channels, as well as published on your website. This type of content serves to educate consumers about your products, services, and unique selling points at the initial stages of their purchasing journey.
It should address their inquiries about why, how, and what to choose.
Transactional content, on the other hand, is designed to cater to consumers who already know what they want but are in the process of deciding where or from whom to make their purchase. This could include reviews, testimonials, or comparative analyses.
Crucial For Ensuring
Navigational content is crucial for ensuring that when people search for your brand or related keywords on Google, they are directed to a landing page or information that establishes your authority and leadership in your industry. This page should include a clear call to action, assuming the visitor has a specific goal in mind.
Commercial content is specifically focus at consumers who have shown a strong intention to make a purchase. An effective local business website or social media page should include offers, coupons, discounts, and easy paths to complete the purchase.
It Is Essential To Create Material
In order to provide quality content, it is essential to create material that your audience finds valuable, enjoys, and shares. In the coming year, businesses should consider exploring content formats beyond traditional text and images.
Video content, for example, can be split on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and others, as it is easier to consume and generally more engaging. YouTube videos, in particular, can be optimized to appear in organic search results.
It is worth noting that each social network has its own search function, so any content shared on these platforms should incorporate targeted keywords and hashtags to improve visibility.
Pro tip: To encourage readers to like and share your content, make sure to include visible share buttons. Surprisingly, many website owners overlook this simple best practice.
While social signals themselves do not directly influence search rankings, content that is widely split has a higher likelihood of being connect to, which can positively impact your authority and organic visibility.
7. Evaluation of Google Search Console
The Google Search Console offers a wealth of valuable information regarding keyword and content performance, indexing, schema/rich results validation, mobile/desktop experience monitoring, and security/manual actions. This resource is of great importance and is provided to users completely free of charge.
To conduct a thorough local SEO audit, it is crucial to review and analyze the data available in the Google Search Console. This analysis will help identify and respond to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats highlighted in each section.
Website owners and managers should give special attention to any issues related to pages that have not been crawled or indexed, as well as any manual actions taken due to questionable practices. Both of these issues can significantly impact a website’s visibility on search engines.
Although the Google Search Console does send notifications for such issues and provides regular performance updates, conducting an audit will ensure that nothing important has been miss It is essential to stay proactive in maintaining and improving search engine visibility.
8. Assessment of Data Analysis
Regardless of whether you utilize Google Analytics or any other visitor tracking tool, the data provided here proves valuable in the process of conducting an audit to authenticate high-performing and low-performing content, sources of traffic, target audience profiles, and conversion pathways.
The insights derived from analytics play an instrumental role in facilitating your content audit.
When analyzing your website analytics, you can explore several crucial inquiries:
- Do the pages with the highest number of visits also rank well on search engines?
- Which pages are the primary entry points for organic search traffic?
- Are there any specific pages or content that are not attracting the desired level of traffic or engagement?
- What is the typical user journey towards making a purchase on your site, and is there potential to streamline or optimize this process?
- Which domains serve as the main referrers to your site, and are there any opportunities to effectively utilize these websites for backlinking? (refer to the Backlink Audit for further details).
Employ Google Analytics (or any preferred tool) to ascertain the responses to these inquiries, enabling you to concentrate and give precedence to your endeavors in content and keyword optimization.
9. Analysis of Inbound Links
Backlinks, also known as inbound links, play a crucial role in enhancing the credibility and authority of your website. Similar to citations, backlinks are essentially links from external websites that redirect users to your website pages.
The presence of relevant and reputable backlinks holds immense significance in determining the integrity of your website. These links serve as endorsements, validating the trustworthiness of your content when they originate from trustworthy and related sources.
On the flip side, backlinks from non-relevant or untrustworthy websites can actually be detrimental to your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. In some cases, these unwanted links might be created without your knowledge or consent, which can negatively impact your website’s performance.
A Comprehensive Backlink Audit Periodically
To safeguard the SEO health of your website, it is prudent to conduct a comprehensive backlink audit periodically, ideally every six to twelve months. The frequency of the audit depends on the size and complexity of your website.
Fortunately, there are numerous reliable and insightful backlink tools available, both free and paid. One such highly recommended tool is the link monitoring service provided by Google Search Console. This service serves as an excellent starting point for your backlink audit, providing valuable insights into the status and quality of your website’s backlinks.
By proactively monitoring and assessing your backlinks, you can ensure that your website maintains a strong online presence, with authoritative and relevant links contributing to its overall credibility.
Promptly Identify Any Unfamiliar Or Seemingly Untrustworthy Domains
When conducting an audit of your linking domains, it is crucial to promptly identify any unfamiliar or seemingly untrustworthy domains that are not relevant to your local business.
In certain cases, you may need to reach out and request the removal of a link based on its source, the nature of the link, and the content it directs to.
A thorough backlink audit serves a dual purpose of recognizing valuable backlink sources that can enhance your ranking and visibility, as well as establishing new links for your website.
It Is Highly Advantageous
For businesses operating at a local level, it is highly advantageous to obtain links from reputable local sources as they validate your location and lend credibility to your online presence.
There are various resources one can explore to find potential sources for backlinks:
- Utilize both free and paid backlink research tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Majestic. These tools allow you to identify domains from your main competitors that have obtained backlinks, which you might have missed out on.
- Keep an eye out for non-competitive websites that appear in the organic search results for your primary keywords. These sites can serve as valuable sources for potential backlinks. Look for directories where you can list your website, blogs or articles where you can leave comments, and publications to which you can submit your own articles.
- Google Analytics provides insights into referral sources, revealing domains where you already have existing links. By exploring these domains, you may discover opportunities for acquiring additional backlinks.
By exploring these various locations and resources, you can enhance your backlink strategy and potentially increase your website’s visibility and authority.
10. The Competitor Analysis
Conducting a thorough analysis of your local SEO requires a careful evaluation of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. While you might already have a general idea of who your competition is, it is essential to confirm the specific players that appear in search results when you enter your target keywords.
These businesses and domains represent your true competitors, offering valuable insights for learning purposes. A recent update in the Google algorithm suggests a growing emphasis on results associated with the immediate vicinity of a business.
Therefore, it becomes crucial to prioritize your closest high-ranking competitors.
Investigate The Strategies They Employ
If any of these competitors’ sites or pages outrank yours, it is crucial to investigate the strategies they employ to gain this advantage. In order to identify their optimization techniques, you can follow a comprehensive checklist similar to the one you would use for your own audit.
This involves examining how they optimize their keywords, content, Google Business Profile, reviews, local business listings, and backlinks.
Generally, the most effective way to outshine your competition involves providing a superior overall online and offline experience. This encompasses creating more relevant and high-quality content that addresses the questions and concerns shared by your shared customer base.
By focusing on delivering an exceptional experience, you can ensure a stronger competitive edge.
Understanding The Significance Of Organizing Your Tasks
A comprehensive assessment of your local SEO will generate an extensive list of actionable tasks. While various tools effectively prioritize these tasks related to keywords, website, content, and backlinks, the sheer volume can still appear overwhelming.
To effectively devise an audit action plan, a great starting point is to focus on keywords and content that have attained some level of authority but still require further attention. These are the key terms, webpages, and content assets that sit on the verge of gaining prominence in local organic search results and Map Packs.
It is crucial to address any deficiencies or optimize these assets before delving into more competitive keywords or those with minimal visibility. It’s important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy.
Therefore, prioritize your actions based on optimizing existing content before expanding your efforts. Additionally, it is advisable to review these audit items every 6-12 months, depending on the size and scope of your web presence, to maximize the chances of being turn up by your target local audience.
In Conclusion
Conducting a thorough local SEO audit is an essential step in improving your business’s online presence and increasing your visibility to potential customers. By following the step-by-step guide define in this post, you can ensure that your website is optimize for local search and that you are utilizing all the necessary tools to reach your target audience.
Remember, consistency and regular audits are key to maintaining a strong local SEO strategy. So take the time to regularly review and update your website, listings, and online presence to stay ahead of the competition in your local market.
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