Local SEO Technical Guide

technical seo checklist for local sites

Actionable technical SEO steps to help local businesses get found — speed, structure, schema and crawlability explained.

This checklist focuses on practical, high-impact technical fixes for local websites: Google Business integration, local schema, performance, crawlability and the configuration steps your developer or agency should prioritise.

Quick Wins See How It Works

24-72 hrs

To implement quick wins

60%+

Visits from mobile (local search)

49/mo

Typical all-in website plan (Congero)

Local map pack visibility target

In this checklist

Audit basics & tools Quick wins (24-72 hrs) On-page & URL structure Local signals & schema Speed & Core Web Vitals Crawlability & indexation Structured data specifics Monitoring & monthly tasks

Audit basics & tools

Start with a quick technical audit to capture current issues and priorities. Use these tools and run baseline reports — you'll refer to these often.

Essential tools

Google Search Console — index coverage, performance queries, mobile usability
PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse — Core Web Vitals
Mobile-Friendly Test — responsive checks
Screaming Frog — crawl, status codes, hreflang, canonical issues
Site:yourdomain.com (Google) — quick index check
Local tools: BrightLocal or Whitespark for citations and rankings

First-pass audit checklist

Check index coverage in Search Console (Errors, Valid with warnings).
Run Lighthouse on homepage and a core service page (mobile and desktop).
Sitemap.xml present and submitted to Search Console?
Robots.txt blocking important resources?
HTTPS present and canonical URLs correct?
NAP consistent across site footer, schema and Google Business Profile.

Quick wins (24–72 hours)

Start with the low-effort, high-impact fixes that often boost local visibility quickly.

Claim & verify Google Business Profile (GBP)

Complete every relevant field: business hours, services, primary category, phone, website, service-area and high-quality photos. Set your service-area and address correctly — mismatches here are a common cause of low local visibility.

Fix NAP everywhere

Ensure exact Name / Address / Phone format on the website footer, contact page, and within local schema. Use the same punctuation and abbreviations everywhere (e.g., "Suite 5" vs "Ste 5").

Submit sitemap.xml to Search Console

Confirm sitemap includes canonical URLs only, uses absolute paths and excludes 4xx/5xx or duplicate pages. Then request indexing for priority pages.

Ensure HTTPS / no mixed content

Redirect HTTP to HTTPS at the server level (301) and fix any images or scripts loading over HTTP to avoid security warnings that harm SEO and conversion.

Resolve mobile issues

Run Mobile-Friendly Test and fix large tap targets, viewport meta tag, and font size. Prioritise the homepage and top service pages.

On-page & URL structure

Make sure your pages are organised and clean — search engines and users should understand your site at a glance.

URL best practices

Use short, descriptive URLs: /plumber-melbourne or /carpet-cleaning-sydney
Avoid query strings for primary content pages; prefer clean paths
Use 301 redirects for any URL changes; update internal links

Headings & content structure

Single H1 per page reflecting primary keyword + local modifier (e.g., Plumber in Brunswick)
Use H2/H3 to structure services, service area pages, FAQs
Include local terms naturally (suburb names, phrases customers use)

Canonical tags

Ensure each page has a self-referencing rel=canonical. For near-duplicate pages (e.g., service pages with similar content), consolidate via canonical or merge content to avoid diluting ranking signals.

Local signals & citations

Local search relies on consistent signals across the web — citations, reviews and GBP are core ranking factors.

Consistent citations

Build and audit local citations (Yellow Pages, TrueLocal, local directories). Use BrightLocal or Whitespark to find inconsistent entries and fix them. Consistency matters more than volume.

Review strategy

Encourage recent, local reviews on Google and industry-specific sites. Respond to reviews professionally. Use reviewStructuredData where permitted (review snippets must be genuine).

Service area pages

Create targeted service-area pages for suburbs you serve. Each page should have unique content, local keywords, and local schema where relevant — avoid thin duplicate pages.

Speed & Core Web Vitals

Page speed is both a ranking factor and a conversion factor — local sites must be fast on mobile and on typical mobile connections.

Key targets

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) < 2.5s on mobile
FID / INP — minimize long tasks (aim for INP < 200ms)
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) < 0.1

Practical fixes

Serve images WebP/AVIF, use responsive srcset and lazy-loading for below-the-fold images
Use critical CSS and defer non-critical CSS where possible
Implement server-side caching, CDN (Cloudflare, AWS CloudFront), and Brotli compression
Reduce third-party scripts (chat widgets, heavy trackers). Load them asynchronously or on interaction

Measurement & testing

Test real-world performance with PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse and real-user metrics in Search Console (CrUX). Compare performance across common local devices and 4G connections.

Crawlability & indexation

Ensure search engines can find and index the right pages — misconfigurations here often cost local visibility.

robots.txt

Make sure robots.txt does not block CSS, JS or images required for rendering. If you use subfolders for staging, block them. Keep the file simple and test in Search Console > Robots Testing Tool.

Canonical & noindex

Use rel=canonical to avoid duplicate content penalties. Use noindex on thin or internal-only pages (print pages, admin pages). Check for accidental noindex on service pages.

Pagination & faceted navigation

Avoid crawling traps: parameterised faceted pages should be blocked or canonicalised. Use rel=next/prev where appropriate, or implement server-side rendering for important content.

Server status & redirects

Monitor for 5xx errors and fix redirect chains. Prefer 301 for permanent moves; avoid redirect loops. Use server logs to detect crawl errors and priority pages crawled.

Structured data specifics for local sites

Use schema.org markup to communicate local business details to Google — but avoid markup that contradicts your GBP or site content.

LocalBusiness schema

Implement LocalBusiness (or the most specific subtype, e.g., Plumber, Electrician). Include name, address (structured PostalAddress), geo coordinates, telephone, openingHours, priceRange and sameAs links (social profiles).

Service & Product schema

Use Service schema on service pages (serviceType, areaServed). For product-oriented local shops, use Product schema with availability and price information.

Review / aggregateRating

Only mark up reviews you own and can substantiate. Use aggregateRating where you have a sufficient volume of reviews; otherwise risk manual actions for misleading snippets.

LocalBusiness consistency

Ensure the name, address and phone in schema exactly match GBP and website footer. Inconsistencies confuse search engines and may reduce local ranking signals.

Monitoring & monthly technical checklist

A few monthly checks keep local sites healthy and prevent small issues from becoming traffic losses.

Google Search Console

Check Coverage (errors, excluded pages)
Review Performance for local queries and top pages
Inspect newly published service-area pages and request indexing

Analytics & behaviour

Monitor organic and map-pack referral traffic, bounce rate on mobile, and phone-call conversions. Tag local landing pages to see which suburbs convert best.

Backup & security

Monthly backups and verified restoration tests. Keep CMS, plugins and server libraries updated. Monitor for spammy backlinks and disavow when necessary.

Crawl & log review

Review server logs quarterly to confirm bots are crawling priority pages and to detect excessive crawls of low-value paths (parameters, calendars, filters).

Prioritised monthly task list (recommended)

Weekly: GBP reviews & responses, check contact form submissions
Monthly: Search Console coverage + performance, Lighthouse test on top pages
Quarterly: Citation audit, review schema accuracy, server log analysis

Troubleshooting common technical issues

Pages not indexed

Check for noindex tags, canonical pointing elsewhere, robots.txt blocking, or the page being excluded due to soft 404. Use URL Inspection in Search Console to debug.

GBP not showing edits

Edits can take time — ensure there are no policy violations, verify ownership, and check that your business category matches your services. Use the GBP support chat for urgent issues.

Slow pages after updates

New scripts or heavy images often cause regressions. Re-run Lighthouse, use the Coverage tool to find unused JS/CSS and roll back or lazy-load heavy assets.

Local ranking drops

Check GBP status, review counts, citations, and recent on-page changes. Use localised rank-tracking and compare visibility before/after the drop to isolate the cause.

Tools & quick commands

Useful quick checks you can run now.

Index check: Google site:yourdomain.com "site:yourdomain.com" — shows roughly what Google has indexed.

Check robots: Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt and ensure not blocking important assets.

Sitemap: yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml — ensure it's up to date, then submit in Search Console.

PageSpeed: Run PageSpeed Insights for mobile and desktop; prioritise LCP fixes.

Schema test: Use Rich Results Test and the Schema.org validator to validate structured data.

How to get started — a 30/90 day plan

Days 0–7 (quick wins)

Claim & verify GBP; complete profile
Fix NAP on site and in schema
Submit sitemap.xml & check robots.txt
Run mobile Lighthouse & fix critical mobile issues

Days 8–30 (technical fixes)

Implement LocalBusiness schema and service area pages
Improve LCP using optimized images and CDN
Resolve crawl errors and canonical issues
Set up call tracking and conversion events

Days 31–90 (growth & monitoring)

Run citation clean-up and build targeted backlinks
Test structured data for review snippets and service schema
Set monthly reporting in GSC and Analytics; iterate on top converting suburbs

If you want a fast, hands-off approach: Congero can build mobile-optimised local websites, handle GBP setup, local schema, and ongoing technical SEO — all included in a single monthly plan. See how it works below.

See How It Works Run an Audit

Frequently asked questions

How long until local SEO improvements show in Google?

You may see improvements in the GBP and map-pack within days for quick fixes (hours to weeks). Organic ranking changes typically take weeks to months depending on competition and the scale of changes.

Can I do these tasks myself?

Yes — many quick wins and on-page fixes are straightforward. For advanced tasks (server tuning, complex schema, crawl budget optimisation), a developer or agency can implement changes faster and safely.

Will fixing technical SEO guarantee #1 in local results?

Technical fixes remove barriers to ranking and improve user experience — they are necessary but not sufficient. Reviews, citations, relevance and backlinks also matter. Treat technical SEO as the foundation.

Ready to improve your local search visibility?

Use this checklist to prioritise work, or let a specialist handle the technical details so you can focus on customers.

See How It Works Learn About Services

Need help prioritising? Start with GBP, NAP consistency, sitemap/robots checks, then Core Web Vitals — those four changes alone often produce measurable gains in weeks.