Local SEO Checklist: 43 Steps to Win the Map Pack

Local rankings run on three factors — proximity (fixed), relevance (setup) and prominence (built over time). This checklist covers everything you control, in the order it pays off, tuned for Indian businesses: WhatsApp asks, Justdial-tier directories, and video verification reality.

1. Google Business Profile: Claim & Verify

The anchor of everything local.

• Existing listing claimed (never duplicated)Claiming keeps accumulated reviews; duplicates split prominence and trigger suspensions.
• Verification completed — signage and premises ready for video verificationThe common route in India: a walkthrough showing signage, stock, and proof of operation.
• Business name is the real-world name ONLYNo keywords, no city bolted on — stuffed names are the #1 suspension trigger.
• Home business without signage set up as service-area (address hidden)Fully legitimate — declare served areas instead of showing your house.
• Canonical NAP document written: exact name, address format, one phoneEvery listing from now on gets copy-pasted from this file, never retyped.

2. Profile Completeness

Relevance is a setup task — do it once, completely.

• Primary category = most specific real match‘Cake shop’ beats ‘Bakery’ — smaller competitor pools, sharper query match.
• Secondary categories added for every genuine offeringEach real category expands search eligibility; fake ones invite reports.
• Winning competitors’ categories checkedTheir primary category shows on their Maps listing — free recon.
• Services/products listed individually with pricesThese surface in searches and answer the #1 question before it’s asked.
• Description written: what, for whom, what’s different — front-loaded750 characters that drive the choice once you’re seen.
• Hours accurate, festival/holiday exceptions set‘Closed when Google said open’ is the fastest 1-star generator.
• All true attributes ticked; WhatsApp/booking links added where supportedAttributes match filtered and voice searches; Indian customers convert on chat.

3. Photos & Activity

The conversion layer.

• Photo set covers: exterior, interior, products/work, teamThe four questions every customer checks before visiting.
• Fresh photos uploaded monthlySignals an alive business — and your quality volume drowns unflattering customer uploads.
• Google Posts rhythm running (weekly-ish)Offers, festival booking deadlines, new products — purchase-ready viewers.
• Q&A seeded with your real customer questions, answered officiallyAnyone can answer your Q&A — get there before strangers answer wrong.
• Q&A notifications on; new public questions answered fastSpeed here is defense.
• Messaging enabled only if you’ll answer quicklySlow response metrics display publicly; otherwise route to WhatsApp via the site.

4. Reviews System

The biggest controllable prominence lever.

• Direct review link saved from the GBP dashboardOne tap for the customer — friction kills conversion.
• Ask happens at the happiness peak, every timeCake delivered, repair done — that moment; peak-timing also produces service-specific review text.
• WhatsApp ask message written in your natural voicePersonal one-liner + link; no follow-up spam.
• QR code on counter/bill/packaging for walk-insConverts in-person happiness on the spot.
• Ask attached to the completion workflow — someone owns it1-in-5 conversion on 50 orders/month = 100+ reviews a year with steady recency.
• Every review answered: positives with a specific echoTemplate-identical responses prove nobody read them.
• Negative response protocol ready: thank → brief context → make it right → take offlineWritten for the next hundred readers, not the one reviewer.
• Nothing bought, incentivized, gated, or self-postedIndia’s ₹3,000-for-50-reviews market sells suspensions in disguise.
• Fake reviews flagged with the correct policy violation + calm public responseGenuine harsh opinions aren’t removable — only answerable.

5. Citations & Directories

Threshold work — build the core set, stay consistent, move on.

• Tier 2 done: Justdial, Sulekha (services) / IndiaMART (B2B), Bing Places, FB/Instagram business profilesPlatforms where customers actually search — real referrals, not just signals.
• Industry platforms joined: your vertical’s real onesZomato/Practo/WedMeGood-tier relevance beats fifty generic directories.
• Citation cleanup: name + phone searched, old listings found and fixedWrong numbers and old addresses are the killers; Road-vs-Rd trivia is not.
• Volume directory blasts refused500-submission packages buy inconsistency risk, not authority.

6. Website Local Signals

The second engine — organic reach beyond proximity.

• NAP on the website matching GBP exactly (footer or contact page)The site corroborates the profile.
• LocalBusiness schema with address, phone, hours, geoMachine-readable identity for the location.
• Service pages name services in customers’ wordsThis text feeds ‘their website mentions…’ justifications in the pack.
• Area pages only for genuinely served areas, with genuinely local contentReal deliveries, local details, area reviews — the doorway test: could only someone working there have written it?
• City-level keywords targeted through organic contentThe pack is proximity-gated; the organic results below it are your expansion route.

7. Multi-Location (if applicable)

• One profile per real staffed location — no more, no fewerDuplicates split signals; missing profiles surrender that branch’s home turf.
• Unique phone + unique location page per branch; ‘Brand – Area’ namingEach location page passes the anatomy: NAP, schema, branch photos, branch reviews.
• Per-branch review asks running; per-branch ratings watched separatelyA 3.8 branch is an operations alarm the brand average hides.
• Closed/moved locations marked in GBP (never deleted); citations and redirects updatedThe relocation protocol, in order.

8. Measure

• GBP performance data reviewed monthly: searches, views, calls, direction requestsGround truth of what you actually appear and convert for.
• Rankings checked from multiple locations, not your own shopSearching from your counter shows your best case, not your market.
• Local queries tracked in GSC with a locality regex filterkothrud|baner|pune — your local organic engine, measured.