A list of well over 100 local SEO tips for small and medium-sized businesses. The list contains 30 sections, over 120 tips and ideas, and may continue to grow. As far as we know, this is the most comprehensive list on the internet. Bookmark it and refer back as you optimise your local presence.
For many small and medium-sized businesses undertaking SEO, targeting local traffic is often the easiest and least competitive place to start. The problem is that there’s a mountain of local SEO tips and advice to digest. We’ve compiled this exhaustive checklist to help you work through the essentials.
The most important actions are marked ■ Red. Medium-priority items are ■ Orange. Lower priority or ongoing optimisations are ■ Green.
■ The business must have a physical presence within the targeted town or city
- It must be a permanent address, not a PO box, shared office, or forwarding address.
■ The business NAP (Name, Address, Phone) must be correctly formatted
- It must contain a local phone number.
- It must include street address, town/city, and postcode at minimum.
■ Publish your NAP on every page of your site (not just the Contact page)
- Ensure it’s crawlable text, not an image, and not hidden behind JavaScript.
- If multiple locations exist:
- 2–4 locations: list all in the footer and create unique local landing pages.
- 5+ locations: list on Contact page and create separate local pages per store.
- One HQ with branches: optimise Homepage and About for HQ, Contact for all, and separate pages for each location.
- Consider adding an interactive map showing all branches.
- Each local landing page must be unique and meet quality guidelines:
- Content: 800–1000+ words per page where possible.
- Quality: Well-written, natural language, and meets search intent.
■ Sign your business up to authoritative web directories (Yell, Yelp, FreeIndex, etc.)
- Include as much detail as possible:
- Opening hours
- Images and videos
- Descriptions and product/service tags
- Contact details and social links
- Links to your website or blog posts
■ Build citations for your business on the web
- Use reputable sources such as BrightLocal’s Top 50 UK Citation Sites.
- Learn what citations are via SEOMark or Moz.
■ Audit all current web citations for accuracy, duplication, and NAP consistency
- Search variations of your company name + address or postcode excluding your domain (e.g. “SEOpie” “TN12 6HT” -site:seopie.co.uk).
- List all found citations in a spreadsheet with fields for quality, accuracy, and link presence.
- Work through and update or remove duplicates.
■ Get your Google My Business account set up and complete
- Ensure it’s verified, accurate, and has correct map pin placement.
- Choose a precise primary category.
- Include 5+ images and at least one video.
- Match your site NAP and title tag with your local city.
- Remove duplicates and link to the most relevant landing page.
- Create listings for each physical location.
- Include menus or service lists if applicable.
- Follow Google’s quality guidelines: here.
■ Obtain links from local websites
- Look for links from local businesses, schools, blogs, hobby sites, sports clubs, or community pages.
■ Optimise your keyword focus per page (not entire domain)
- Some keywords suit your homepage, others your About or Contact pages.
- See Moz’s Local Landing Page Guide.
■ Create separate pages for each product or service offered (within reason)
- Avoid over-fragmenting pages per micro-location (e.g. /Organic/Chicken-Feed/Brenchley).
■ Optimise your page title tags to include locations
- Example homepage:
St Peter’s | Dance School in Tunbridge Wells - Example subpage:
Dance Classes Tunbridge Wells - Tonbridge | St Peter’s
■ Optimise page content elements with localised content
- Include locations in headings, image filenames, and alt text.
- Use descriptive internal and external links.
- Structure URLs logically for region and service.
■ Create social media profiles for your business
- List your address, phone, and website link where possible.
- Primary sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
- Additional: Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Foursquare, Tumblr, Quora.
- Specialist examples: Behance (design), DriveTribe (motoring), Goodreads (books), Last.fm (music).
■ Get reviews from customers across multiple platforms
- Request via email or social media (never fake or paid reviews).
- Make reviewing simple: share direct links to Google, Facebook, etc.
- Gain reviews steadily, not all at once.
- Thank reviewers and respond professionally.
- Don’t hide poor reviews; they build credibility.
- Add local reviews to local pages using rich snippets (JSON-LD).
■ Create a complete contact page
- Embed a Google Map with a “Get Directions” link.
- Include a visible phone number and NAP consistency.
- Add social links and store images.
- Provide parking or transport details if applicable.
■ Properly set up tracking for local performance
- Use Google Analytics (via Tag Manager).
- Set up Google Search Console.
- Monitor local ranks with Serpfox, Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz.
- Use UTM parameters for local campaign tracking.
■ Research and manually acquire backlinks
- Target quality sites within your industry or location.
- Occasionally link to your Google Business page instead of your site.
- Vary anchor text naturally (see GotchSEO).
■ Sign up to good-quality local directories and business portals
- Include complete details as before.
- Add relevant links to internal landing pages when allowed.
- Search for “[your industry] directory” or analyse competitor backlinks for leads.
■ Add structured data (rich snippets) to your pages
- Use JSON-LD generator for LocalBusiness schema.
- Mark up: business name, address, phone, hours, geo-coordinates, logo, and social links.
- Validate via Google’s testing tool.
■ Sign up to Bing Places for Business
- Go to bingplaces.com and complete verification.
■ Create locally focused website content
- Interview local figures or businesses.
- Run surveys or publish “best of” local lists.
- Report on community events or news.
- Create evergreen local resources or guides.
■ Maintain regular social media engagement
- Focus on one strong channel if time is limited.
- Schedule posts, reply promptly, and keep tone professional.
■ Optimise additional meta tags to include locations
- Include location terms in meta descriptions.
- Use Open Graph tags like locale, title, and image.
■ Engage with local customers
- Interact online and offline to build community recognition and mentions.
■ Create separate pages for each major location
- Only target key towns/cities with sufficient search demand.
- Ensure each location page is unique and useful.
■ Maintain traditional offline marketing
- Sponsor teams, events, and charities.
- Collaborate with schools or non-profits.
- Run small-scale print, radio, or banner campaigns.
■ Combine offline marketing with online incentives
- Distribute flyers or promo items with discount codes or QR links.
- Host online contests or live-streamed events.
- Encourage social media interaction with local games or scavenger hunts.
■ Apply for local business or community awards
- Search “City Name + nominate a business” and submit applications.
■ Regularly update your Google My Business page
- Share updates about products, promotions, staff, or industry news.
■ Follow standard on-page SEO best practices
- Set canonical URLs correctly.
- Remove duplicate or superfluous pages.
- Fix redirect chains.
- Ensure mobile usability and fast loading times.
- Use SSL (HTTPS) and focus on user experience.
- Provide detailed, unique product descriptions.
In Closing
Red items are the foundation. Orange builds authority and visibility. Green enhances long-term reputation and local engagement.
If your resources are limited, master the red essentials first — then move outward to citations, content, and community involvement.
