How to do a local SEO audit

What is simply a section SEO audit?

A section SEO audit is an study of your section business’ integrated (unpaid) visibility successful hunt motor results pages and each the elements that lend to its performance. This includes your Google Business Profile, website, and online business listings. Performing a section SEO audit helps you place weaknesses and opportunities successful your hunt trading strategy, truthful you tin find ways to amended your rankings and get much section business. Focus connected Google Search and Google Maps performance, arsenic these are 2 of the biggest hunt channels for section businesses. Here’s really to do a section SEO audit, measurement by step.

How to audit your Google Business Profile

Your Business Profile is your section business listing connected Google. It’s what appears successful representation results connected Google Maps and Google Search. Below is an illustration of a “local pack” aliases “map pack” successful Google Search, which typically includes 3 floor plan snippets. Clicking “More places” opens the Local Finder, which has further business listings.

Auditing and improving your Business Profile tin thief it rank higher erstwhile group hunt for applicable products aliases services successful your area. It tin besides lead to a better conversion rate —a higher percent of viewers becoming customers—because it equips them pinch cardinal accusation they request to make a acquisition decision. If you haven’t already, add your business to Google and complete the location verification process. This allows you to edit your listing. Then, motion into Google Business Profile and commencement your audit: 

• Check that your business accusation is coming and correct 
• Consider updating your photos and videos 
• Respond to reviews (and study immoderate that violate Google’s guidelines ) 
• Respond to unanswered questions successful the Q&A conception To spot the hunt queries your Business Profile ranks for, spell to the “Insights” study and reappraisal the “Searches breakdown.” 

If you want to place keywords pinch the champion imaginable for your business (i.e., target keywords), you’ll request to perform local keyword research . 

This tells you what queries prospects usage and successful what volumes. It tin besides show you hunt position that competitors rank for, but you don’t. 

Track your rankings for target keywords successful adjacent hunt locations using Semrush Local's Map Rank Tracker tool . The instrumentality produces a heamtap study that shows your positions successful Google Maps depending connected wherever your customers are erstwhile they hunt online.

How to audit your section business website

When personification enters a applicable keyword into Google Search, you want your website to rank successful the integrated results. The higher the better. Exposure successful immoderate different hunt motor results page features ( SERP features ), specified arsenic the “People besides ask” box, tin besides thrust valuable traffic. When you execute a section SEO audit connected your site, you tin place issues holding backmost your rankings. And find different ways to improve.

Check your website rankings

Generally, it’s quicker and easier to amended existing keyword rankings than found caller ones. Find the queries your domain already ranks for in Google Search Console . Go to the “Search results” study to spot keywords and your mean positions. Those ranking successful positions 5 to 15 are mostly the champion candidates for improvement.

Check the “CTR” column, too. This is your click-through rate: the percent of impressions (i.e., views of your website listing successful SERPs) that resulted successful clicks. A debased CTR could bespeak your title tag and meta description are suboptimal, arsenic these are the specifications typically displayed successful integrated hunt results.

For further insights and to measurement your hunt visibility, adhd your target keywords to Semrush’s Position Tracking tool . One of the astir useful metrics for keyword prioritization is “Volume,” aliases the mean number of searches per month. You tin besides spot whether keywords trigger immoderate SERP features. And if so, whether your website appears.

Get method SEO recommendations

Technical aspects of your site, specified arsenic loading velocity and mobile friendliness, impact capacity successful integrated search. In summation to your visitors’ personification experience. So, it’s important to reappraisal method elements arsenic portion of your section SEO audit. Start by checking the pursuing sections successful Google Search Console: 

• Pages: Make judge the correct pages are added to the Google index - Sitemaps: Check that Google has a correct and up-to-date sitemap
• Page experience: See whether your pages present a bully acquisition connected mobile and desktop
• Core Web Vitals: See whether immoderate URLs fail Core Web Vitals (metrics relating to page experience) 
• Mobile usability: Note immoderate issues related to pages’ mobile usability HTTPS: Make judge each your pages usage secure HTTPS encryption 
• Manual actions: Check if tract rankings are affected by a Google penalty
• Security issues: Identify different information issues connected your tract Semrush’s Site Audit tool can thief you prioritize method SEO issues. And provides proposal connected why and really to hole each problem.

Review your backlink profile

Backlinks are links connected different websites that constituent to your website, cumulatively known arsenic your backlink profile. The value and amount of links successful your backlink floor plan tin person a important effect connected rankings, some positively and negatively. 

So it’s important to reappraisal them successful your section SEO audit. Start by looking for potentially harmful backlinks . If Google thinks your tract has engaged successful unethical aliases spammy linking practices (i.e., had links placed purely for SEO purposes) it tin use a “manual action” aliases “Google penalty” that harms your rankings. Find and hole perchance harmful backlinks pinch Semrush’s BacklinK Audit . The instrumentality checks your backlinks for “toxic markers” and gives each 1 a Toxicity Score. If you want the tract proprietor to region the backlink, you tin interaction them done the platform. If unsuccessful, you tin create a disavow record that asks Google to disregard the link. 

Next, comparison your backlink floor plan against your competitors’. Google treats earthy aliases “earned” backlinks arsenic endorsements. If a competitor has much backlinks than you—or backlinks from higher-quality sites—it tin beryllium much difficult to outrank them. Use link-building strategies to drawback up. Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool allows you to comparison up to 5 backlink profiles simultaneously. Metrics like Authority Score give you an thought of really difficult it will beryllium to outrank your competitors. You tin besides look astatine different metrics, specified arsenic the number of referring domains, to spot really you measurement up.

Evaluate individual pages

To rank highly for a target keyword, you request a page that caters to the search intent behind that keyword. In different words, a page that satisfies the user’s extremity erstwhile entering the keyword into Google. Understand what searchers want by looking astatine the top-ranking pages for your target keyword. Then, usage various on-page optimization techniques to make your contented much user-friendly and Google-friendly. Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker suggests page improvements based connected champion practices and the apical 10 results for your target keywords. If you link your Google Analytics account, the instrumentality will moreover look astatine personification acquisition metrics for illustration clip connected page. These recommendations thief you conception a page that deserves to rank good and get clicks. The instrumentality will do the following:

• Flag method issues pinch your page 
• Check the value of your title tag and meta description 
•  Compare your content’s magnitude and readability against rivals’ 
• Show you wherever competitors are utilizing keywords 
• Identify backlink prospects (sites that mightiness nexus to your page) 
• And more 

Pro tip: Use On schema to people up your contented for hunt engines. Google whitethorn show marked-up contented (known arsenic “structured data”) successful integrated results, which makes them much engaging and useful. In this example, searchers tin spot really galore IHOP branches are successful each metropolis and spell consecutive to the astir applicable page. All acknowledgment to the site’s usage of “sitelinks” schema.

How to audit your listings and citations

Listings aliases citations are online references to your section business’ name, address, and telephone number (NAP). Getting featured successful online directories specified arsenic Yelp and Foursquare creates much ways for prospects to find your business online. It tin besides summation your business’ online prominence, which tin boost Business Profile and website rankings. 

Plus, Google uses section listings to verify accusation successful your Business Profile. If it finds conflicting business hours, for example, it whitethorn beryllium little assured successful your floor plan and little apt to show it to users. Ensure your citations are correct and consistent. You tin interaction listing sites straight to get your business accusation added aliases updated, but this tin beryllium time-consuming.

With Semrush’s Listing Management tool, participate your accusation erstwhile and it’s automatically submitted to the apical directories successful your country. You tin moreover get location reports via email, which show cardinal capacity metrics. The instrumentality besides has a “Review Management” tab that brings together reviews from Google, Facebook, and different directories. As good arsenic cardinal metrics specified arsenic your mean prima rating. This makes it easier to grip customer work issues and improve your online reputation.