Local SEO Audit: What It Is, Why It Matters + Top Tools

A local SEO audit helps you evaluate your business’s online presence and gives you actionable steps to improve visibility in local search. Here’s everything you need to know about conducting a local SEO audit (and why you should).

Ever had a hankering for Thai food while you’re out running errands? My first move is usually to pull out my phone and search for “Thai food near me.”

And if you run a Thai restaurant, you’re going to want to be the first result on that search engine results page (SERP).

That’s where a local SEO audit can make all the difference. From restaurants to home services, reaching your local audience helps drive foot traffic and conversions, and improves your bottom line as a result.

We spoke with Samantha Ridgway, senior SEO manager at HawkSEM, for her expert insights on the ins and outs of local SEO audits. Let’s get started.

Local SEO quick start guide

Before we get into the nitty gritty of audits, let’s start with some of the basics.

What is local SEO?

Local SEO is the process by which businesses optimize their content to appear in local search results. Think of searches like: “doggy daycare in Lincoln, Nebraska.”

This is especially useful for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to reach audiences in their vicinity, get more foot traffic, and potentially gain more customers.

Why is local SEO important?

Local SEO is an essential tool for customer acquisition.

In fact, Google reports that as many as 4 out of every 5 consumers search with local intent on search engines and a whopping 88% of folks who use smartphones for a local search visit a related store within a week.

What is a local SEO audit?

Think of an audit as a kind of driver’s test. When conducting a local SEO audit, you’re evaluating your business’s online presence to see how well it’s optimized for local search engine results.

This helps you see what you’re doing well and what you can improve upon so you’re ready to dominate those SERPs.

Local SEO audit: Step-by-step

Now that you get the gist, let’s dive into the details. Here’s how to conduct a local SEO audit to ensure your business is primed to dominate local search results.

1. GBP audit
2. Local citations audit
3. On-page SEO
4. Review management
5. Competitor analysis

1. GBP audit

First, you’ll want to take a good look at your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).

GBP is a free tool that allows organizations to manage their online presence across Google Search and Google Maps.

Having a complete, accurate, and optimized GBP profile helps ensure that info like business hours, contact details, services, and locations is easily accessible to searchers.

In fact, Google itself reports that customers are 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider buying from businesses with a complete profile.

Ridgway emphasizes the importance of performing a GBP audit regularly, explaining that “Google continues to change and/or add elements such as the ability to link to socials or list specific products and services offered directly on a GBP profile.”

It’s worthwhile to pull a refreshed audit to make sure all bases are covered, she adds.

One quick way to improve user experience and tracking is to change the URL you’re driving users to from GBP.

“Consider sending users to a correlating localized page,” Ridgway explains. “For example, if you’re a coffee chain operating in NYC, drive users to a page solely dedicated to your Manhattan location, rather than to the homepage.”

2. Local citations audit

When it comes to local citations, don’t sleep on your NAP information.

NAP (or, Name, Address, Phone Number) refers to online mentions of this information on websites and directories.

Local citations help search engines like Google verify the accuracy of a business’s location, contact info, and services. As you can guess, this data is crucial in improving local SEO rankings and building trust with search engines and potential customers.

When your NAP information is up to snuff, potential customers will be able to find you all across the web.

Outside of NAP, Ridgway says that accurate business hours are one of the most pivotal elements of this type of audit.

“Nothing puts a bad taste in a customer’s mouth quite like going out of their way to visit a local business just for their storefront to be closed, despite online business hours saying otherwise,” she explains.

Brightlocal identified the top five most trusted platforms people use to find information on local businesses (AKA which sites you may want to pay special attention to):

• Google (66%)
• Google Maps (45%)
• Business website (36%)
• Facebook (32%)
• Yelp (32%)

Pro tip: Ridgway recommends cross-checking Apple maps as well since iPhone users often default to this on mobile. “Apple Business Connect has its own unique set of optimization opportunities, and can even be treated as a separate auditing opportunity.”

3. On-page SEO audit

This part of our eval involves some good ol’ keyword research and page optimization. That means reviewing how well your site’s content, title tags, and meta descriptions target relevant keywords.

Ensure that your location-specific content addresses the needs of your local audience (e.g. city or neighborhood mentions), and is in-depth, high-quality, and mobile-friendly.

Whitespark notes that the most significant local organic ranking factors (according to marketers) are as follows:

• A dedicated page for each service
• Internal linking across the entire website
• Quality and authority of inbound links

In short, if your landing pages are on point, solid local search results shall follow.

Pro tip: Localized pages should be unique enough to avoid duplicate content, Ridgway says. Consider adding local reviews that pull directly from GBP or general information about the area that pertains to your business.

4. Review management audit

Online reviews are extremely important when it comes to local SEO. Staying on top of review management can help build trust and credibility.

Start by analyzing the number of reviews, your average star rating, and the frequency of reviews.

From there, pay attention to how your business responds to both positive and negative reviews. All of the responses can go a long way toward building trust and showcasing authenticity to your audience.

Pro tip: Ridgway recommends toggling on email notifications via settings in your GBP profile. That way, you can respond promptly whenever you get a new review (good or bad).

5. Competitor analysis

Conducting a competitor analysis will help you understand how your business compares — and identify opportunities to improve your own local search presence.

By understanding your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, you can better fill in the gaps of your own local SEO strategy.

Best tools for local SEO auditing

Audits are a big undertaking, and many tools are out there to help. Here are our top recommendations for local SEO audits.

Google Business Profile

GBP provides awesome insights into how users find your business, how often your listing appears in search results, and the actions users take (e.g. directions, website visits, phone calls).

It can also help you check your reviews and responses to ensure you’re building a strong online reputation.

Paying attention to GBP also helps determine how you rank in “local pack” visibility. This refers to the top three businesses Google deems relevant for searches with local intent, like in the example below:

(Image: Google search screenshot)

The “local pack” is a nickname for those coveted top three local listings on the SERP. They show a map and a list of info including business names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, and sometimes hours of operation.

Moz Local

Moz Local helps businesses manage their local SEO presence by monitoring customer reviews, automating citation management, and checking for NAP consistency across the web.

We love Moz’s dashboard feature which shows performance, listing accuracy, and visibility in local search. This gives you a clear view of your strengths and weaknesses and makes finding optimization opportunities a breeze.

Ahrefs

This all-in-one SEO toolset is most well-known for its link-building capabilities, but it’s a great tool for local SEO as well.

Ahrefs allows you to audit your backlink profile – a must for local SEO, as businesses with strong backlinks often rank higher in search results.

Plus, it helps you identify competitor’s backlinks and find opportunities to earn similar links from trusted sources.

Content-wise, Ahrefs can help you ID content or keyword gaps in your site, showing you where competitors may link for keywords that you don’t.

Bonus tool: Semrush. An awesome option in this same vein, their Map Rank Tracker tool produces a heatmap report that shows your positions in Google Maps.

Google Search Console (GSC)

A marketer’s BFF, this free tool helps you monitor and maintain your site’s presence in Google’s search results (with help from Google Analytics).

GSC allows you to monitor performance data, mobile usability, and technical SEO, as well as local keyword data and local business schema.

Local SEO Audit Tool Cheat Sheet

(Image: HawkSEM)

As you can see, some of these tools can perform similar functions. However, using these tools together provides a comprehensive approach to local SEO audits.

Sound overwhelming? It certainly can be. Partnering with a digital marketing agency is a great way to stay on top of your local SEO efforts. We know of a good one.

Why should I perform a local SEO audit?

Performing a local SEO audit helps businesses enhance visibility in local organic search results, attract more local customers, and stay ahead of competitors (not to mention identify opportunities for improvement).

Here are a few notable benefits:

Improve local search rankings

By assessing Google Business Profile optimization, local citations, and target keywords, you can identify areas for improvement. This can lead to higher rankings in both Google Maps and Google’s “Local Pack.”

Audits can also uncover technical issues that may be affecting your SEO performance. Broken links, slow page speed, or poor mobile responsiveness can all impact your rankings.

Increase organic traffic and foot traffic

When your local SEO is optimized, you’re better equipped to target customers who are actively searching for your services in your area. This leads to more calls, directions requests, and website visits — meaning higher conversion rates.

Identify opportunities for local keywords

An audit can help you discover which local search terms you rank well for and which ones you may be missing out on.

Bonus: that competitor analysis step gives you insights into what your competition is ranking for, giving you ideas for new keywords to target to increase your visibility.

Improve mobile and user experience

57% of local searches are done on mobile devices, meaning mobile-friendliness is a must. Identifying issues like poor navigation, slow loading times, or unresponsive design is key to keeping your audience on-page.

An audit also helps you check for user experience issues that may deter potential customers, such as unclear calls-to-action, complicated navigation, or broken links.

Local SEO audit checklist

• Analyze your Google Business Profile
• Check (and optimize) your local citation listings
• Review on-page SEO elements
• Assess your online reviews
• Perform a competitor analysis

The takeaway

Conducting regular local SEO audits is a must for any businesses looking to attract more local customers and enhance their online visibility.

When done right, this practice can significantly boost your rankings in local search results and help you stay competitive with evolving SEO best practices.

And if you need a hand? Call in the Hawks and we’ll help you take your local SEO to the next level.