Business identity
Use the real name, primary category, hours, phone, website and service information consistently.
SeattleSEO.us field guide
Local SEO Checklist for Washington Businesses
A practical checklist for Google Business Profile, local pages, citations, reviews, tracking and truthful service-area coverage.
Practical guidance
Build consistent local evidence from profile to website to customer experience.
Local visibility comes from relevance, distance and prominence signals working together. This checklist focuses on the controllable elements without fake locations, keyword-stuffed names or review manipulation.
By SeattleSEO.us · Updated
Location usefulness
Explain services, access, areas served and local evidence on the website.
Reputation operations
Request and respond to reviews fairly, then use feedback to improve service.
Verify the profile and business details
Confirm that the business is eligible for a profile, that ownership is controlled by the business, and that name, category, hours and contact details reflect real operations. Do not add an office address that customers cannot use.
Connect the profile to useful pages
Link to a page that explains the actual service or location. Check mobile contact options, coverage and current service information. Use separate pages only when they help customers make different decisions.
Ask for reviews consistently
Google prohibits incentives for reviews and selective requests for positive reviews. Ask customers for honest feedback through a consistent process, without discounts, rewards or pressure to change negative feedback.
Keep the measurement repeatable
Record query, location and date when tracking map visibility. Use an agreed definition of qualified calls and forms, then annotate changes to profiles, pages and business operations.
Your review checklist
Use these points to record findings and decide what needs attention.
- Verify ownership and categories
- Complete services and attributes
- Reconcile name, address and phone
- Connect useful location pages
- Implement review workflow
- Track calls, forms and map visibility
Questions, answered
Before the next step.
Should keywords be added to the business name?+
Only if they are part of the real-world business name. Adding descriptors can violate platform guidelines.
How many citations are needed?+
Accuracy and relevance matter more than a universal count. Prioritize major data sources and credible industry or local listings.
Can review incentives be used?+
Do not offer rewards, discounts or other incentives for Google reviews, and do not request reviews only from satisfied customers. Ask for honest feedback consistently.
Sources and further reading
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