Guides · Get found on Google
Local SEO Checklist for Small Businesses in the UK (2026)
A simple local SEO checklist for UK small businesses. Twenty practical steps to show up on Google Maps and in local searches, in plain English.
When someone near you searches for what you do, you want to be one of the first businesses they see. That’s what local SEO is about. Use this checklist to see where you stand. Tick off what you’ve done and work through the rest one at a time.
Your Google Business Profile
- Claimed and verified at google.com/business
- Main category is the one that best describes your main service
- Extra categories added for other things you do
- Services listed, each with a short description
- Service areas or address set correctly
- Opening hours up to date, including holidays
- Photos of your real work, team and premises, added every month
- Description says what you do, where and what makes you different
Our Google Business Profile guide covers each of these step by step.
Reviews
- You have a direct review link saved on your phone
- You ask every customer, ideally the day you finish
- You reply to every review, good and bad
- You never offer rewards for reviews (it breaks Google’s rules)
See how to get more Google reviews for templates.
Your business details everywhere
- Your name, address and phone number (often called NAP) are identical on your website, Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Facebook and directories
- Listed on Bing Places and Apple Business Connect
- Listed on relevant trade bodies, local directories and business groups
Your website
- Home page says what you do and where in the first line
- A separate page for each main service
- Area pages for the main towns you cover, with real local detail (see our guide to service area pages)
- Your address or service area and phone number in the footer of every page
- Loads fast on a phone (see how to speed up your website)
- Click-to-call button on phones
- Structured data for your business (code that tells Google your name, address, hours and so on)
- Each page has a clear, unique title that includes the service and place
Google tools
- Website added to Google Search Console
- Sitemap submitted in Search Console
- You check Search Console every month for the searches you appear in
Keep it going
| How often | Task |
|---|---|
| Every job | Ask for a review |
| Weekly | Reply to reviews and messages |
| Monthly | Add new photos to Google, check Search Console |
| Every few months | Add or improve a service or area page, check your listings still match |
| Yearly | Review your categories, services and description |
The most common mistakes
- Different phone numbers in different places
- Adding keywords to your business name on Google (it can get your profile suspended)
- One “Services” page that lists everything with no detail
- A website that’s slow or hard to use on a phone
- Not asking for reviews
Want us to check this for you?
We’ll go through this checklist with you in a free 15-minute website check and tell you the three things that would make the biggest difference. If you’d rather we did it all, see our web design for London small businesses.
