In this complete guide, we show you how to conduct a local SEO audit in 12 steps, a process that takes only 44 minutes.\u00a0 Along with the steps, this tutorial also includes a list of the tools you\u2019ll need and expert tips from our in-house analysts.<\/p>\n
If you want a handy checklist, you\u2019ll love our complete Local SEO Checklist<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ready to dive in?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to conduct a local SEO audit in 12 steps:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”How to do an SEO audit” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Before we jump into the specific steps you can take to complete an SEO audit in 44 minutes, it helps to know what an SEO audit actually is<\/em>, what purpose it serves, and the basics of how to do an SEO audit.<\/p>\n Performing regular SEO audits is an important component of any digital marketing strategy<\/a>. An SEO audit reveals optimization gaps, but evaluating results through the lens of SEO vs GEO<\/a> helps determine whether a traditional or generative approach is best for boosting traffic and conversions.. Here are the key things to know about how to do an SEO audit.<\/p>\n The first step is to define your SEO audit goals. You should identify what you want to achieve with the audit, whether that\u2019s to improve your website’s SERP rankings or increase organic traffic. Once you have defined your goals, you can identify the key areas of your website that need to be evaluated and, potentially, optimized.<\/p>\n Technical SEO involves technical elements of your website that impact its search engine performance, such as website speed, security, and mobile-friendliness. You can evaluate these aspects of your website using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Google Mobile-Friendly Test, and Google Search Console. Improvements to technical SEO can include changes to the website architecture and updates to back-end code to improve loading times.<\/p>\n On-page SEO refers to the parts of your website that webmasters have direct control over, such as content, meta tags, and internal links. An on-page SEO audit includes evaluating a website’s content to ensure that it is high-quality, relevant, and keyword-optimized. You should also analyze your website’s meta tags, such as title tags and meta descriptions, to ensure that they are properly optimized. Internal linking should also be checked to make sure there are no broken or orphaned links.<\/p>\n Backlinks are a crucial factor in search engine rankings. Analyzing your backlink profile can help you identify opportunities to build new links and disavow bad links. You can use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to check your backlinks. A full SEO audit should include an analysis of backlinks that not only identifies bad links, but also identifies opportunities for linkbuilding.<\/p>\n Digital marketers are always spying on competitors, and it\u2019s no different when it comes to SEO audits. Conducting a competitive local SEO analysis can help you spot the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors’ SEO strategies. This can help you identify new opportunities for your own website.<\/p>\n After completing the full SEO audit, create an action plan to address the issues and opportunities that you identified. Prioritize the items on your action plan based on their impact on your website’s search engine performance. The purpose of any SEO online audit is, ultimately, to improve SEO performance. Regular audits can serve as benchmarks to show that progress is being made.<\/p>\n These steps indicate how to do an SEO audit regardless of busines size or industry. Following them can empower businesses to identify areas of improvement for their website’s search engine optimization, and take action to improve their rankings and traffic.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”What is an on-page SEO audit?” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n On-page SEO audits are a subset of full SEO audits, but they\u2019re important because they identify areas of improvement that are within the control of website owners. An on-page SEO audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a website’s on-page elements<\/em> to identify areas for improvement in its search engine optimization.<\/p>\n Here are the key elements of an on-page SEO audit:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Added bonus: check out this sample SEO report” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Wondering what an SEO online audit report<\/a> that you might send to your SMB clients actually looks like? Check out this sample SEO report created with Snapshot Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n It assigns a letter grade to the business and provides actionable insights about how to improve performance in search through a variety of optimizations. This section of the sample SEO audit report focuses on local SEO analysis, indicating which position the business appears in based on where the searcher is located.<\/p>\n Using a report like this can help agencies sell SEO white-label services<\/a> that directly address their clients\u2019 most pressing needs.<\/p>\n Alright, ready to learn how to do a full SEO audit in 44 minutes? Let\u2019s get into it!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”1. Analyze Keywords for Your Local SEO Audit” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 7 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n What are your client’s target keywords? Step one of your local SEO audit should be to determine what they\u2019re currently ranking for and identify any opportunities they might be missing.<\/p>\n For example, if they\u2019re ranking well for \u2018Philadelphia Bankruptcy Attorney\u2019 but are nowhere to be found for \u2018Philadelphia Bankruptcy Lawyer\u2019, you\u2019ve identified an area to improve.<\/p>\n Start by asking for a list of services, products, or a page your client would like to drive traffic to. Once you have this you\u2019ll be able to use tools like Keyword Finder<\/a> to quickly put together a list of high volume local target keywords.<\/p>\n With this list in hand, you can proceed through the rest of your local SEO audit and determine how well these keywords are optimized every step of the way.<\/p>\n A good way to get started with your audit is to use MarketGoo, which automatically scans a website and generates a step-by-step SEO plan to help you increase your website traffic and rankings. There are other helpful local SEO audit tools available to assist you with this process.<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO<\/a> Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”2. Audit Competitor\u2019s Local SEO” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 7 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n Your client\u2019s local SEO audit should include a look at their competitor’s SEO profiles early on. Due to their influence on where your client ranks, competitor SEO could be considered an honorary ranking factor<\/a> in the yearly SEO reports. If your client is located in a highly competitive area in which the other top businesses are doing everything right, you need to document what they’re up against.<\/p>\n Doing a competitor local SEO audit early on will give you a frame of reference for everything you discover about your client\u2019s local SEO profile.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to do a full-blown diagnostic on each competitor, but take a look at the following, and compare that data against your client\u2019s:<\/p>\n In most cases, you should be able to take a look through these items and develop a hypothesis on why your client\u2019s competitor is in the position they’re in compared to your client.<\/p>\n Vendasta partner Elijah Vieau of Techwyse<\/a> notes that both client and competitor SEO audits can be similar:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Elijah Vieau” job_title=”Director of SEO” company_name=”Techwyse” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/Elijah-Viveau.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Elijah Vieau” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n We take the same approach to auditing our clients and their competitors with regards to local SEO.<\/em><\/p>\n It starts with checking their GBP listing (categories, images, etc). This is followed by a citation crawl using White Spark. We’ll pull this into a sheet and manually check each link for accuracy, along with ensuring the NAP is consistent on their website.<\/em><\/p>\n Based on this we’ll get a heartbeat for their overall citation accuracy, as well as the authority and relevancy of the listings. From our client and competitor analysis, we’ll identify gaps in our client’s citation profile, and look to ultimately submit their NAP to those directories as needed.<\/em><\/p>\n On the keyword side of this, we’ll use a tool such as Rank Ranger to track ranking improvements within the local pack over time and use a combination of Google Analytics and GBP Insights to uncover opportunities for local landing optimizations to increase rank and conversions.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”2. Audit Competitor\u2019s Local SEO – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”3. Audit Google Business Profile Listing” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 3 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n Google Business Profile is one of the biggest drivers of local SEO success. If you want your client to appear in Google\u2019s \u201csnack pack<\/a>,\u201d their GBP listing should be robust, and well-optimized with their core target keywords.<\/p>\n During this stage of the local full SEO audit, here are some things to look for:<\/p>\n These are the core elements that make up a strong GBP listing.<\/p>\n Here’s how Eagan Heath of Get Found Madison<\/a> audits his client’s GBP business listings:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Eagan Heath” job_title=”Founder” company_name=”Get Found Madison” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/Eagan-Heath.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial Video – Eagan Heath” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”3. Audit Google Business Profile Listing – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”4. Audit Reviews for Quality and Quantity” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 2 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n Reviews pack a ton of clout in both the local ranking and reputation-building arenas. Search engines regard them as a powerful and authentic measure of a local business\u2019s popularity and viability. Plus, potential customers trust reviews as an accurate gauge of that business\u2019s quality level.<\/p>\n Getting an abundance of positive, glowing and wordy reviews across multiple review platforms like GBP, Facebook, Yelp, and vertical-specific sites like Houzz, Tripadvisor, and Healthgrades helps you win on many levels.<\/p>\n Local SEO Guide<\/a> notes that Google does pick up on the keywords people use in their reviews: \u201cAt a high level, having a keyword you are trying to rank for, and a mention of a city you are working to rank in, in reviews has a high correlation with high ranking Google Business Profile results.\u201d<\/p>\n So in addition to review quality and diversity across the top platforms, you\u2019ll want to examine the content of all available reviews to see if your client\u2019s target keywords are present.<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”5. Audit Links for Quality and Quantity” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 3 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n Links remain the bread and butter of Google\u2019s ranking algorithm.<\/p>\n Darren Shaw of Whitespark<\/a> explains,<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Darren Shaw” job_title=”Founder\/President” company_name=”Whitespark” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/Darren-Shaw.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Darren Shaw” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \u201cGoogle is still leaning heavily on links as a primary measure of a business\u2019 authority and prominence, and the local search practitioners that invest time and resources to secure quality links for their clients are reaping the ranking rewards.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”5. Audit Links for Quality and Quantity – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.20.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n A diverse array of quality links is crucial for any local business\u2019s link portfolio<\/a>. This means that as you conduct your local full SEO audit you\u2019ll need to evaluate your client\u2019s links, looking for links with:<\/p>\n Link quality will win over quantity, and quality + quantity will help your client dominate the search rankings in their market. On the flip side, if you see a high volume of spammy, off-topic links<\/a>, you\u2019ll want to make a note of it as a red flag that may be damaging your client\u2019s ability to rank well for their target keywords.<\/p>\n Our SEO wizard Jubaer Prodhan expands on this,<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Jubaer Prodhan” job_title=”Search Marketing Specialist” company_name=”Vendasta” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/2nKDgmUk.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Jubaer Prodhan” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \u201cGoogle is rewarding relevancy now than ever before. If you’re auditing a local business website, it’s better to set aside general SEO metrics and focus more on relevancy. For local SEO, a backlink from the same niche\/industry is good, but not relevant enough. A backlink from DA 20 website, which is from the same city and same industry is much much better than a general backlink from DA 60 website. Having said that, don’t just mark positive to all the relevant industry or same city backlinks. Check the linking page OBL (outbound links) number, Moz Spam score, and content quality carefully. Clearly, you don’t want to get backlinks from a page which Google considers as a LinkFarm or Thin Content page.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”5. Audit Links for Quality and Quantity – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”6. Audit Schema-Markup for Local” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 2 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n Schema markup is code that goes on a website to help search engines return more informative results for users. Schema tells the search engines what your data means, not just what it says.<\/p>\n This markup is a key way to tell search engines exactly what a given website is about, which will help them serve it up on SERPs for the correct search queries.<\/p>\n One way to check to ensure that your client\u2019s site is using schema markup is to enter their URL in Google\u2019s Structured Data Testing Tool<\/a>. You\u2019ll be able to check to see if all the correct info about the business has been included.<\/p>\n Jubaer walks us through adding schema-markup to your client\u2019s website and individual landing pages<\/a>:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Jubaer Prodhan” job_title=”Search Marketing Specialist” company_name=”Vendasta” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/2nKDgmUk.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Jubaer Prodhan” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n SMBs often don’t realize how important schema-markup is. If you have a local client who isn’t using schema-markup on their pages, it’s your great opportunity.<\/em><\/p>\n First, take a quick look at the keywords and SERP results. It will help you to understand the user intent so you can give the best value. Try to identify which markups (reviews, events, articles, products, etc) can be a good fit for your client’s website. Then create a content map and tag which markup you will use for which page. While highlighting\/adding information in the markup fields, add information which the user would find most helpful.<\/em> [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”6. Audit Schema-Markup for Local – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”7. Audit Local SEO Citations” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 3 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n How frequently is your client’s business mentioned online? Auditing their citations will determine just how many online mentions exist of the name, address, and phone number for their business.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to look into both your client\u2019s structured and unstructured citations, as they’re quite a bit different.<\/p>\n For structured citations, you\u2019ll audit their business listings across the web, looking at social platforms and directories like Yelp, Yellowpages, Facebook, Superpages, and MapQuest. You\u2019ll also need to check to see if their correct business info is listed on the main data aggregators: Axiom, Neustar\/Localeze, Factual, and Infogroup.<\/p>\n Next, you\u2019ll need to check your client\u2019s unstructured citations. According to Zachary Yuzdepski<\/a>,<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Zachary Yuzdepski” job_title=”Marketing Analyst” company_name=”Vendasta” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/UjMh9T8A.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Zachary Yuzdepski” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n “An unstructured citation can be found on random websites, blogs, event listings, job posting sites, government records, or social media mentions. These are unstructured because they could be as simple as a company mention. Usually, these citations don\u2019t include a business\u2019s NAP data.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”7. Audit Local SEO Citations – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Helpful Resellable Local SEO Tools<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”8. Audit SEO on Main Pages” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 7 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n An audit of the main website pages is probably the most important piece of your entire audit. It doesn\u2019t have to be time-consuming if you have the proper tools though. Screaming Frog is one of many excellent tools that\u2019ll deliver a comprehensive look at your client’s on-page SEO.<\/p>\n Local SEO expert Jeff Lenney<\/a> shared some quick tips on using Screaming Frog to audit your client’s on-page keyword optimization here:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Jeff Lenney” job_title=”Search Engine Optimization Expert” company_name=”JLenney Marketing, LLC” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/unnamed.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial Video – Jeff Lenney” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”8. Audit SEO on Main Pages – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.20.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n With your list of target keywords in hand, you\u2019ll want to run through each page on your spreadsheet (as Jeff demonstrated) looking over the keywords on each page. Specifically, you\u2019ll be looking at the:<\/p>\n Even with just this information, you\u2019ll be well-equipped to analyze how well their pages are optimized for local SEO<\/a>. Plus, you\u2019ll be able to recommend improvements and content gaps that might be missing.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve evaluated and recorded the weaknesses in your client\u2019s local SEO (and they\u2019ve hired you to save the day) you can make use of a host of top-tier SEO plugins<\/a> to help you do your work.<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”9. Audit Image SEO” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 3 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n There are two main components to image optimization for local SEO: keyword usage and how images affect page load speed.<\/p>\n You can use Screaming Frog to evaluate both.<\/p>\n Keyword Usage: Auditing image keyword optimization boils down to evaluating each image\u2019s filename and alt text. Since Google can\u2019t yet tell what visual content an image contains, site crawlers rely on things like the filename and alt text to determine what\u2019s being displayed. These are places that should be optimized with relevant target keywords.<\/p>\n Page Load Speed: You can get some big improvements in page load speed when images are optimized to reduce their file size without significantly impacting their visual quality. Using Screaming Frog, you can take an inventory of all the images on your client\u2019s site and highlight the images that are slowing things down. (There are also image size optimization plugins that resize images automatically going forward.)<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”10. Check Website Speed” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 1 minute<\/strong><\/p>\n Having a site that loads rapidly is crucial in today\u2019s online business environment. A vital step in your local SEO audit, site speed is a big reason customers stay on or leave a page.<\/p>\n Edwin Toonen of Yoast<\/a> notes that,<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Edwin Toonen” job_title=”Content Manager” company_name=”Yoast” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/Yfd57UUL.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Edwin Toonen” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \u201cGoogle\u2019s latest research shows that the chance of a bounce increases 32% when the page load time goes from 1s to 3s. 1s to 5s increases the chance to 90%, and if your site takes up to 10s to load, the chance of a bounce increases to 123%. That\u2019s incredible. For search engines, better results and performance is a sign of a healthy site that pleases customers and therefore should be rewarded with a higher ranking.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”10. Check Website Speed – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Google PageSpeed Insights Tool<\/a> performs a near-instant audit of a given URL for both mobile and desktop searches. This will give you a quick way to tell if improvements are needed, and a list of actions to take to improve your client’s website speed.<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”11. Audit Site Engagement” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 3 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n What visitors do when they discover your client\u2019s business online affects their rankings. In fact, David Mihm argues that \u201cEngagement is simply a much more accurate signal of the quality of local businesses than the traditional ranking factors of links, directory citations, and even reviews.\u201d<\/p>\n Metrics like organic search click-through rate (CTR), dwell time, bounce rate, and conversion rate are all ranking factors. You can simply use Google Analytics (You\u2019ll need access from your client) to examine your client\u2019s engagement metrics and compare them to industry benchmarks during your local SEO audit.<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Audit Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”12. Audit Social Engagement” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Time Commitment: 3 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n The truth is that we\u2019re not sure to what extent social signals are baked into Google\u2019s ranking algorithm. However, there\u2019s no doubt that a strong social media presence can significantly boost local SEO efforts.<\/p>\n According to Ron Dod of Visiture<\/a>, the bigger and more engaged your client\u2019s audience is, the more they\u2019ll be able to boost rankings:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Ron Dod” job_title=”Cofounder and CEO ” company_name=”Visiture” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/1561035722428.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Ron Dod” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \u201cThe bigger your brand is and the more consumers trust you, the more likely you are to receive a larger share of clicks in Google. Social media can be a great and efficient way to help you build your brand and get in front of people who wouldn\u2019t have otherwise found you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”12. Audit Social Engagement – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Cornelia Cozmiuc of Cognitive SEO<\/a> shares thoughts on a recent study on whether social signals influence SEO,<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Cornelia Cozmiuc ” job_title=”Marketer & Storyteller” company_name=”Cognitive SEO” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/cP4Np5GFz7ogUBph2LcMPo_square_large.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Cornelia Cozmiuc ” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably also worth mentioning another recent adage, coming from the creator of the XKCD web comic, which states that \u201ccorrelation does not imply causation, but it does waggle its eyebrows suggestively and gesture furtively while mouthing \u2018look over there.\u2019\u201c Which is to say that just because we cannot definitely state that more shares on a social network will lead to a higher position in the rankings list, it doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t happen.”<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”12. Audit Social Engagement – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Therefore, evaluating your client\u2019s social platforms is an essential part of your local SEO audit.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to use Buzzsumo to see your client\u2019s top social shares:<\/p>\n Helpful Local SEO Audit Tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”13. Bonus: How to Report Your Local SEO Audit Results” _builder_version=”4.20.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Your clients don\u2019t want a 3-hour masterclass on local SEO. You may not even need to cover each step of your local SEO audit. The main information to convey is that the gaps you found will prevent their site from ranking as well as it could for their target keywords.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll want to focus on is how long it\u2019ll take to fix the optimization issues that you found, how much it\u2019ll cost them, and a ballpark estimate on the areas you expect will improve. The last part of this is the hardest. It\u2019s incredibly hard to make predictions because there are so many factors involved in local SEO.<\/p>\n You can present your local SEO audit report in whichever manner you and your clients prefer. For some clients, a written report may be enough. However, most will want and need a bit more explanation from you.<\/p>\n Vendasta partner Phil Tucker of Be Famous Media<\/a> has developed a useful approach to sharing audit reports with clients:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Phil Tucker” job_title=”Founder” company_name=”Be Famous Media” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/1633702188004.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Phil Tucker” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \u201cI usually will do reports and have PDFs that will show historical ranking changes and where they rank, depending on the client, in Google, Google Maps, Google Mobile, Yahoo, and Bing<\/a>. I may even make a screenshot video of myself going over the report and digging into results a bit. I find the video is good because I can make the video whenever I want, and they can watch it whenever they want it, versus an actual screen share.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”13. Bonus: How to Report Your Local SEO Audit Results – Remaining Text” _builder_version=”4.20.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Another tip from Phil is that taking a consultative approach to your report to clients is key. Correct local SEO is a means to an end: getting leads!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Phil Tucker” job_title=”Founder” company_name=”Be Famous Media” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/1633702188004.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#3b9a62″ admin_label=”Testimonial – Phil Tucker” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”gcid-body-color” position_text_color=”gcid-body-color” company_text_color=”gcid-body-color” max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22,%22author_text_color%22,%22position_text_color%22,%22company_text_color%22%93}”]<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things I’ve been working on is really making sure the customer understands that we’re in this together. It’s not just the ranking that matters, but also what happens after the traffic gets to their website. That way, even if they don’t necessarily have the budget for my recommendations today, it\u2019s still in the back of their mind. So down the road, as the campaign progresses, it’s an easier conversation of, “Oh, yeah, remember when we talked about that?” It’s a lot easier to upsell them to get a website that’s converting well, not just ranking well.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”Final Thoughts” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Performing a comprehensive local SEO audit using the 12 steps we have outlined is going to dredge up issues, no matter which business you audit. However, local SEO is still a mystery to many local businesses<\/a>, so educating your clients on the value of this work is key.<\/p>\n Finding and fixing any SEO optimization issues you discover along the way is also crucial, as is recording your progress to ensure you\u2019re not missing any vital pieces of the local SEO puzzle. Using a local SEO audit checklist will help with your optimization progress and prevent any missed steps.<\/p>\n Once you’re ready to get started optimizing your website for SEO, using Boostability’s<\/a> and SEO Network’s<\/a> SEO packages are key ways to power up your local presence. Just contact us for more info on any of these products.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code – FAQ” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”FAQPage”,”mainEntity”:[{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Analyze Keywords for Your Local SEO Audit”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”What are your client’s target keywords? Step one of your local SEO audit should be to determine what they\u2019re currently ranking for and identify any opportunities they might be missing.\\nFor example, if they\u2019re ranking well for \u2018Philadelphia Bankruptcy Attorney\u2019 but are nowhere to be found for \u2018Philadelphia Bankruptcy Lawyer\u2019, you\u2019ve identified an area to improve.\\nStart by asking for a list of services, products, or a page your client would like to drive traffic to. Once you have this you\u2019ll be able to use tools like Keyword Finder to quickly put together a list of high volume local target keywords.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Audit Google Business Profile Listing”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”Google Business Profile is one of the biggest drivers of local SEO success. If you want your client to appear in Google\u2019s \u201csnack pack,\u201d their GBP listing should be robust, and well-optimized with their core target keywords.\\nDuring this stage of the local full SEO audit, here are some things to look for:\\n1. Do they have a GBP listing? If so, is it claimed and verified?\\n2. Is all business information present and correct?\\n3. Do they have multiple reviews and a high cumulative rating? Are they responding to reviews?\\n4. Do they have appropriate business categories listed?\\n5. Do they have images of the business?\\n6. Have they created any GBP posts?\\n7. Are they participating in the Questions & Answers section?\\nThese are the core elements that make up a strong GBP listing.”}}]}[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wondering how to do a local SEO audit? We\u2019ll show you how to get it done in under an hour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":121437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Businesses on page 2 of the SERP might as well not exist.<\/p> It sounds harsh but it\u2019s simply the reality that both you and your clients are (should be) fully aware of.<\/p> You know the drill\u2014you want pizza so you get on your phone and do a search. Google presents its top 3 local options in the \"Snack Pack\" and 10 other organic results. You pick one and make a call or pop in the pizza joint.<\/p> Your clients want and need to appear on the first page for those target keywords. So how do you get them there? How do you explain why they aren\u2019t?<\/p> You\u2019ll need to do a local SEO audit to find out. Here\u2019s how to get it done.<\/p> For local businesses, appearing in SERP for local search terms, like \u2018yoga in Santa Fe nm\u2019 or \u2018orthodontist Cambridge ma\u2019 is essential. SearchEngineWatch<\/a> notes that \u201c80% users conduct online searches for local businesses, while 50% of users who do a local search on mobile for a business visit its store within a day.\u201d<\/p> Your job is to identify all the SEO issues that are holding your clients back from dominating local SERP and snack pack results. Working through this complete guide will help; You can also download our local SEO checklist if you want the pared down version of this post.<\/p> There are many local SEO tools that\u2019ll help you as you proceed. I\u2019ve listed a few of my top choices with each step of the audit.<\/p> Let\u2019s get started!<\/p> What keywords is your client targeting? Step one of your audit should be to determine what they\u2019re currently ranking for and identify any opportunities they might be missing.<\/p> For example, if they\u2019re ranking well for \u2018Philadelphia Bankruptcy Attorney\u2019 but are nowhere to be found for \u2018Philadelphia Bankruptcy Lawyer\u2019, you\u2019ve identified an area to improve.<\/p> Start by asking for a list of services, products, or a page your client would like to drive traffic to. Once you have this you\u2019ll be able to use tools like Keyword Finder<\/a> to quickly put together a list of high volume local target keywords.<\/p> With this list in hand, you can proceed through the rest of your local SEO audit and determine how well these keywords are optimized every step of the way.<\/p> Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong> Your client\u2019s local SEO audit should include a look at their competitor's SEO profiles early on. Competitor SEO is essentially the missing ranking factor in the yearly SEO reports we all read! If your client is located in a highly competitive area where the other top businesses are doing everything right, you need to document what your client is up against.<\/p> Doing a competitor analysis early on will give you a frame of reference for everything you discover about your client\u2019s local SEO profile.<\/p> You don\u2019t need to do a full diagnostic on each competitor, but take a look at the following, and compare that data against your client\u2019s:<\/p> In most cases, you should be able to take a look through these items and develop a hypothesis on why your client\u2019s competitor is in the position their in compared to your client.<\/p>[caption id=\"attachment_16697\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"] Vendasta partner Elijah Vieau of Techwyze<\/a> notes that both client and competitor SEO audits can be similar:<\/p> \"We take the same approach to auditing our clients and their competitors with regards to local SEO.<\/p> It starts with checking their GMB listing (categories, images, etc). This is followed by a citation crawl using White Spark. We'll pull this into a sheet and manually check each link for accuracy, along with ensuring the NAP is consistent on their website.<\/p> Based on this we'll get a heartbeat for their overall citation accuracy, as well as the authority and relevancy of the listings. From our client and competitor analysis, we'll identify gaps in our client's citation profile, and look to ultimately submit their NAP to those directories as needed.<\/p> On the keyword side of this, we'll use a tool such as Rank Ranger to track ranking improvements within the local pack over time and use a combination of Google Analytics and GMB Insights to uncover opportunities for local landing optimizations to increase rank and conversions.\"<\/p><\/blockquote> Helpful Local SEO Tools:<\/strong><\/p> The 2017 edition of Moz\u2019 Local Search Ranking Factors Survey<\/a> ranks Google My Business as the biggest driver of local SEO success. If you want your client to appear in Google\u2019s \u2018snack pack<\/a>\u2019', their GMB listing should be robust, and well-optimized with their core target keywords.<\/p> Here are some things to look for:<\/p> These are the core elements that make up a strong GMB listing.<\/p> Here's a video on how to audit a GMB business listing from Eagan Heath of Get Found Madison<\/a>:How to do an SEO audit<\/h2>\n
Define SEO online audit goals<\/h3>\n
Audit my site for Technical SEO<\/h3>\n
Conduct an on-page SEO audit<\/h3>\n
Do an SEO online audit for backlinks<\/h3>\n
Evaluate Competitors<\/h3>\n
Create an Action Plan<\/h3>\n
What is an on-page SEO audit?<\/h2>\n
\n
Added bonus: check out this sample SEO report<\/h2>\n
1. Analyze Keywords for Your Local SEO Audit<\/h2>\n
![\"graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/Analyze-SEO.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/KWFinder-Audit.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
2. Do a Local SEO Audit on a Competitor<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-2-competitors-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/SEO-audit-competition-research.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
3. Audit Google Business Profile Listing<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/GMB-audit.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
4. Audit Reviews for Quality and Quantity<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-4-reviews-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
5. Audit Links for Quality and Quantity<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-5-links-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
6. Audit Schema-Markup for Local<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-6-schema-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n
To add Schema markup, if it’s a WordPress website, “All In One Schema Rich Snippets” is a great plugin. For other websites, Schema markup generator is a good tool to create the code.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
7. Audit Local SEO Citations<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-7-citations-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
8. Audit SEO on Main Pages<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-8-page-SEO-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
9. Audit Image SEO<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-9-images-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
10. Check Website Speed<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-10-speed-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"Google](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-website-speed-1024x448-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
11. Audit Site Engagement<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-11-engagement-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
12. Audit Social Engagement<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-12-social-1024x416-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Buzzsumo](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-social-engagment-1024x535-1.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
13. Bonus: How to Report Your Local SEO Audit Results<\/h2>\n
Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n
How to Perform Your Audit<\/h2>
Performing a Complete Local SEO Audit in 12 Steps<\/h2>
Audit Keywords<\/h3>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/wordpress-www-vendasta\/2018\/02\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-1-keywords-1024x416.jpg\")
<\/p>![\"how](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/wordpress-www-vendasta\/2018\/02\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-keyword-finder-1024x485.png\")
<\/p>
Ahrefs<\/a>
Keyword Finder<\/a><\/p>Audit Competitor\u2019s Local SEO<\/h3>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/wordpress-www-vendasta\/2018\/02\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-2-competitors-1024x416.jpg\")
<\/p>![\"how](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/wordpress-www-vendasta\/2018\/02\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-competition-research-1024x485.png\")
Identify your client\u2019s top competition[\/caption]Audit Google My Business Listing<\/h3>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/wordpress-www-vendasta\/2018\/02\/how-to-do-a-local-seo-audit-for-clients-3-gmb-1024x416.jpg\")
<\/p>