Normally, your website gets plenty of traffic from local customers. Everything’s humming along, business is good — and then one day, your traffic drops off a cliff. What happened?
A local SEO audit can tell you everything you need to know when your site takes a nosedive in the SERPs. This guide explains how to perform a local SEO audit, what to look for, and how to restore your business’s website to its former glory.
How is a local SEO audit different than a normal SEO audit?
A local SEO audit examines factors that affect how your website appears in local searches. For example, a local search might be “pest control company near me” or “eye doctor in San Francisco.”
A normal SEO audit, on the other hand, is more general. Both types of audits are similar, but if you’re aiming for local website traffic, a local SEO audit is the one you want.
Local SEO audit checklist
How do you perform a local SEO audit correctly and effectively? Simply follow these steps, and you’ll be on your way to restoring your site traffic in no time.
Step 1: Check for penalties
Google penalties are a huge problem for local businesses, and the scary part is that you might not even know you’ve been hit with one unless you investigate.
Google issues penalties for quite a few reasons, most commonly:
- Spammy links
- Malware infections
- Unnatural link structures
- Thin content
- Sneaky redirects
Here’s how to check for penalties using free and paid tools.
Using Google search console
Log in to your Google Search Console account and click “Manual Actions” under “Search Traffic.” If you have penalties, you’ll see them here. Google will also provide suggestions to help you fix them.
Using paid tools (Such as Ahrefs)
For Ahrefs, head to Site Explorer and go to the Anchors section. This tells you whether you have any unnatural links connected to your site that might be causing a penalty.
Step 2: Check for on-site issues
On-site issues, such as indexing problems and poor load speed, cause the vast majority of poor SEO. Here’s how to fix these concerns during your local SEO audit.
Indexing problems
If your site isn’t doing well in the search results, Google may not be indexing it. To check, find your robots.txt file and look under “Disallow.” The bots can’t find and index your site if you’ve listed Google or other search engines there.
Website responsiveness
Nowadays, most searches come from mobile devices, which is why responsiveness is a must. Make sure that your site automatically adjusts to fit different screen sizes.
Load speed
If your website loads slowly, users will leave and head somewhere else. To boost load speed, optimize your images, cut down on clutter, and compress large files.
URL optimization
Clunky, confusing URLs don’t do your site any favors. Ensure that your URLs are descriptive, easy to remember, and just as long as they need to be.
Content optimization
Even if your site has well-written content, it won’t matter if that content isn’t optimized. Local keyword research is a great place to start.
Begin by researching relevant keywords using Google’s Keyword Planner (it’s free). You can either get suggestions by typing in your topic or scanning a related website. Google Trends can offer some ideas as well.
Once you have some good keywords, sprinkle them organically throughout the content.
Titles and meta tags
Title tags summarize the content of your page. They appear in the SERPs, browsers, and on external sites that are linking to yours. Try to keep title tags to 60 characters or less.
Meta tags are pieces of text in your site’s HTML code that tell Google what the page is about. Google uses these tags to categorize your pages and serve them to the right users. Ideally, your meta tags should be under 160 characters each.
Check for redirects
Redirects send users to a page other than the one they intended to visit. Some redirects are good — for example, if you no longer carry a product, you don’t want users to visit its page.
Other redirects are less helpful. For instance, if you delete a page and redirect users to one that isn’t relevant, they’ll likely get frustrated and leave.
You can use a tool like Ahrefs to check your redirects and determine where they lead.
Internal links
Internal links are those that link to other pages on your site. Make sure that each internal link goes to a relevant page, and use an appropriate anchor text. If an internal link is broken, either remove or update it.
Step 3: Reviewing your Google business profile
Your Google Business Profile is one of the most powerful tools you can use to improve local SEO. Here’s how to use it to your advantage.
Filling out blank sections
On your Google Business Profile, you can list your business’s contact information, website, address, reviews, and more. Don’t leave any of these sections blank — you want to provide users with as much info as possible about your business.
Correct category type
Choosing the right Google Business Profile category is a must, and it should also be as specific as possible. The category you choose determines whether Google will display your website when someone does a search. For example, if your category is “burger restaurant,” Google may show your site for searches like “best cheeseburgers near me.”
Listing your products or services in GBP
Google Business Profile allows you to list your products or services, and you should definitely do so. Consider adding some of your most popular offerings to entice customers.
Including high-quality photos
One of the biggest perks of a Google Business Profile is the ability to add images. Be sure to include high-quality pictures of your business and its offerings to encourage users to visit.
Answering reviews and ratings
Most potential customers look for reviews on Google before making a purchase. Odds are good that you’ll occasionally get a few negative reviews, and it’s smart to answer them promptly.
When responding, be courteous and don’t blame the user for what went wrong. Offer a solution to regain their trust, whether that’s a refund or discount on future services.
Continuously updating your profile
As your business evolves, so too should your Google Business Profile. Keep it fresh with current images and promotions. If you change your address or phone number, update it here right away.
Step 4: Check your citations
Website citations include your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). Your NAP appears on websites other than your own, and Google checks this info to make sure that you’re a legitimate local business.
Review each site for NAP
To ensure your NAP is displaying correctly, you’ll need to visit each site that links to yours. If you find any incorrect information during your local SEO audit, send a message to the webmaster with the correct info.
Step 5: Backlink audit
Backlinks are links on other sites that point to yours. Authoritative backlinks do wonders for local SEO, but poor-quality ones can sink your site into oblivion. Here’s how to audit backlinks and make sure they’re up to snuff.
Disavowing spammy links
Ideally, you should have backlinks from authoritative domains such as .gov, .edu, and .org. That’s not to say that all .com domains are low-authority, but you need to be mindful of the quality of those that link to your site.
Here are some indications of spammy backlinks:
- Low-effort content
- Sketchy domain names
- Excessive ads
- Low transparency
To investigate your backlinks in more detail, head to Google Search Console and click “External Links.” Links with the following qualities require investigation and possible removal:
- A Trust Level of less than 0.7
- An Alexa Traffic Rank greater than 100,000
- Links from the page are “nofollow”
- The page has a high number of outbound links
Check for broken links
Broken links aren’t quite as disastrous as spammy links, but they can irritate users and harm SEO. You can remove broken internal links manually, but it’s easier to use an SEO audit tool. Ahrefs offers a free broken link checker that finds non-working links in seconds.
Step 6: Review your social media
Think of your website and social media presence as close cousins. If your social media isn’t up to par, your website could falter in turn. Improving your social media game, on the other hand, can elevate your site in the SERPs.
On your social media pages, ensure that you’ve provided your business’s contact information and that everything is correct. Be sure to link to your website, too. It’s also smart to regularly post helpful content to get users interested in your business offerings.
Transform your website with a local SEO audit today!
Could your business website benefit from a local SEO audit? By following these steps, you can take your site from wallowing at the bottom of the search results to the top of page one. Put these strategies into practice today and watch your website soar!
