Local SEO audit and 90-day action plan

0:00 Local SEO audit + 90-day plan

You've learned the pieces: profiles, reviews, citations, pages, links, measurement and profile protection. Now it's time to put them together into something you can hand to a client or your own manager on Monday morning: a complete local SEO audit and a ninety day action plan. By the end of this lecture you'll know what to check, how to benchmark competitors, how to prioritise, and how to set honest expectations.

0:30 Why structure matters

Why a structured audit? Because local SEO problems hide in different places. A great profile can be undermined by a website with thin location pages. Great reviews can be undermined by a keyword stuffed name that's one edit away from suspension. A structured audit makes sure nothing important is missed, and it gives you a baseline to show progress.

0:56 Seven audit areas

The audit has seven areas. A: the Business Profile, from ownership and name to categories, hours, photos and edits. B: reviews, from velocity and responses to a compliant request process. C: citations, from the canonical NAP to Tier one platforms. D: the website, from service and location pages to schema and mobile usability. E: links and prominence, local links, coverage and sponsorship attributes. F: measurement, grid tracking, UTMs and reporting. And G, new: AI era and policy checks.

1:30 Area G: AI & policy

Let's look at area G, because it's new. Have you run an AI questions audit, checking fifteen customer questions in Maps and AI Mode, and traced wrong answers to their sources? Are key facts like parking, languages and accessibility present as text on your website and in profile fields? Does your review process avoid incentives, gating, staff name requests and on site kiosks? Is your evidence folder current? Do you keep a spam evidence log? And are AI assisted edits and replies reviewed by a person?

2:07 Benchmark first

Here's the key idea: benchmark before you prioritise. Think of it like a doctor comparing your test results to healthy ranges. For the top three competitors in the pack for your main query, record primary and secondary categories, review count and rating, reviews in the last ninety days, photo count and recency, posts, the quality of their service and location pages, and notable local links. The gaps become your opportunities.

2:37 Prioritise

Now prioritise with a simple impact and effort view. First, fix violations and risks: keyword stuffed names, ineligible addresses, duplicates, ownership problems. Second, quick wins: categories, hours, services, photos, the website link and UTMs, and citation fixes on Tier one platforms. Third, systems: the review process, the monthly profile routine and reporting. Fourth, compounding work: location and service pages, local links and local PR.

3:05 Example 1 (simple)

Worked example one, simple. A barber in Glasgow runs the audit. Area A shows the name includes best barber Glasgow, a risk. Area B shows only four reviews in ninety days against competitors' twenty plus. Area D shows no services page on the website. Priority order: fix the name today. This week: add services and photos, and start asking every customer for a review with a QR code at the till. This month: build a proper services page with prices.

3:40 Example 2 (illustrative)

Worked example two, realistic and illustrative. A dental clinic in Dubai scores its audit. Section A is fine. B: reviews are strong but responses are patchy. C: eleven phone mismatches. D: the location page is thin. E: no local links. F: no grid tracking. G: the AI questions audit shows answers saying the clinic doesn't treat children. The ninety day plan: days one to fourteen, fix citations, UTMs and set a grid baseline. Days fifteen to forty five: children's service, rebuilt location page, response routine. Days forty six to ninety: local partnerships and a parenting guide.

4:22 The 90-day template

The ninety day template in the lesson follows that rhythm. Days one to fourteen: ownership and access, name, categories and hours, UTMs, duplicates, the canonical NAP, Tier one citations and a grid baseline. Days fifteen to forty five: the review system, services and products, a rebuilt location page, LocalBusiness schema and a photo shoot. Days forty six to ninety: local links and PR, monthly posts and responses, and the first monthly report with a review of results.

4:55 Prioritise a messy audit

Let's pause and prioritise a messy audit together. You find five issues at a restaurant: the business name includes best biryani Karachi, two old directory listings show a previous phone number, the website has no menu page, there are no posts in six months, and reviews have no responses. What comes first? The name, today. It's a suspension risk. Next, quick wins: fix the two listings and start responding to reviews. Then build the menu page. Posts come last, because they matter least. Risk, quick wins, systems, then polish.

5:34 Watch me do it: full audit → 14-day plan

Watch me do it. I'll run the full audit on a barber in Glasgow and turn it into the first fourteen days of actions. First, section A, the profile. The name on the profile is Kings Cuts, Best Barber Glasgow. The sign says Kings Cuts. That's a risk item. Primary category is Hair salon, when Barber shop exists. No holiday hours. Section B, reviews. I count reviews in the last ninety days: four. The top three competitors have twenty or more each. Half the recent reviews have no reply. Section C, citations. Apple Business Connect was never claimed, and one directory has an old phone number. Section D, website. There's no services page with prices. Section E, links. None local. Section F, no tracking at all. Section G. I ask Maps whether they take walk ins, and the answer says appointment only, which is wrong. Now I benchmark the top three competitors in the pack in the table from the lesson. Then I prioritise. Today: fix the name. This week: category, holiday hours, claim Apple, fix the directory phone, UTM link, reply to every review, and start the QR review request at the till. Days eight to fourteen: a services page with prices that says walk ins are welcome, and grid tracking set up as the baseline. Every item gets an owner.

7:11 Set expectations

Now, expectations. Tell clients or managers the truth. Some fixes, like hours, categories and the website link, can influence visibility and actions relatively quickly. Prominence building, like reviews and links, compounds over months. Distance limits map visibility, so the plan maximises relevance and prominence within the realistic catchment and uses organic pages for wider reach. And nobody can guarantee a top three map position. Anyone who does is guessing or doing something risky.

7:43 Mistakes + recap

Common mistakes. Auditing only the Business Profile and ignoring the website. Competing on review count by any means, instead of staying compliant. Plans without owners or a reporting rhythm. And skipping the new AI and policy checks. Recap: audit seven areas, benchmark the top three competitors, fix risks first, then quick wins, systems and compounding work, and set honest expectations. Try this now. Run the full audit on one business and write its first fourteen days of actions, with an owner for each.