---
title: "Local SEO audit and 90-day action plan"
description: "Putting it all together This lesson gives you a complete local SEO audit checklist and a template for turning findings into a 90-day action plan — ready…"
url: https://optimizeall.com/learn/local-seo-and-google-business-profile/local-seo-audit-and-action-plan
updated: 2026-10-05
---

Local SEO & Google Business Profile · Local rank tracking, reporting and audits · lesson 17 of 17 · 13 min

# Local SEO audit and 90-day action plan

## Putting it all together

This lesson gives you a complete local SEO audit checklist and a template for turning findings into a 90-day action plan — ready to use with clients or your own business.

## The local SEO audit checklist

**A. Business Profile**
- [ ] Profile claimed, verified, owned by a business-controlled account; agency as manager
- [ ] Name matches real-world name with no added keywords
- [ ] Address accurate (or hidden for SABs) and eligible; service areas set appropriately
- [ ] Primary category optimal; secondary categories relevant
- [ ] Description helpful and non-promotional
- [ ] Services and products complete with descriptions
- [ ] Attributes complete and accurate
- [ ] Regular and special hours accurate (Ramadan, Eid, public holidays)
- [ ] Website link to the correct page with UTM tagging
- [ ] Photos: logo, cover, exterior, interior, team, work; recent uploads
- [ ] Posts in the last month
- [ ] No duplicate profiles; no unwanted public edits
- [ ] Performance trends reviewed

**B. Reviews**
- [ ] Review velocity and rating vs competitors
- [ ] Response rate and tone
- [ ] Compliant review request process in place (no incentives or gating)
- [ ] Policy-violating reviews reported
- [ ] Other relevant platforms monitored

**C. Citations**
- [ ] Canonical NAP document exists
- [ ] Tier 1 platforms (Apple, Bing, Facebook, relevant aggregators) claimed and consistent
- [ ] Key directories and industry sites consistent
- [ ] Old addresses/phones cleaned up; duplicates removed

**D. Website**
- [ ] NAP in footer/contact page matching GBP
- [ ] Service pages for each core service
- [ ] Location pages (real branches) or genuinely valuable area pages; no doorways
- [ ] Crawlable locations index for multi-location
- [ ] `LocalBusiness` schema with correct details
- [ ] Mobile performance acceptable; click-to-call and directions easy
- [ ] Technical basics: indexable, HTTPS, no major errors (see Technical SEO courses)

**E. Links and prominence**
- [ ] Local and industry links vs competitors
- [ ] Local media coverage and community involvement
- [ ] Sponsorship links correctly qualified

**F. Measurement**
- [ ] Grid tracking for core queries and competitors
- [ ] UTM tagging, call tracking, conversion tracking
- [ ] Monthly reporting of actions and outcomes

## Competitor benchmark

For the top three competitors in the pack for your main query, record: primary/secondary categories, review count and rating, review velocity (recent months), photo count and recency, posts, website quality (service and location pages), and notable local links. The gaps become your opportunities.

| Item | You | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Dentist | Cosmetic dentist | Dentist | Dental clinic |
| Reviews (count / rating) | 58 / 4.6 | 310 / 4.8 | 145 / 4.7 | 90 / 4.5 |
| Reviews in last 90 days | 4 | 38 | 12 | 9 |
| Location page quality | Thin | Strong | Medium | Medium |

*Illustrative numbers.*

## Prioritising findings

Use a simple impact × effort view:

1. **Fix violations and risks first** — keyword-stuffed names, ineligible addresses, duplicates (risk of suspension or confusion).
2. **Quick wins** — categories, hours, services, photos, website link and UTMs, citation fixes on Tier 1 platforms.
3. **Systems** — review request process, monthly profile routine, reporting.
4. **Compounding work** — location/service pages, local links, local PR.

## The 90-day plan template

```text
Days 1–14:  Ownership & access fixed · name/category/hours corrected · UTMs · duplicates merged
            Canonical NAP document · Tier 1 citations fixed · grid tracking baseline
Days 15–45: Review system live (link, QR, scripts, staff training) · services/products complete
            Location page rebuilt · LocalBusiness schema · photo shoot
Days 46–90: Local link & PR plan: 2 community partnerships, 1 local guide, 1 media pitch
            Monthly posts · review responses · first monthly report & review of results
```

## Setting expectations

Explain to clients or managers that:

- Some fixes (hours, categories, website link) can influence visibility and actions relatively quickly; prominence-building (reviews, links) compounds over months.
- Distance limits map visibility; the plan focuses on maximising relevance and prominence within the realistic catchment and using organic pages for wider reach.
- No one can guarantee a top-3 map position.

## G. AI-era and policy checks (add to the audit)

- [ ] AI questions audit completed: 15 customer questions checked in Maps and AI Mode (where available); wrong answers traced to sources
- [ ] Key facts (parking, languages, children, accessibility, payment) present as text on the website, in profile fields and reflected in genuine reviews
- [ ] Review process checked against current policies: no incentives, gating, staff-name requests or on-site review kiosks
- [ ] Evidence folder current (licence, utility bill/lease, signage and interior photos) in case of suspension
- [ ] Spam evidence log in place for competitor issues
- [ ] AI-assisted edits and replies (for example via a Gemini connection) reviewed by a person before publishing

## Scoring the audit

Reuse the scoring approach from the GBP checklist lesson for all seven areas (A–G): score items 0–2 with evidence, calculate section percentages, and make the eligibility/ownership risk alert the first thing anyone sees. Present the before/after section scores in the monthly report for the first 90 days.

## Where to go next

For the website side of local SEO at depth — crawlability, internal linking, structured data at scale — see **Technical SEO Mastery (technical-seo-mastery)**. For AI answer visibility beyond local, see **AI Search Optimization (ai-search-optimization-geo)**. For link building beyond your community, see **Off-Page SEO & Link Building (off-page-seo-and-link-building)**.

## Common mistakes

- Auditing only the Business Profile and ignoring the website.
- Competing on review count by any means — stay compliant.
- Plans without owners or a reporting rhythm.

## Video lecture: Local SEO audit and 90-day action plan

Lecture coming soon · 13 chapters · about 8 minutes. Read the full transcript below.

1. Local SEO audit + 90-day plan
2. Why structure matters
3. Seven audit areas
4. Area G: AI & policy
5. Benchmark first
6. Prioritise
7. Example 1 (simple)
8. Example 2 (illustrative)
9. The 90-day template
10. Prioritise a messy audit
11. Watch me do it: full audit → 14-day plan
12. Set expectations
13. Mistakes + recap

## Lecture transcript

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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?

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

## Key takeaways

- Audit six areas: Business Profile, reviews, citations, website, links/prominence and measurement.
- Benchmark the top pack competitors on categories, reviews, photos, pages and links.
- Prioritise violations first, then quick wins, systems and compounding work.
- Set expectations honestly: prominence compounds, distance limits reach, no guaranteed positions.

## Try it

Run the full local SEO audit checklist on a business and produce a prioritised 90-day plan using the template.

- [Previous: Hands-on: local performance data with Search Console, GBP data, Python and Sheets](https://optimizeall.com/learn/local-seo-and-google-business-profile/local-performance-data-with-python-and-sheets)
- [All lessons of Local SEO & Google Business Profile](https://optimizeall.com/learn/local-seo-and-google-business-profile)