7 Local SEO Audits - Prime Axis Blog

Local SEO Audit

A Local SEO Audit involves a comprehensive analysis of the key components that form your local search strategy. It encompasses the identification of the individuals, details of your website and competitors, as well as the reasons and methods behind your strategy.

If you do not have knowledge of your local competition and where your website stands compared to them, it will be challenging to determine how to surpass them. Conducting a Local Audit will assist in comprehending the elements that are effective on your website, the areas that require improvement (differentiating between high and low priorities), and devising a strategy to succeed in your specific industry.

When you choose to request a Local SEO Audit from Sterling Sky, you will receive a thorough examination of your website, your online performance, and your competitors.

By following a systematic approach, we will address all aspects of Local SEO including content, backlinks, onsite technicalities, GMB profile, reviews, Social Media, and competition. Our services guarantee exceptional results, providing you with specific tasks to undertake and a comprehensive guide to successfully establish dominance in Local SEO.

Why do you need a local SEO audit

In order to achieve the best results for your business in terms of local SEO, it is important to have a thorough understanding of your strengths, areas that require improvement, and the strategies adopted by your competitors. Having a comprehensive understanding of the overall scenario is crucial for creating a viable and long-lasting plan that can effectively generate business and improve your bottom line.

By thinking methodically and planning beforehand, you can make your Local SEO process more attainable. Our internal Local SEO Audit checklist will guide you towards achieving higher rankings on search engines.

What can you expect from my local audit

Sterling Sky has the capability to generate Local SEO Audits for any business, regardless of the industry. The audits provided are not generic templates. Instead, each client is provided with a tailored Local SEO Audit that takes into account their specific website, the expertise of our team, and the findings we uncover.

The audit may consist of 15 pages for clients with smaller websites, while for those with larger sites, it may consist of 50 pages. The determination of page count for the Local Audit is dependent on the findings by Sterling Sky experts regarding your website and the activities of your competitors.

The Local SEO Audit process offered by Sterling Sky is a comprehensive and detailed analysis. It should not be mistaken for the quick online audits that can be done in 30 minutes. The following outlines what you can anticipate from the Sterling Sky team.

We will outline what we believe you are doing well with your website, what is hurting your chances in ranking locally, and how to fix the issues.
We then create and deliver a Local SEO Audit report to you.
From there, we set up an hour review where you will talk with a Sterling Sky professional about everything in the Local Audit.

Here is a detailed breakdown of everything that will be audited and reported on step by step.

Google my business audit

To start, we evaluate your Google My Business (GMB) page, which typically requires around 30 minutes, during which we collect information regarding:

Business name, and Brand Name
Address, Phone number, Website, Hours (NAPW)
Categories
Website links
Products
Services
Posts
Reviews
Q & A
Spam
Photos and more

Website audit

The website analysis for each Local SEO Audit will differ, but the fundamentals remain the same for every website. However, the findings we come across can vary greatly. A useful comparison for Local SEO is to think of it like a house. If you have a house that appears gorgeous, with perfect exterior maintenance and aesthetics, but its foundation is in ruins, what is the purpose?

Your house will eventually crumble. This also applies to your website. Prior to starting the development of the other elements like backlinks and reviews, you must ensure a solid foundation that includes all technical aspects.

The team at Sterling Sky will:

Crawl your website
Analyze website site structure
Analyze Meta Descriptions
Page Titles
Head Tags
Website speed
Internal linking
Images (sizes, and Alt text)
Schema
Phone numbers
Email addresses
Anchor text within backlinks
Content
Mobile-friendliness
Footer information
Calls to Action
Google Analytics
Google Search Console
Google Tag Manager

Backlinks

Backlinks are still one of the main factors leading to higher search engine rankings, as they function similarly to a popularity contest on the internet.

If your website has a greater number of quality and relevant links, it will be more visible to potential clients and will rank higher in relevant search results. Conversely, if your website has a small number of links or a large number of low quality/unrelated links, it will not rank as high in search results.

We utilize multiple local SEO tools to assess the number of backlinks, the quality of the links, and the frequency of linking to your website.

Once we have a solid understanding of the backlinks you have, we are able to assess your leading online competitors and assess how they rank in relation to your website. Are they equipped with more links? Do they possess superior quality? By utilizing your data along with your competitors’ data, we establish a standard to decide what actions to take next in your Local SEO strategy.

The process of conducting an SEO audit can be broken down into individual steps.

1. Analyze keywords for your local SEO audit

To begin your local SEO audit, you should first find out the target keywords of your client. This involves checking the keywords they currently rank for and finding any potential opportunities that they may have overlooked. For instance, if they have a high ranking for ‘Philadelphia Bankruptcy Attorney’ but do not appear at all for ‘Philadelphia Bankruptcy Lawyer’, you have found an area that can be enhanced.

Start by requesting the client to provide a list of services, products, or a specific webpage they want to increase traffic for. Once you obtain this information, you can utilize tools such as Keyword Finder to swiftly compile a list of local target keywords that have high search volumes. Having this list, you can then proceed to conduct a local SEO audit to assess the optimization level of these keywords at every stage.

To begin your audit effectively, consider utilizing MarketGoo, an automated tool that scans websites and generates a SEO plan to enhance website traffic and rankings. Additionally, there are various other tools specifically designed for local SEO audits to aid you in this process.

Local SEO tools that are useful.

MarketGoo
Ahrefs
Keyword Finder

2. Do a local SEO audit on a competitor

It is important to examine the competition’s SEO profiles early in your client’s local SEO audit. Considering their impact on your client’s ranking, competitor SEO can be regarded as an honorary ranking factor in the annual SEO reports. If your client is situated in a fiercely competitive area where the leading businesses are excelling in all aspects, it is crucial to document the challenges they face.

By conducting a competitor local SEO audit in the early stages, you will have a point of comparison for all the information you gather about your client’s local SEO profile. It is not necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of each competitor, but it is recommended to review the following data and compare it with your client’s.

G BP ranking for top keywords
Organic rankings for top keywords
Review quantity and quality
Number of links
Site Speed
Social Stats

By examining these items, you should be able to formulate a hypothesis regarding the reasons why your client’s competitor is in a different position from your client in most instances.

There are local SEO tools that can be helpful.

BuiltWith

3. Audit google business profile listing

If your goal is for your client to be included in Google’s “snack pack,” a strong and well-optimized Google Business Profile is crucial for achieving local SEO success. It is one of the key factors in driving local SEO results and should be optimized with their main target keywords.

Here are a few things to keep an eye out for during this phase of the local SEO audit.

Do they have a GBP listing? If so, is it claimed and verified?
Is all business information present and correct?
Do they have multiple reviews and a high cumulative rating? Are they responding to reviews?
Do they have appropriate business categories listed?
Do they have images of the business?
Have they created any GBP posts?
Are they participating in the Questions & Answers section?

A strong GBP listing comprises of these fundamental components.

Here are some useful local SEO tools.

Manager access from client to their GBP listing
Yoast Local SEO Plugin

4. Audit reviews for quality and quantity

Reviews hold significant influence in both the local ranking and reputation-building domains. They are highly regarded by search engines as a strong and genuine indicator of a local business’s popularity and sustainability. Moreover, potential customers rely on reviews as a reliable measure of the quality provided by that specific business.

Receiving numerous positive, enthusiastic, and lengthy reviews on various review platforms such as GBP, Facebook, Yelp, and vertical-specific sites like Houzz, Tripadvisor, and Healthgrades is beneficial in several ways.

According to Local SEO Guide, it is noted that Google recognizes the keywords used in people’s reviews. Having a specific keyword that you want to rank for, along with mentioning the city you are targeting, in reviews shows a strong connection to achieving higher rankings in Google Business Profile results.

In addition to assessing the quality and diversity of reviews across various platforms, it is important to analyze the content of all reviews available to determine whether your client’s target keywords are mentioned.

Useful tools for local SEO:

Vendasta Reputation Management

5. Audit links for quality and quantity

When conducting a local full SEO audit, it is important to evaluate the client’s links and look specifically for links that have a diverse array and are of high quality. This is because links are still an essential part of Google’s ranking algorithm for local businesses’ link portfolios.

Local content
Industry or vertical topic clusters
High domain authority

When it comes to links, it is more important to focus on their quality rather than quantity. Having a combination of both quality and quantity will greatly contribute to your client’s success in search rankings within their industry. However, if you come across a large number of spammy and irrelevant links, take note of them as a warning sign. These types of links can potentially harm your client’s chances of ranking well for their desired keywords.

There are local SEO tools that can be useful.

Ahrefs

6. Audit schema-markup for local

Schema markup is a code that is placed on a website with the purpose of assisting search engines in providing users with more comprehensive search results. Instead of solely relaying information, schema informs search engines about the significance of the data. This markup plays a crucial role in conveying the precise subject matter of a particular website to search engines, thereby aiding in displaying it appropriately on search engine result pages (SERPs) for relevant search queries.

To verify that your client’s website incorporates schema markup, you can input their URL into Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool. This will enable you to examine whether all the accurate business information has been included.

Tools for local SEO that are useful:

Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool

7. Audit local SEO citations

By auditing your client’s citations, you can determine the frequency of their business being mentioned online. This audit will assess the number of online mentions for the business name, address, and phone number. It is crucial to examine both structured and unstructured citations as they differ significantly.

When conducting a structured citation audit, you will examine their business listings on various online platforms and directories such as Yelp, Yellowpages, Facebook, Superpages, and MapQuest. Additionally, it is essential to verify whether their accurate business information is present on the main data aggregators: Axiom, Neustar/Localeze, Factual, and Infogroup.

Local SEO tools that are useful: