Local SEO Cheat Sheet
for Contractors
Every local ranking lever that matters for a home service business, on one sheet. Google Business Profile, on-page, citations, local links, and reviews.
Print it, work down it, check it off. Then run the 30-minute monthly routine at the end.
One checklist · No email required
97%
Of consumers read reviews for local businesses (BrightLocal)
68%
Only consider a business rated 4 stars or higher (BrightLocal)
47%
Avoid businesses with fewer than 20 reviews (BrightLocal)
What's on the sheet
Five Sections. Forty-Odd Boxes. One Afternoon.
For a home service company, the Google Business Profile section is worth more than the other four combined. Do it first and keep it current.
1. Google Business Profile (do this first)
- Primary category is the exact trade, 3 to 5 secondary categories at most
- Service areas list the cities and zips you will serve this week, not the whole state
- Address shown if you serve customers there, hidden with service areas if not. Never a fake address.
- Services listed specifically, description written for a homeowner, 10 or more real photos
- One post a week, every review answered within 24 hours, Q&A seeded and answered
2. On-page
- One page per service, not one Services page that lists everything
- Title tag and H1 format for local service pages, under 60 characters
- When a city page is worth building, and when ten thin copies hurt you
- Name, address, phone in every footer, matching the profile exactly, plus LocalBusiness and Service schema
- Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds on mobile, tap-to-call in the header
3. Citations
- The core directories and the trade directories to claim (for the citation, not the leads)
- Manufacturer and supplier locators: GAF, Owens Corning, Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Rheem, Generac
- How to find and fix old addresses and phone numbers across the web
- The three data aggregators to check once
4. Local links
- Chamber, city and county directories, sponsorships that come with a link
- Supplier find-a-contractor pages (a citation and a link in one)
- Local press angles that get a contractor covered
- What never to do: bought links and guest-post offers from unknown sites
5. Reviews
- The in-person ask, the 24-hour text with a one-tap link, the next-day email
- 3 to 5 new reviews a month, steady, and a 4.5 or higher rating
- The three-move response to a negative review
- The three things that break Google's review policy
Get the Cheat Sheet, Free
No email required. Print it and put it on the office wall.