Local SEO Readiness Checker
Review 15 local-search checks covering your Business Profile, reviews, business details and website, each with how to check it and what to fix. This self-assessment records what you have checked; it does not measure search visibility.
Check your local readiness
Health services: AHPRA's advertising rules do not allow testimonials about clinical aspects of care in your advertising, so do not quote or showcase them on your website or ads. When replying to reviews, do not confirm that someone is a patient or discuss their care.
How to check
Search your business name on Google Maps while signed in. A verified profile shows your edit options and no "Claim this business" link.
How to fix: Claim or verify the profile at business.google.com, and keep the owner login with the business, not a former supplier.
How to check
Business Profile › Edit profile › Business category. Compare it with the top three competitors in Maps for your main search.
How to fix: Set the most specific primary category for your main service, and add secondary categories only for services you actually offer.
How to check
Compare your footer or contact page with your Business Profile, Apple Business Connect and Bing Places, character by character.
How to fix: Pick one exact version of your name, address and phone. Update the website first, then each profile and listing.
How to check
Open your profile's reviews and sort by Newest. The ACCC warns that rewarding only positive reviews, or hiding negative ones, can breach the Australian Consumer Law.
How to fix: Ask every customer for a review after the job, with a direct review link. Never offer rewards only for positive reviews.
How to check
Check your last ten reviews for an owner reply and its date.
How to fix: Reply to each new review within a week: thank specific praise, and answer complaints factually with an offer to resolve them offline.
How to check
Read your contact, about and service pages. The suburbs should appear as text, not only in an image or embedded map.
How to fix: Add a service-area section listing your main suburbs as text. Create a page for an area only when you have something specific to say about it.
How to check
List your top five services and find the page for each. One "Services" page that lists them all does not count.
How to fix: Create a page per core service with what is included, price guidance, the areas served and an enquiry button.
How to check
Run your home page and main service page through PageSpeed Insights on Mobile and read Largest Contentful Paint.
How to fix: Compress and resize the largest image, remove unused scripts and plugins, and turn on caching; then test again.
How to check
Open the profile's Photos and Updates. The newest date should be within the last month.
How to fix: Add real photos of recent work, your team or premises each month. Skip stock images.
How to check
Search for your business on Apple Maps, Bing Places and your industry body's or trade's main directory.
How to fix: Correct those few listings so they match your website. Bulk directory submissions are not worth paying for.
How to check
Business Profile › Edit profile › Services (or Products).
How to fix: Add every core service with a one or two sentence description that uses the words customers search for.
How to check
Business Profile › Edit profile › Hours. Upcoming public holidays should show as special hours.
How to fix: Set regular hours, and add holiday hours before each public holiday so Google does not show you as open when you are closed.
How to check
Click the Website button on your profile and check where it lands. In GA4, look for visits tagged as coming from the profile.
How to fix: Point the link at your home page or matching location page, with UTM tags such as utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp.
How to check
Business Profile › Edit profile › Location and Service area. An address should show only if customers come to you.
How to fix: If you travel to customers, hide the address and set a service area of suburbs or regions. Never list a home address as a storefront.
How to check
Test your home page in Google's Rich Results Test or the Schema Markup Validator.
How to fix: Add LocalBusiness markup to your home or contact page (the free Schema Markup Generator builds it), and keep it matching your profile.
Results stay on your device. Copy, download or print includes your inputs and the stated assumptions. Enquiries do not automatically attach your inputs.
Example, assumptions and model details
An unverified profile remains a blocker even when most of the other applicable checks pass.
Industry weights are editorial planning priorities. The score is not measured local visibility, ranking probability or a required review count.
- Evidence basis
- Elev8d's planning assumptions, or the numbers you enter. Not an independent benchmark.
- Population and market
- Built for Australian businesses. Not based on a survey of the market.
- Review owner
- Elev8d
- Model version
- 2026-09-20
How to use this tool
Pick an industry to see an editorial priority preset. These weights are planning assumptions, not measured ranking factors.
Choose Yes or No only after checking. Use Not tested for unknowns and Not applicable where the item does not apply.
Read your score and the Fix first line. Fix the heaviest gap before touching anything tagged helpful.
How the score works
Verify each item using your profile, website and business records. A claimed and verified Business Profile is a prerequisite: answered No, the score is capped at 30% whatever the other answers, because the profile checks depend on it and you can’t appear in the map results without one. Review needs depend on your business and customer context; no universal review count establishes readiness.
Industry presets use editorial priority weights of one (helpful), two (important) or three (high priority), shown beside each question. They are planning assumptions, not Google ranking weights. The score is the weighted share of tested, applicable checks answered Yes, shown once five checks are answered. Not tested keeps the review provisional; Not applicable is excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about what this tool measures, the assumptions behind it, and what to do with the result.
Want Us to Check It Properly?
The checker covers the fundamentals. A free audit looks at your actual profile, rankings and competitors and tells you what winning the map pack in your area would take.