Local SEO checklist for Melbourne small businesses

Work through this local SEO checklist top to bottom and you'll cover the basics Google itself points to when it decides who appears in nearby searches.

The profile work comes first because Google's own advice starts there, and the rest builds on it. Most of it needs no technical skills.

First, what local SEO does

When someone in Brighton searches "physio near me" or "plumber Bentleigh", Google often shows a map and a short list of businesses near the top of the results. That box is the local map pack.

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. You can't move your shop closer to the person searching, so local SEO is the work on the other two: matching what people search for, and being well known enough to get picked.

Google also states there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

The 10-step local SEO checklist

Your Google Business Profile is what appears in the map pack. Claim it and verify it, because Google says a verified business is more likely to show up in search results.

Then fill in every field: hours, services, description, website and photos. In Google's words, businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.

Google's guide warns that if your business info isn't accurate, your profile might not show up for relevant searches in your area.

If your address reads "Unit 2/14 Church St" on Google and "2/14 Church Street" on your website, pick one. Use the exact same name, address and phone everywhere.

Google lists "what kind of business you are" among the details your profile should include. Your primary category is how you tell it.

"Cafe", "Breakfast restaurant" and "Coffee shop" describe different businesses, so choose the one that matches what people search when they want you. Then add secondary categories for the rest.

Google's tips include photos and videos, so customers can see what you offer and the story behind your business.

Add a few genuine shots each month, like your shopfront or a job you finished in Cheltenham.

More reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, Google says, and replying shows customers you value their feedback. Aim for a steady trickle of genuine reviews.

Prominence, Google's word for how well known a business is, partly depends on info like how many websites link to your business. A good directory listing is one of those websites, and one more place a customer can check you're real.

Start with the directories your customers use, such as Yellow Pages or your trade association's listing, and get every detail right.

Relevance is about matching what people search for. If the suburbs you serve never appear on your site, you're leaving Google to guess.

Name the areas you cover in your page copy and headings, in plain sentences. A shopfront should make its address obvious on the homepage and contact page.

A mobile sparkie can list the suburbs they cover on their service pages. Skip the stack of near-identical suburb pages: Google's spam policies list pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page as doorway abuse.

Schema is a bit of code that tells Google your business details, like your hours, in a format it's built to read. Google calls this LocalBusiness structured data.

It's invisible to visitors. Ask whoever built your site whether it's there.

Test your site the way your customers use it: on your own phone, off wi-fi.

If it's slow or fiddly to tap, fix that before you worry about rankings.

Set up Google Search Console, a free Google service, to see which searches bring you visitors. Then check your Business Profile's performance insights each month.

How this checklist also helps with Google's AI results

For its AI features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google says the same foundational SEO best practices apply, with no additional requirements to appear in them.

Questions we get asked

Find out which step to start with

We'll check your Google profile, your site and the businesses beating you on the map, then tell you in plain English which of these 10 steps to start with.