Local SEO Checklist for Small Businesses in BC
When someone in Squamish, Kelowna or Victoria searches "plumber near me" or "best brunch", Google shows a map with three businesses on it, then the regular results. Getting into that map is called local SEO, and most of it is free. Here's the checklist I run through for every business I build a site for.
1. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
- Claim your profile at business.google.com and verify it.
- Pick the most specific primary category you can ("Mexican restaurant", not just "Restaurant"). Add secondary categories for other things you do.
- Fill in everything: hours, holiday hours, services, service area, attributes, a description.
- Add real photos of your work, your team and your space, and keep adding them.
- Link to your website, and to a booking page if you have one.
2. Keep your name, address and phone identical everywhere
Your business name, address and phone number should match exactly on your website, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and any directories. "Suite 4, 123 Main St" in one place and "123 Main Street #4" in another isn't fatal, but consistent details help Google trust that it's all the same business.
3. Ask for reviews, every time
Reviews are one of the strongest local ranking signals, and they're what people read before they call. Get your review link from your Google Business Profile, then send it by text or email right after a job goes well. Reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely. Never buy reviews or offer anything in exchange for them; it breaks Google's rules and can get your profile suspended.
4. Make your website do its part
- Say where you are. Mention your town and the areas you serve in your page titles and on the page, in plain sentences.
- One page per main service. A contractor with separate pages for decks, fences and renovations will rank for each one better than a single "Services" page.
- Add local business schema. This is code that tells Google your business type, hours, address and phone in a format it reads directly.
- Be fast on a phone. Compress your photos and avoid heavy page builders.
- Make calling easy. A tap-to-call phone number in the top of every page.
5. Get mentioned locally
Links and mentions from other local sites (your chamber of commerce, local news, event sponsorships, suppliers and partners) tell Google you're a real part of the community. One link from a respected local site is worth more than dozens from random directories.
6. Mistakes that keep you off the map
- Stuffing your town name into your business name on Google. It's against the guidelines.
- Using a home address you don't want public instead of setting a service area.
- A website with no text, just images. Google can't read your services out of a photo.
- Out-of-date hours. Nothing loses a customer faster than showing up to a locked door.
Want this done for you?
Every FreeSite Company build includes the website side of this checklist: local schema, page titles, a sitemap, fast loading and a site that lines up with your Google Business Profile. The build is free, and you only pay $9.99 a month* if you keep it.
Want a custom website without the up-front cost? I'll build it free. You only pay $9.99/month* if you keep it.