memstack-seo-local-seo

📍 Local SEO — Optimizing for local search and map visibility...

Evaluates Google Business Profile, NAP consistency, local schema markup, location pages, citations, and review management — producing an actionable local SEO scorecard.

Activation

When this skill activates, output:

📍 Local SEO — Checking local search presence and consistency...

Then execute the protocol below.

Context	Status
User says "local SEO" or "Google Business Profile" or "local search"	ACTIVE
User says "NAP consistency" or "local listings" or "Google Maps"	ACTIVE
Optimizing a business with a physical location or service area	ACTIVE
Running a general site audit (broader scope)	DORMANT — use site-audit
Optimizing for global/national keywords (no local component)	DORMANT

Anti-patterns

Trap	Reality Check
"We're online-only, local SEO doesn't apply"	If you serve specific regions or have a registered address, local SEO applies. Service-area businesses benefit enormously.
"Google Business Profile is set and forget"	GBP needs regular updates: posts, photos, Q&A responses, review replies. Stale profiles rank lower.
"Our address is on the Contact page, that's enough"	NAP must be consistent across every directory, citation, and page. One inconsistency can split your local authority.
"Reviews don't affect ranking"	Reviews are a top-3 local ranking factor. Quantity, quality, recency, and response rate all matter.
"We don't need location pages"	If you serve multiple areas, each needs a unique page with local content — not boilerplate with swapped city names.

Protocol

Step 1: Check Google Business Profile

Verify the GBP listing is optimized:

GBP optimization checklist:

Element	Check	Best Practice
Business name	Matches legal business name exactly	No keyword stuffing in the name
Primary category	Most specific category selected	"Italian Restaurant" not just "Restaurant"
Secondary categories	2-5 relevant additional categories	Cover all services offered
Address	Complete, matches website exactly	Include suite/unit number if applicable
Phone	Local number, matches website	Avoid tracking numbers on GBP
Website URL	Links to homepage or location page	Not a redirect, not a social profile
Hours	Current, including holidays	Update for seasonal changes
Description	750 chars, includes keywords naturally	Describe what makes you different
Photos	10+ recent photos	Interior, exterior, team, products, menu
Posts	Weekly updates	Events, offers, updates, products
Q&A	Common questions answered proactively	Seed with your own FAQs
Services/Menu	Listed with prices if applicable	Complete and current
Attributes	All relevant attributes selected	Wi-Fi, parking, accessibility, etc.

GBP health indicators:

Signal	Healthy	Unhealthy
Profile completeness	100% filled	Missing description, hours, or photos
Photo count	10+ with recent uploads	0-2 photos, outdated
Review count	20+ with 4.0+ average	< 5 reviews or below 3.5
Response rate	100% of reviews replied	Unanswered reviews
Post frequency	Weekly	No posts in 30+ days
Q&A	Proactive answers	Unanswered questions

Step 2: Verify NAP Consistency

NAP (Name, Address, Phone) must be identical everywhere:

# Check website for NAP occurrences
grep -rn "address\|phone\|tel:\|street\|suite\|zip\|postal" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.html" --include="*.json" . | grep -v node_modules

NAP consistency audit:

Source	Name	Address	Phone	Consistent?
Website (footer)	?	?	?	Baseline
Website (contact page)	?	?	?	Match?
Google Business Profile	?	?	?	Match?
Yelp	?	?	?	Match?
Facebook	?	?	?	Match?
Apple Maps	?	?	?	Match?
BBB	?	?	?	Match?
Industry directories	?	?	?	Match?

Common NAP inconsistencies:

Issue	Example	Fix
Abbreviation mismatch	"St" vs "Street" vs "St."	Pick one format, use everywhere
Suite format	"#100" vs "Suite 100" vs "Ste 100"	Standardize to one format
Phone format	"(555) 123-4567" vs "555-123-4567"	Use one format consistently
Business name	"Acme LLC" vs "Acme" vs "ACME Inc."	Use exact legal name
Old address	Moved but didn't update all listings	Update every citation

Step 3: Check Local Schema Markup

# Search for LocalBusiness schema
grep -rn "LocalBusiness\|PostalAddress\|GeoCoordinates\|openingHours" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.html" . | grep -v node_modules

Required LocalBusiness schema:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "[Business Name]",
  "description": "[Business description]",
  "url": "https://[domain]",
  "telephone": "[phone]",
  "email": "[email]",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "[street]",
    "addressLocality": "[city]",
    "addressRegion": "[state]",
    "postalCode": "[zip]",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": "[lat]",
    "longitude": "[lng]"
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
      "opens": "09:00",
      "closes": "17:00"
    }
  ],
  "image": "https://[domain]/images/storefront.jpg",
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://facebook.com/[page]",
    "https://yelp.com/biz/[listing]"
  ]
}

Use the most specific @type:

Business Type	Schema Type
Restaurant	Restaurant
Law firm	LegalService or Attorney
Dentist	Dentist
Real estate	RealEstateAgent
Auto repair	AutoRepair
Generic	LocalBusiness

Step 4: Verify Location Pages

For businesses serving multiple locations:

# Check for location pages
find app/ pages/ -path "*location*" -o -path "*city*" -o -path "*area*" 2>/dev/null | grep -v node_modules

Location page requirements:

Element	Required	Why
Unique title with city name	Yes	"Plumbing Services in Austin, TX" ranks locally
Unique meta description	Yes	Describes services specific to that area
Unique content (300+ words)	Yes	Boilerplate with swapped city names gets penalized
Embedded Google Map	Recommended	Shows exact location, helps Google confirm address
Local testimonials	Recommended	Reviews from customers in that area
NAP for that location	Yes	Specific address and phone for that location
LocalBusiness schema	Yes	With location-specific address
Service-area mention	Yes	Neighborhoods, suburbs, or zip codes served
Local landmarks/references	Recommended	"Located near [landmark], serving [neighborhoods]"

Red flags for location pages:

• ❌ Same content on every location page with only the city name swapped
• ❌ No actual presence in the claimed location
• ❌ Keyword-stuffed city names ("Austin plumber Austin TX plumbing Austin")
• ❌ Doorway pages that all redirect to the same main page

Step 5: Check Local Keyword Targeting

# Check for local keywords in titles and headings
grep -rn "title:\|<h1\|<H1\|<h2\|<H2" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.md" . | grep -v node_modules | head -20

Local keyword patterns:

Pattern	Example	Where to Use
[Service] in [City]	"Plumbing in Austin"	Title tag, H1, meta description
[City] [Service]	"Austin plumber"	Body content, H2 headings
[Service] near [Landmark]	"Dentist near UT Austin"	Body content
[Service] [Neighborhood]	"HVAC repair East Austin"	Location pages
Best [Service] in [City]	"Best pizza in Austin"	Blog posts
[Service] [City] [State]	"Attorney Austin TX"	Schema, footer

Local keyword placement:

Location	Priority	Notes
Title tag	High	"[Service] in [City] - [Brand]"
H1 heading	High	Include city name once naturally
Meta description	High	Mention service area
First paragraph	Medium	Natural mention of location
Footer	Medium	Full NAP in every page footer
Image alt text	Medium	"Team at [Brand] [City] office"
URL slug	Medium	/locations/austin-tx

Step 6: Review Citations and Directories

Key citation sources to verify:

Tier 1 — Essential (verify first):

Directory	Why It Matters
Google Business Profile	#1 local ranking factor
Apple Maps / Apple Business Connect	iOS users, Siri results
Bing Places	Bing search, Cortana
Yelp	High domain authority, reviews
Facebook Business	Social signals, reviews
Better Business Bureau	Trust signals

Tier 2 — Industry-specific:

Industry	Directories
Restaurants	TripAdvisor, OpenTable, Zomato
Legal	Avvo, FindLaw, Justia
Medical	Healthgrades, Zocdoc, WebMD
Real estate	Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin
Home services	HomeAdvisor, Angi, Thumbtack
General	YellowPages, Manta, MapQuest

Citation audit:

• Verify NAP is identical on every listing
• Remove duplicate listings on the same directory
• Claim unclaimed listings (competitors can edit them)
• Add missing listings for uncovered directories

Step 7: Check Review Management

# Check for review schema
grep -rn "Review\|AggregateRating\|ratingValue" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" . | grep -v node_modules

Review strategy checklist:

Element	Status	Action
Google review count	[count]	Target 20+ for local visibility
Average rating	[X.X]	Maintain 4.0+
Review recency	Last review [date]	Get 1-2 new reviews per month minimum
Response rate	[X]%	Reply to 100% of reviews (positive and negative)
Review schema on site	[✅/❌]	Add AggregateRating if you display reviews
Review request process	[✅/❌]	Send post-service email with review link

Review response templates:

Positive review response:

"Thank you [Name]! We're glad [specific detail they mentioned]. We appreciate your business and look forward to helping you again."

Negative review response:

"Thank you for your feedback, [Name]. We're sorry about [specific issue]. We'd like to make this right — please contact us at [email/phone] so we can resolve this for you."

Review rules:

• Never buy or fake reviews — Google detects and penalizes
• Don't offer incentives for reviews (violates most platform ToS)
• Respond within 24-48 hours
• Always address specific concerns in negative reviews
• Use the reviewer's name and reference specific details

Step 8: Output Local SEO Scorecard

📍 Local SEO — Scorecard Complete

Business: [name]
Location(s): [city/cities]
Overall local score: [X/100]

Category scores:
  Google Business Profile:  [X/10] — [summary]
  NAP consistency:          [X/10] — [count] inconsistencies found
  Local schema:             [X/10] — [present/missing]
  Location pages:           [X/10] — [count] pages, unique content check
  Local keywords:           [X/10] — [coverage summary]
  Citations/directories:    [X/10] — [count] verified, [count] missing
  Reviews:                  [X/10] — [count] reviews, [rating] avg

Priority action items:
  🔴 Critical:
    1. [e.g., "Claim unclaimed Google Business Profile"]
    2. [e.g., "Fix NAP inconsistency on Yelp listing"]
  🟠 High:
    3. [e.g., "Add LocalBusiness schema to homepage"]
    4. [e.g., "Create unique location pages for 3 service areas"]
  🟡 Medium:
    5. [e.g., "Add local keywords to title tags"]
    6. [e.g., "Submit to 5 missing citation directories"]
  🔵 Low:
    7. [e.g., "Implement review request email workflow"]

Next steps:
1. Fix all Critical items this week
2. Submit to missing citation directories
3. Set up review request workflow
4. Update GBP with weekly posts and fresh photos
5. Re-audit in 3 months

Level History

• Lv.1 — Base: Google Business Profile audit, NAP consistency verification, LocalBusiness schema generation, location page requirements, local keyword targeting, citation/directory audit, review management with response templates, scored local SEO output. (Origin: MemStack Pro v3.2, Mar 2026)