Free download

Get the printable SEO checklist.

We'll email you a clean, printable copy — no spam, unsubscribe anytime.

We’ll never sell your info. See the privacy policy.

Google Business Profile

  • Primary category is specific and accurate (not a generic "Contractor" catch-all)
  • Service area reflects where you'll actually respond, not an inflated radius
  • Every core service is listed individually, matching what you actually offer
  • 24/7 or after-hours availability is stated clearly, if true
  • At least 10–15 real, dated job photos, with new ones added monthly
  • Every review has a reply within a few days
  • Q&A section is monitored and answered

Website & technical SEO

  • Every page has a unique title tag and meta description with trade + location
  • LocalBusiness schema (JSON-LD) is present sitewide
  • Canonical URLs are set correctly and www/https redirects are clean
  • Site loads quickly on mobile — tested on a real phone, on a real connection
  • Every image has descriptive alt text
  • No broken internal links between service and location pages
  • sitemap.xml exists and is submitted in Google Search Console

Reviews & local signals

  • Review ask is built into job completion, not left to chance
  • New reviews are arriving consistently, not in isolated bursts
  • Responses reinforce specifics reviewers mention, not just a generic thank-you
  • Name, address, and phone number are identical across your site, Google Business Profile, and any directories
  • No purchased or incentivized reviews (this risks your account and your credibility)

AI-search readiness

  • Service and problem pages answer the actual question in the first sentence or two, not buried under a pitch
  • FAQPage schema is used on pages with genuine, distinct Q&A content
  • Claims are accurate and specific, not vague marketing language AI systems have no reason to trust
  • Content is honest about trade-offs and limitations, not just upside — this is what tends to get cited

How to use this checklist

Work through it in order — it's roughly in order of impact for most contractors. Most businesses find several unchecked items in the first two sections alone, and those are usually the highest-return fixes available, free of charge. Once everything here is genuinely in place, that's the right time to evaluate paid channels or deeper content investment, because they'll be multiplying a foundation that can actually rank and convert.

If you'd rather talk it through, that's what Karen does: a focused conversation about your goals and constraints, and a clear read on what to fix first.