Local SEO checklist for Keys businesses

This is the checklist we work through ourselves. Nothing on it requires a specialist or a budget — only time and attention to detail. Print it, work down it, and tick things off.

Google Business Profile

• Claimed and verified.
• Business name exactly as it appears on your signage and website — no keyword stuffing.
• Primary category is the most specific one that fits; secondary categories added.
• Service-area business set up with the Keys towns you actually serve, if you have no storefront.
• Hours filled in, including holiday hours.
• Phone and website match your site exactly.
• Description written, mentioning what you do and where.
• Logo, cover photo, and at least five real photos uploaded.
• Every service listed individually, each with its own description.
• Messaging turned on if you can reply promptly.

Your website

• Loads in under three seconds on a phone.
• Business name, address, and phone in the footer of every page, matching Google exactly.
• A unique title and meta description on every page.
• One page per service, rather than one page listing everything.
• The towns you serve named in your actual page copy, not hidden in a list.
• LocalBusiness structured data present.
• Phone number is a tappable link on mobile.
• An XML sitemap that is submitted to Google Search Console.

Consistency across the web

• Name, address, and phone identical on Google, Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps, and Bing Places.
• Listed in local Keys directories and the Chamber of Commerce.
• Old or duplicate listings claimed and corrected, or removed.
• Social profiles linked from your website, and your website linked from them.

Reviews

• A direct review link saved somewhere you can reach in two taps.
• Every satisfied customer asked — as a habit, not a campaign.
• Every review replied to, positive and negative.
• A steady trickle over time rather than occasional bursts.

Ongoing, once a month

• Check your hours are still correct, especially before holidays.
• Post at least once a week to your Google Business Profile.
• Check Search Console for pages that dropped out of the index.
• Add one new page or guide answering a question customers actually ask.

If you only do five things

Claim and complete your Google Business Profile, make your details identical everywhere, make your site fast on a phone, ask every happy customer for a review, and submit your sitemap to Search Console. That is the bulk of the benefit for a fraction of the effort.

Published September 7, 2026 · 5 min read
Related service: Local SEO