local-seo-manager

---
name: local-seo-manager
description: Use when managing local SEO for a service-area business — Google Business Profile audits, neighborhood service pages, NAP consistency, or LocalBusiness schema.
category: Marketing
version: 1.0.0
tools: []
---

# Local SEO Manager

Manage local SEO for service-area businesses — appliance repair, HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, electrical, and any business that serves customers at their location. Local SEO is a different game from national SEO: the Google Map Pack, Google Business Profile (GBP) signals, and hyperlocal content matter more here than domain authority or backlink count.

## Before Starting

Search the Knowledge Base for existing business context — name, service areas, primary services, NAP data, competitors — before asking questions.

If none exists, gather: business basics (name, address or service-area-only, phone, website); services (primary + secondary, e.g. for appliance repair: washer, dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher, oven); service areas (cities, neighborhoods, zip codes covered); current presence (GBP claimed? existing service-area pages? directory listings?); competitors (who ranks in the Map Pack for the top service keywords?).

## Four Modes

1. **GBP Audit** — optimize the Google Business Profile to rank higher in the Map Pack.
2. **Service Area Content** — generate neighborhood-specific pages (1,000+ words) that rank for "[service] in [neighborhood]" queries.
3. **NAP Consistency Check** — find and fix Name/Address/Phone mismatches across major directories.
4. **Schema & Technical** — LocalBusiness schema, review-response templates, technical fixes.

---

## Mode 1: GBP Audit

GBP is the single highest-leverage local SEO asset — it drives Map Pack rankings. Ranking factors in order of impact: **relevance** (does the category/description match the query), **proximity** (fixed, not controllable), **prominence** (review count, rating, response rate, posting frequency, backlinks). Relevance and prominence are what you control.

**Categories** — primary category is the most specific match ("Appliance Repair Service," not just "Repair Service"); secondary categories cover all major service lines; no competitor categories that don't apply.

**Business info** — name matches the legal name exactly, no keyword stuffing (Google penalizes it); address is an exact match across website, Yelp, BBB, and other directories; phone is a local area code (not 1-800) matching everywhere; website URL correct with `?utm_source=gmb` tracking; hours accurate including holidays.

**Services** — every service listed with a 150–300 word description; prices added where applicable, even ranges help.

**Description (750 char max)** — primary keyword in the first sentence, 3–5 main services named, city/metro mentioned, no URLs or promotional language ("best," "#1," "guaranteed"), and must not duplicate the website's meta description verbatim.

**Photos** — logo (400×400px min), cover photo (1024×576px min), 10+ interior/exterior/team/work photos, geotagged before upload, new photos added monthly.

**Posts** — at least 1/week with a clear CTA (call, book, learn more); seasonal/promotional posts scheduled ahead.

**Q&A** — seed 5–10 common questions with answers; monitor weekly for unanswered ones.

**Reviews** — target average rating ≥ 4.5 stars, minimum 50 reviews (100+ in competitive markets), 100% response rate to every review, response time under 48 hours.

**Review response frameworks:** positive — thank the customer by name if available, acknowledge the specific service, add one sentence on commitment/value, invite them back or ask for referral. Negative — never argue; acknowledge their experience without admitting fault, apologize for falling short, offer to resolve offline by phone/email, sign with name and contact.

---

## Mode 2: Service Area Pages

These rank for "[service] in [neighborhood]" — the highest-intent local queries. A thin page like "We provide appliance repair in Richmond District. Call us today!" gets filtered out by Google. A page that ranks and converts runs 1,000–1,500 words, mentions the neighborhood naturally 8–12 times (not stuffed), includes local landmarks/cross-streets/zip code, lists services specific to that area, carries a 4–6 question FAQ, has LocalBusiness + Service schema, and opens with a unique intro — never copy-pasted across neighborhoods.

**Page skeleton:** title `[Service] in [Neighborhood], [City] | [Business Name]`; meta description naming the service, neighborhood, and unique selling point; H1 restating the title; a 150-word opening naming the neighborhood, services, years in business, and why locals choose them (avoid "we are proud to offer," "look no further," "your one-stop shop"); an H2 listing brands/specialties serviced with one sentence each on why expertise matters; an H2 describing the service-area boundaries by streets/landmarks, with adjacent-neighborhood mentions for internal linking; an H2 covering 3–5 common local problem scenarios for genuine local relevance; an H2 on why this business specifically, with 3–4 specific (not generic) selling points; an FAQ H2 with 4–6 Q&A pairs formatted for FAQPage schema; and a closing CTA section repeating phone/booking/hours/service area.

**Before publishing, verify:** the intro paragraph is unique, not duplicated from another page; at least 3 neighborhood-specific details (landmarks, cross streets, zip) appear; 2–3 internal links to related service pages exist; and the main service page links back to this one.

---

## Mode 3: NAP Consistency

NAP = Name, Address, Phone. Inconsistencies across the web confuse Google and suppress rankings. Fix in priority order — Tier 1: Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places (25% of desktop search); Tier 2: Yelp, BBB, Angi, HomeAdvisor; Tier 3: Facebook, Yellow Pages, Nextdoor, Thumbtack.

**Common errors to hunt for:** phone format inconsistency ((415) 555-0100 vs. 415-555-0100 vs. 4155550100); business-name variants (with/without "LLC," or an old DBA still live somewhere); address abbreviation drift ("St." vs. "Street," "Ave" vs. "Avenue"); missing suite numbers on some listings; an old phone number still live on a legacy directory.

---

## Mode 4: Schema & Technical

**Priority schema types:** `LocalBusiness` on all location pages (high impact — establishes the entity in Google's knowledge graph); `HomeAndConstructionBusiness` for trades like appliance repair, HVAC, plumbing, electrical (high — specific category signal); `Service` on individual service pages (medium); `FAQPage` on pages with FAQ sections (high — rich results and AI citation); `Review`/`AggregateRating` wherever star ratings display (high — CTR lift from star snippets).

**Technical checklist:** LocalBusiness schema on homepage and all location/service pages; NAP in visible text on every page (footer at minimum), exact match to GBP; canonical tags on all service-area pages to avoid duplicate content; Core Web Vitals passing (LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1); HTTPS everywhere with no mixed content; click-to-call phone links (`tel:` format); an embedded map on the contact/location page; hreflang not needed for a single-language local business; XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

## Proactive Triggers

Flag without being asked: multiple business-name variants found (NAP inconsistency suppresses rankings — prioritize the fix); GBP response rate under 100% (unresponded reviews signal low engagement); service-area pages under 500 words (Google filters thin local pages); no LocalBusiness schema present (an easy fix with outsized impact); GBP photos not updated in 30 days (freshness signals an active business); review count under 50 (non-competitive in most metro markets).

## Output Artifacts

GBP audit: pass/fail checklist with a prioritized fix list. Service area page: full 1,000–1,500 word draft with headers, FAQ, and meta description. NAP report: directory-by-directory mismatch table with fix instructions. LocalBusiness schema: JSON-LD block ready to paste. Review responses: 3–5 drafts covering positive and negative reviews. Full local SEO audit: all of the above combined.

## Related Work

Hand off to a technical/national SEO skill for site-wide coverage beyond local signals. Local businesses increasingly surface in "near me" AI Overviews — pair this with answer-engine optimization. Hand off to a general schema-markup skill when needs go beyond LocalBusiness. Hand off to content-production to write service-area page content at scale.