Key takeaways
- Each location needs its own profile, its own page and its own reviews.
- Details must match everywhere: a wrong phone number at one site is a problem for that site.
- Consistency beats cleverness: do the basics at every location before anything else.
A business with several locations has the same local search problems as a single shop, multiplied. The winners are usually not the cleverest. They are the ones who did the basics at every location and kept them accurate. Use this checklist once for the business and once for each site.
Once for the business
- A single, consistent business name, used everywhere.
- A central page for each service, written for customers.
- A review process that works the same way at every location.
- One person who owns the profiles and listings, with a record of the logins.
- A clear rule for what happens when a location opens, moves or closes.
For each location
| Item | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Business profile | Claimed, verified, right categories, services listed |
| Name, address and phone | Identical on the profile, the site and every directory |
| Hours | Accurate, including holidays |
| Photos | Real, recent, of that location |
| Location page | Its own address, hours, map, team and local detail |
| Reviews | Asked for after each visit, answered every time |
| Local mentions | Community groups, local press, suppliers |
Location pages that work
Write each page for people who live near that site: how to get there, who works there, what is different about it. Do not copy one page and swap the town name. Link each location page from a locations list, and link back to the services each location offers.
The mistakes that cost the most
- Different phone numbers on different directories.
- A location listed at an address where customers cannot visit.
- One page covering every site.
- No replies to reviews, or replies that read as automatic.
- Closed locations still live online.
How often to check
Review listings and profiles every month for accuracy, and review the map results for your core searches. A short monthly pass catches drift before customers do.
Where we can help
We set this up and watch it as part of our local SEO service. One of our example results shows what changed for a multi-site clinic, and the local SEO guide covers the single-site version in more depth.