Before you buy more SEO, check the essentials.

A business can have dozens of pages and still leave a visitor unsure what to do. Use this checklist to create a short, manageable action list. Mark each item as confirmed, needs work or needs more evidence.

1. Write down one reliable source of business facts

Record the approved business name, phone, website, opening hours, actual location or service coverage and the services you want to promote. Ask the owner which facts may be published. Use this record when reviewing the website and relevant listings, especially after a move or rebrand.

2. Match pages to real customer needs

List your main services and the questions people ask before enquiring. Open the relevant page for each service. Can someone understand the scope, who it suits, the next step and any meaningful limitations? Distinct services may deserve their own pages; repeating the same copy with a different city name rarely adds a useful answer.

3. Try the enquiry path yourself

Start on a phone-sized screen, find a service and use its enquiry button. Check that the destination loads, the selected service is clear and required fields have readable labels. Make one clearly marked test submission, confirm the success state and verify that the team can actually find the enquiry. A visible form alone is not proof of delivery.

4. Review the pages search engines should find

Build a list of the important public URLs. Check whether they open, contain the expected content and link to useful related pages. Review titles and descriptions for accuracy. If Search Console is available, use its page-level inspection and reports to investigate indexing questions instead of guessing from one search.

5. Turn findings into a short work queue

For each issue, write the affected page, the observed problem, the proposed action, an owner and a way to confirm the fix. Start with broken customer paths and important missing information. Save cosmetic preferences separately so they do not obscure functional problems.

Google’s SEO Starter Guide explains useful content, clear organisation and helping search systems understand pages. For hands-on support, compare on-page optimisation, technical SEO and a scoped local audit.

A review process your customers can trust

Ask for feedback from people who actually used the business. Google allows businesses to share a review link or QR code, but its guidance prohibits incentives for posting, changing or removing reviews. Read Google’s review-request guidance before creating your process.

Choose an appropriate moment

Decide when a completed customer interaction naturally allows a feedback request. Assign responsibility to a real team member and keep the request brief. Do not make a positive review a condition for support or route only happy customers to the public review page.

Use a neutral request

This is an adaptable template. Use the customer’s appropriate contact channel and respect their communication preferences. Any separate email or messaging campaign needs to follow the rules that apply to your business.

Reply without exposing customer information

Thank people for useful feedback. When a complaint needs investigation, acknowledge it calmly and offer a suitable private route. Do not publish private transaction details, health information or personal contact data in a public response.

Keep moderation and marketing separate

A negative opinion is not automatically removable. If a review appears to breach platform rules, use the platform’s reporting process and record the reason. Do not promise deletion or purchase replacement positive reviews.

Our profile management service can include genuine review-request and response support. Community marketing has its own participation rules and should not be treated as a source of disguised endorsements.