You don’t need to be a developer or an SEO specialist to know whether your website and online presence are working. You need a checklist.
What follows are 20 items — 10 for your website and 10 for your local SEO — that have the highest measurable impact on whether customers find you, trust you, and contact you. Each one is written in plain English. No jargon, no fluff.
You can run through these yourself in an afternoon. If something fails the check, you can either fix it on your own or hand this list to your developer and say “make these happen.” Either way, you’ll know exactly where you stand.
Part 1: Your Website (10 Checks)
Your website has one job: turn visitors into leads. Every item on this list directly affects whether that happens.
1. Your Site Loads in Under 3 Seconds on Mobile
Pull out your phone right now. Open your website. Count to three. If it’s not fully loaded, you have a problem.
Over 70% of your visitors are on their phones. Research shows that for every second your site takes to load beyond three seconds, you lose roughly 7% of potential conversions. That means a 5-second load time could be costing you 15-20% of your leads before they even see your homepage.
You can test your exact load time for free at Google’s PageSpeed Insights. It will score your site and tell you exactly what’s slowing it down. If your score is below 50 on mobile, that’s a priority fix.
How to check: Enter your URL at pagespeed.web.dev and look at your mobile score.
2. Your Site Has a Padlock Icon in the Browser (SSL Certificate)
Look at the address bar when your site is open. Do you see a padlock icon? Does your URL start with “https” (not “http”)?
If not, your site is flagged as “Not Secure” by every major browser. Visitors see a warning before they even reach your content. Google also uses HTTPS as a ranking signal — meaning unsecured sites get pushed down in search results.
An SSL certificate is standard with most hosting providers. If yours isn’t active, contact your host. It’s typically a one-click fix.
How to check: Open your site in Chrome. Look for the padlock next to your URL.
3. Your Phone Number and Contact Form Are Visible on Every Page
A visitor decides they want to contact you. They’re on your Services page. Your phone number is only on the Contact page. They have to navigate to find it.
That friction loses leads. Your phone number should be in the header of every single page. Your contact form (or a clear link to it) should be accessible from every page without scrolling back to the top.
How to check: Open 5 different pages on your site. Can you see your phone number and a way to contact you on every one without scrolling?
4. Your Site Looks and Functions Properly on a Phone
This goes beyond loading speed. Open your site on your phone and actually use it. Tap every button. Fill out your contact form. Read your service descriptions.
Is the text readable without pinching to zoom? Do buttons work on the first tap? Does the navigation menu open cleanly? Is your contact form easy to fill out with a thumb?
Google indexes the mobile version of your site first. If your mobile experience is broken, your rankings and conversions both suffer.
How to check: Spend 5 minutes navigating your own site on your phone. Tap everything. Fill out your own form.
5. Every Page Has a Clear Call-to-Action
A call-to-action (CTA) is the thing you want the visitor to do next. “Call us.” “Get a free quote.” “Schedule a consultation.” “Request an audit.”
Every single page on your site should have at least one CTA that’s visually obvious. Not buried at the bottom. Not hidden in a paragraph. A clear button or section that tells the visitor exactly what to do next.
If a visitor reads your page and isn’t sure what the next step is, you’ve lost them.
How to check: Open each page. Can you immediately identify what action you’re supposed to take?
6. Your Images Are Optimized (Not Slowing Your Site Down)
Large, uncompressed images are the number one reason websites load slowly. A single unoptimized photo can add 3-5 seconds to your load time.
Your images should be compressed, saved in modern formats (WebP is the current standard), and set to “lazy load” — meaning images below the fold don’t load until the visitor scrolls to them.
You don’t need to do this manually. There are WordPress plugins and tools that handle this automatically. But if nobody has ever optimized your images, they’re almost certainly too large.
How to check: If your PageSpeed score flagged “Properly size images” or “Serve images in next-gen formats,” this is the issue.
7. Your Navigation Has 7 or Fewer Main Menu Items
When someone lands on your site, they need to find what they’re looking for within seconds. A cluttered navigation menu with 15 items, dropdowns inside dropdowns, and pages that could be consolidated makes this impossible.
Stick to 7 or fewer main navigation items. Home, Services (with a clean dropdown if you have multiple), About, Portfolio/Work, Blog, Contact, and maybe one more. That’s it.
If you need to link to more pages, do it through internal links within your content — not by cramming everything into the menu.
How to check: Count your main menu items. If it’s more than 7, it needs trimming.
8. Your Contact Form Actually Works (Test It)
This sounds obvious. It’s not. You’d be shocked how many business websites have broken contact forms — the submit button doesn’t work, the email notification goes to an old address, or the form throws an error on mobile.
Go to your site right now and submit a test inquiry through your own form. Did you receive the notification? Did the confirmation message appear? Did it work on mobile?
If your form has been broken for even a week, you’ve potentially lost dozens of leads without knowing it.
How to check: Submit a test form from your phone and from a desktop. Verify you received both.
9. Google Analytics (or Equivalent Tracking) Is Installed and Active
If you don’t have analytics on your site, you’re flying blind. You have no idea how many people visit, where they come from, which pages they look at, or where they drop off.
Google Analytics is free. It takes 15 minutes to install. Once it’s active, you can see exactly how your site performs — which pages get the most traffic, which traffic sources produce the most leads, and where visitors leave.
Without this data, every marketing decision you make is a guess.
How to check: Log into Google Analytics (analytics.google.com). If you don’t have an account or your site isn’t connected, that’s your answer.
10. Your Site Content Has Been Updated in the Last 6 Months
If the last time someone touched your website was when it was built, it’s stale. Your services may have changed. Your portfolio has grown. Your messaging may no longer reflect what you actually do.
Search engines favor fresh content. Customers favor current information. A site that looks like it hasn’t been touched in two years signals that the business behind it might not be active either.
Regular updates don’t mean a full redesign. It means adding new case studies, updating service descriptions, publishing a blog post, refreshing your homepage copy. Small, consistent updates keep your site alive.
How to check: Look at your most recent blog post, portfolio piece, or service page update. If it’s older than 6 months, it’s time.
Part 2: Your Local SEO (10 Checks)
Local SEO determines whether customers in your area find you when they search for what you do. These 10 items have the highest measurable impact on your local visibility.
11. Your Google Business Profile Is Fully Completed and Verified
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most important factor in local search rankings. Businesses with complete, actively managed profiles get up to 2.7x more visibility than incomplete ones.
“Fully completed” means every field is filled in: business name, address, phone, website, hours, business description, services, and categories. Not most fields. Every field.
“Verified” means Google has confirmed you own the business. If you haven’t gone through the verification process, your profile has limited visibility.
For a deeper walkthrough on setting this up correctly, see our guide on getting your business on Google Maps in 2026.
How to check: Go to business.google.com and look at your profile completeness. Google will show you what’s missing.
12. Your Business Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) Are Identical Everywhere
Google cross-references your business information across the internet. If your website says “123 Main Street” but your Google profile says “123 Main St.” and Yelp says “123 Main Street, Suite A” — those inconsistencies confuse search engines and lower your trust score.
Your business name, address, and phone number must be character-for-character identical on your website, your Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing, and every other directory your business appears on.
How to check: Google your business name. Click through the first 10 results. Compare the name, address, and phone number on each listing. Any differences need to be corrected.
13. You Have LocalBusiness Schema Markup on Your Website
Schema markup is code on your website that tells search engines exactly what your business is, where it’s located, what services you offer, and how to contact you. Think of it as a structured summary that machines can read instantly.
Without it, search engines have to guess what your pages are about by reading your content. With it, they know immediately. Sites with proper schema are 35% more likely to appear in rich search results — those enhanced listings with stars, hours, and phone numbers that stand out on the results page.
Your developer can add this in under an hour. If you’re on WordPress, there are plugins that generate it automatically.
How to check: Go to search.google.com/test/rich-results and enter your URL. It will show you what structured data Google can find on your site.
14. Each Service You Offer Has Its Own Dedicated Page
If all your services are crammed onto a single “Services” page, you’re limiting your ability to rank for each individual service.
A plumber should have separate pages for drain cleaning, water heater installation, pipe repair, and emergency plumbing. An attorney should have separate pages for personal injury, family law, estate planning, and criminal defense.
Each page targets different keywords and answers different customer questions. One consolidated page can’t do that effectively.
How to check: List every service you offer. Does each one have its own page with its own URL? If not, those are pages you need to build.
15. Your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions Are Written (Not Auto-Generated)
Every page on your site has a title tag (what shows up as the blue link in Google) and a meta description (the summary text below it). If you never wrote these, your website platform auto-generated them — and they’re probably either blank, duplicated, or pulled from random text on the page.
Your title should clearly state what the page is about and include your primary keyword. Your meta description should be a compelling 1-2 sentence summary that makes someone want to click.
These are the first impression a potential customer gets of your business in search results. Make them count.
How to check: Google “site:yourdomain.com” and look at the titles and descriptions that appear. If they’re vague, duplicated, or cut off mid-sentence, they need to be rewritten.
16. You’re Actively Generating Google Reviews (and Responding to All of Them)
Reviews are the second most important local ranking factor and the primary trust signal for both Google and potential customers. Businesses with more high-quality, recent reviews consistently outrank those without.
But reviews don’t happen on their own. You need a system. After every completed project or service, you should be sending a follow-up requesting a review. This can be automated through email — a timed message that goes out when the customer is most satisfied.
Equally important: respond to every single review. Positive reviews get a thank you. Negative reviews get a professional, measured response. Google’s algorithm favors businesses that actively engage with their reviews.
How to check: How many reviews did you receive in the last 90 days? If the answer is less than 5, you don’t have a review generation system.
17. Your Business Is Listed on the Top 5-8 Online Directories
Beyond Google, your business should appear on the directories that matter most for your industry. At minimum: Yelp, Facebook Business, Apple Maps, Bing Places, and your local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau.
For service businesses, add industry-specific directories (HomeAdvisor, Angi, Houzz, Avvo, etc.). For restaurants, add OpenTable and TripAdvisor.
Each listing reinforces your NAP consistency and builds what search engines call “citations” — mentions of your business across the web that signal legitimacy.
How to check: Google your business name. Are you showing up on at least 5 directory sites beyond Google? If not, create those listings.
18. Your Google Business Profile Has Recent Photos and Regular Posts
A GBP with 3 blurry photos from 2021 signals a business that’s either inactive or doesn’t care about its online presence. Neither is a good look.
Upload 10-15 high-quality photos: your storefront (or service vehicle), your team, your completed work, your office interior. Update them quarterly. Google rewards profiles with fresh visual content by showing them more prominently in local results.
GBP posts work similarly. A short update once a week — a completed project, a seasonal offer, a helpful tip — keeps your profile active and signals to Google that your business is engaged.
How to check: Open your Google Business Profile. When was the last photo uploaded? When was the last post published? If either is older than 3 months, update them.
19. You Have Location-Specific Content Mentioning the Cities You Serve
If you serve Tampa and St. Petersburg but your website never mentions either city, Google has no reason to show you in local results for those areas.
Your service pages should reference the specific cities and neighborhoods you serve. Not keyword-stuffed — naturally woven into your copy. “We provide [service] for businesses in [city]” on each relevant page.
If you serve multiple cities, consider dedicated pages for each one. A Tampa page and a St. Petersburg page targeting the same service will outperform a single generic page every time.
How to check: Read your top 3 service pages. Do they mention the cities you serve? If not, add that context.
20. Your Site Has Internal Links Connecting Related Pages
Internal links are links from one page on your site to another page on your site. They serve two purposes: they help visitors navigate to related content, and they help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your site.
Your blog posts should link to relevant service pages. Your service pages should link to related case studies or portfolio pieces. Your homepage should link to your most important pages.
Without internal links, each page on your site exists in isolation. With them, your site works as a connected system where authority and relevance flow between pages.
How to check: Open any blog post or service page. Does it link to at least 2-3 other pages on your site? If not, add those connections.
What to Do With This Checklist
Print this out or save it somewhere accessible. Go through each item and mark it as pass or fail. You’ll likely find that your site passes some checks and fails others. That’s normal.
The items you fail are your priority list. You can tackle them yourself if you’re comfortable making website changes, or hand this entire checklist to your developer and say “fix everything marked as fail.”
If you want a professional assessment with specific recommendations for your business, we offer a free marketing audit that covers all 20 of these items and more.
The difference between a website that generates leads and one that collects dust usually comes down to these fundamentals. Get them right, and everything else you invest in — advertising, content, email — works harder.
