Common Local SEO Mistakes Businesses Still Make

If you run a local business, you’ve probably felt that sting of searching your own brand on Google and seeing competitors show up above you or worse, instead of you. In most audits we run for plumbers, clinics, restaurants, trades, and professional services across Canada and the US, teams aren’t losing local leads because of massive strategy gaps; they’re quietly leaking revenue through a handful of very fixable local SEO mistakes. Clean those up and your Google Business Profile, map rankings, and local landing pages start pulling their weight.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the most common pitfalls in local search, what each one is costing you, and the practical fixes your team can roll out over the next 90 days without burning your entire marketing budget.

TL;DR:

• Half-finished or outdated Google Business Profiles.
• Inconsistent NAP (name, address, phone) across your site and directories.
• Thin, duplicate, or non-existent location pages.
• Ignoring reviews or only reacting when something goes wrong.
• No tracking on calls, forms, or map actions, so ROI is a mystery.
• Slow, clunky mobile experience that drives people back to the search results.
• Keyword stuffing and policy violations that put your listing at risk.
• Treating local SEO as a one-time project instead of an ongoing channel.

If you’d rather have specialists handle this, our SEO services include local SEO audits, Google Business Profile optimization, and ongoing tracking so you can tie rankings to real leads and sales.

Why local SEO still matters in 2026

Local search isn’t a side channel anymore. Recent surveys show that 98% of consumers use the internet to find information about local businesses, and 87% use Google to evaluate nearby companies.

Even more telling: a large share of those searches turn into real world actions. Google’s own research has found that 76% of people who search on their smartphone for something nearby visit a related business within a day, and 28% of those searches result in a purchase (Think with Google, Mobile World study).

In other words, local SEO isn’t just about rankings it’s about owning the moment when someone is ready to call, book, or walk through your door. That’s exactly where Setsail Marketing’s ROI framework focuses: connecting visibility to measurable revenue, not vanity metrics.

“If you’re not showing up when people nearby search, you’re underwriting your competitors’ growth.”

Mistake #1: Treating Google Business Profile as “set and forget”

What this looks like

• You claimed your Google Business Profile years ago and haven’t touched it since.
• Old hours and photos, no recent posts or Q&A, and thin service details.

Why it hurts

Your Business Profile is often the first and only thing people see before calling or visiting. Google’s own documentation emphasizes that complete, accurate, and regularly updated information makes it easier for customers to find and choose your business in local results.

How to fix it

• Fill out every field: categories, services, attributes, hours (including holidays), and FAQs.
• Upload real, high quality photos of your location, team, and work no generic stock images.
• Post at least once a week with offers, events, or helpful tips.
• Review your profile monthly for accuracy, especially if you change hours or locations.

If you manage multiple locations, consider formalizing this as part of your local SEO process so it actually gets done, instead of being “whenever someone remembers.”

Mistake #2: Inconsistent NAP and messy citations

What this looks like

Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are written a dozen different ways across your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook, directories, and old microsites. Some listings still show your previous address or an ex employee’s cell as the main phone.

Why it hurts

Google’s own guidelines ask businesses to represent themselves consistently online, including accurate addresses and phone numbers that match the real world business. Guidelines for representing your business on Google When your NAP is all over the map, it sends mixed signals about which location is the “real” one and can drag down your local rankings or even trigger profile reviews.

How to fix it

1. Pick a single, canonical version of your business name, address, and primary phone.
2. Update your website footer and contact pages to match that exact format.
3. Run a citation audit (either manually or with tools) to find outdated listings.
4. Clean up or suppress duplicates and fix anything that doesn’t match your canonical NAP.

At Setsail, we bundle this into our SEO audit and local directory management so clients don’t have to chase down dozens of logins and submissions by hand.

Mistake #3: Weak or duplicate location pages

What this looks like

• One generic “Locations” page trying to serve every city you operate in.
• Or 20 nearly identical city pages with the same copy and a swapped city name.

Why it hurts

Google and your customers are both looking for proof that you actually serve a specific area. Boilerplate content doesn’t demonstrate real local relevance, and duplicate pages can look spammy. The result: weaker rankings and low engagement from visitors who can’t tell if you truly understand their city.

How to fix it

• Create one strong page per real service area or location, not dozens of copy paste variants.
• Include local details: neighbour hoods you serve, parking info, nearby landmarks, and real photos.
• Answer local questions (e.g., “Do you serve North Vancouver?” “Do you travel to Airdrie?”).
• Highlight local reviews and case studies from that city where possible.

If you’re planning a new site or a redesign, build these pages into your web development plan from day one instead of bolting them on later.

Mistake #4: Ignoring reviews and local reputation

What this looks like

• You only think about reviews when someone leaves a 1 star rant.
• You have a small number of mostly older reviews and rarely reply even to happy customers.

Why it hurts

Reviews influence both rankings and conversion. BrightLocal’s latest Local Consumer Review Survey shows that 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and that review volume, recency, and star rating all strongly shape trust and visibility in local results. BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey A silent profile can look riskier than a profile with a few imperfect but honest reviews and thoughtful responses.

How to fix it

• Make asking for reviews part of your process after every completed job or visit.
• Reply to every review thank happy customers and calmly address issues from unhappy ones.
• Avoid incentives or “review gating” (only asking happy customers); this can violate policies.
• Surface your best local reviews on relevant location pages to reinforce trust.

If your team is stretched thin, even a simple weekly “review hour” can transform your profile over a few months.

Mistake #5: Thin local content that never answers real questions

What this looks like

Your entire “local content strategy” is one service page with a couple of city mentions, plus a blog post from 2020. Nothing that actually answers how pricing works, what to expect on the first visit, or which problems you solve best.

Why it hurts

Modern local SEO is about matching search intent, not repeating a keyword. If your content doesn’t address the specific questions people ask in your area, Google has no reason to choose you over a competitor with deeper, more helpful information.

How to fix it

• List the top 20 questions your team gets on calls and emails then answer them on your site.
• Create supporting content: service detail pages, pricing explainers, neighbour hood guides, and FAQs.
• Use natural language: “emergency plumber in Burnaby” or “family dentist in Kitsilano,” not forced keyword stuffing.
• Interlink related posts (for example, from this article to other SEO resources on the Setsail blog).

Mistake #6: No tracking on calls, forms, or map actions

What this looks like

• Leads show up…but you can’t tell whether they came from organic search, ads, or referrals.
• Analytics is full of “Direct” traffic and Google Business Profile views with no clear link to booked work.

Why it hurts

When you can’t trace calls and form submissions back to specific sources, it’s almost impossible to defend your marketing budget or double down on what works. That’s how local SEO ends up underfunded, even when it’s quietly generating high intent leads.

How to fix it

• Use UTM tags on links from your Google Business Profile to your website.
• Set up call tracking numbers for major channels (including GBP) and log outcomes in your CRM.
• Configure events or conversions for form submissions, call clicks, and direction requests.
• Review this data monthly so you see local SEO as a revenue channel, not just “free traffic.”

Mistake #7: Slow, clunky mobile experience

What this looks like

• Pages take several seconds to load on mobile data.
• The phone number isn’t tap to call, or the address doesn’t open Maps cleanly.
• Pop ups and banners cover key information on smaller screens.

Why it hurts

Most local searches now happen on phones, often just before someone decides where to go. Google has reported that 76% of people who search on their smartphones for something nearby visit a related business within a day, and 28% of those searches result in a purchase (Think with Google, Mobile World study). If your site stalls, jumps around, or hides basic details like hours and contact options, people bounce back to the results and choose a competitor whose site just works.

How to fix it

• Test your site on a real phone over cellular, not just on a fast office connection.
• Surface the essentials above the fold: what you do, where you are, and how to contact you.
• Make buttons large and thumb friendly; remove clutter that slows the page down.
• Work with your dev or web design team to improve Core Web Vitals, especially mobile speed and stability.

Mistake #8: Breaking Google’s local guidelines (on purpose or by accident)

What this looks like

• Stuffing keywords or city names into your business name field.
• Using virtual offices, P.O. boxes, or coworking spaces as fake locations.
• Adding promotional language or links in the description where they’re not allowed.

Why it hurts

Google’s guidelines for representing your business on Google are very explicit: your profile should match your real world name and location, and you shouldn’t add extra keywords, addresses, or promotions in fields that aren’t meant for them. Violations can lead to edits, reduced visibility, or full suspension.

How to fix it

• Read the official Guidelines for representing your business on Google and correct anything that’s out of line.
• Use categories, services, and on site content for keywords not your business name.
• Only list real, staffed locations where customers can actually meet you.
• Avoid shortcuts like fake reviews or duplicate listings; they rarely end well.

Mistake #9: Treating local SEO as a one off project

What this looks like

You “did SEO” two years ago: launched a new site, cleaned up a few listings, and then moved on. Since then, competitors have kept publishing content, collecting reviews, and refining their profiles while your presence has quietly gone stale.

Why it hurts

Local search is a living system. New competitors open, algorithms evolve, and Google keeps rolling out features for Business Profiles and the local pack. Businesses that treat local SEO as a campaign instead of a channel tend to slide down the results over time.

How to fix it

• Set a realistic cadence: monthly content, weekly review work, quarterly audits.
• Track a small set of core metrics: map pack visibility, calls, direction requests, and booked work from local search.
• Make someone on your team clearly accountable or partner with an search engine optimization agency that reports on these numbers consistently.

Setsail simple 90 day plan to clean up local SEO mistakes

Here’s a practical way to tackle local SEO issues without overwhelming your team.

Days 1–30: Fix the foundations

• Claim and fully complete your Google Business Profile for each real location.
• Standardize NAP across your website and top directories.
• Set up basic tracking: UTMs for GBP links, call tracking, and form conversion events.

Days 31–60: Build trust and relevance

• Launch a simple, repeatable review request process.
• Publish or upgrade key location pages with local details and FAQs.
• Improve core mobile UX: fast load, clear CTAs, easy to find contact info.

Days 61–90: Optimize and scale

• Review performance data and identify the locations or services responding fastest.
• Add supporting content: blog posts, case studies, and neighbour hood guides.
• Plan your next quarter’s local SEO roadmap based on real numbers, not guesses.

If you’d like a partner who treats local SEO as a revenue channel, not a checklist, our SEO team at Setsail can handle the heavy lifting: audits, technical fixes, content, and reporting that ties everything back to leads and sales.

‍