Local SEO + Map Citations
Local SEO Source of Truth Template
A reusable template for maintaining canonical local business details across Google Business Profile, citations, local pages, schema, and reporting.
Local SEO breaks down when business details live in scattered profiles, spreadsheets, inboxes, and memory. A source of truth gives the team one canonical record for each location or service area.
Use this template before citation cleanup, GBP updates, local page creation, schema implementation, or multi-location reporting.
Download the working file: Local SEO source of truth template Markdown.
Location record
| Field | Canonical Value |
|---|---|
| Location or market name | |
| Business name | |
| Address | |
| Service area | |
| Primary phone | |
| Tracking phone policy | |
| Website URL | |
| GBP URL | |
| Primary category | |
| Secondary categories | |
| Services | |
| Hours | |
| Holiday hours owner | |
| Appointment or booking URL | |
| Local landing page URL | |
| LocalBusiness schema status | |
| Review request owner | |
| Citation cleanup status |
Citation tracking
| Platform | URL | Status | Name | Address | Phone | Website | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | ||||||||
| Apple Maps | ||||||||
| Bing Places | ||||||||
| Industry directory | ||||||||
| Local association |
Status options: correct, needs update, duplicate, old location, closed, unclaimed, unknown.
Maintenance cadence
- Monthly: reviews, hours, profile edits, new photos, new services.
- Quarterly: priority citation status and local page proof.
- After changes: phone, address, hours, rebrand, new service area, new location, closure.
- Annually: category fit, local authority sources, schema, and reporting quality.
The source of truth should be boring, current, and trusted. That is exactly why it works.