Every foundation in place, checked every month
Solid Ground is the full list of foundations a local business needs to get found and get calls. Every client is checked against it, the gaps go on their work list, and the most urgent ones come first.
- Each check runs on its own schedule, shown below
- Gaps go straight onto the work list
- Only a passing re-check marks a fix done
Check, fix, check again
Most checks run every month. Some run each quarter, and a few are one-time setup.
- 1
Check
Every client is checked against the full list, area by area.
- 2
Gap goes on the list
When a check finds a gap, the fix goes on that client's work list.
- 3
Fix
Some fixes are made by our tools, many by a person on our team. Website and listing changes are signed off by our team first.
- 4
Re-check
Only a passing re-check marks the fix done.
All 110 checks, one tap away
Tap any check to see why it matters. Every client is checked against every one of them.
Access and measurement
First we make sure we can see. Nothing changes until it can be measured.
01Manager access to the Google Business Profile
Why it matters: Without it, nobody can edit the listing or read its numbers.
02Access to Google Analytics
Why it matters: We read the client's real visitor and lead numbers, not estimates.
03Access to Google Search Console
Why it matters: It shows how Google sees the site: the searches, the clicks and any indexing problems.
04A working website login
Why it matters: Fixes go in quickly and safely, with a backup taken first.
05Google Analytics installed and recording visits
Why it matters: If visits aren't recorded, no result can ever be proved.
06Search Console verified for the right site
Why it matters: A wrong or missing property hides Google's warnings about the site.
07Phone taps counted as leads
Why it matters: Phone taps on the website show up in the numbers instead of disappearing.
08Form sends counted as leads
Why it matters: Every inquiry that arrives through a form is counted, once.
09Google profile numbers saved every month
Why it matters: Calls, direction requests and website clicks from the listing, kept month by month.
10Rankings and map visibility tracked from day one
Why it matters: A starting picture of where the business shows up, so progress can be measured.
11A full starting audit, run and read
Why it matters: Every later decision starts from what that audit found.
12Leads per month recorded before we start
Why it matters: The number every later month is compared with.
13Tagged links on the Google profile
Why it matters: Visits that start on the listing show up on their own in Google Analytics.
Google Business Profile
The listing that puts the business on the map, set up the way Google trusts.
14An honest address for how the business works
Why it matters: Google suspends listings whose address breaks its rules.
15The website link lands on the right page
Why it matters: The listing should send people to the home page or the matching town page, and that page has to work.
16The website link points at the business's own domain
Why it matters: The listing should send people straight to the business's own site.
17The map pin on the real front door
Why it matters: A pin in the wrong spot sends customers, and Google's distance math, the wrong way.
18Profile claimed and verified
Why it matters: An unverified listing can be edited by anyone and ranks poorly.
19The most specific main category
Why it matters: The main category is one of the strongest signals for which searches the listing shows up in.
20Not marked as closed
Why it matters: A listing marked closed, even by mistake, stops the calls overnight.
21An address inside the town being targeted
Why it matters: Distance to the person searching weighs heavily on the map.
22No pending violations and no ties to a suspension
Why it matters: Problems linked to the listing can take it down without warning.
23Accurate hours, holidays included
Why it matters: Google favors businesses that are open when people search.
24Every secondary category that really applies
Why it matters: Each fitting category opens up more searches the listing can show in.
25A complete profile
Why it matters: Description, opening date, attributes, logo, cover photo and social links, all filled in.
26Spam competitors reported
Why it matters: Fake listings in the map results push real businesses down.
27Services listed, with descriptions
Why it matters: Services tell Google and customers exactly what the business does.
28A business name with no added keywords
Why it matters: Keyword-stuffed names risk a suspension.
29Real photos of the premises, team and work
Why it matters: Real photos build trust. No stock photos and no AI images.
30A realistic service area
Why it matters: An area the business really covers, with no overlap between its own locations.
31A real local phone number that gets answered
Why it matters: A local number matches the listing and builds trust. Never a toll-free number on its own.
32A booking link, where the business takes bookings
Why it matters: Customers can book straight from the listing.
One identity everywhere
The same name, address and phone on every site that lists the business.
33One clean website address
Why it matters: Secure, one version of the domain, and no chains of redirects.
34Name, address and phone on the site, matching the profile
Why it matters: Google compares the website with the listing. Matching details build trust.
35On the industry directories that show in a search for the name
Why it matters: These are the sites people see when they look the business up.
36Listed and matching on Google, Bing and Apple
Why it matters: The three big maps agree on every detail.
37Business details markup (schema) on the site
Why it matters: Code that hands search engines the name, address, phone and hours in a form they read directly.
38Correct on Yelp, Facebook, Foursquare and OpenStreetMap
Why it matters: Many apps and AI tools take business details from these sites.
39Old addresses and phone numbers cleaned up
Why it matters: Out-of-date details across the web confuse Google and customers.
40Social profiles matching and linked
Why it matters: Linked from the listing and the website, with the same details.
41Mentions on local news, supplier and partner sites
Why it matters: Other sites naming the business show it's real and known locally.
Reviews
A steady flow of real reviews, and every one answered.
42A plan for negative reviews
Why it matters: A reply within a day, the issue handled offline, and removal requested when a review breaks Google's rules.
43A Google rating of 4.3 or higher
Why it matters: Plenty of customers skip businesses below that line.
44About two new Google reviews every month
Why it matters: A steady flow beats a burst. Recent reviews count the most.
45Reviews on one or two respected industry sites
Why it matters: Customers, and AI tools, look beyond Google.
46A review link and QR code the client can hand out
Why it matters: Asking for a review is easy when the link is ready.
47No review gating, no rewards, no fake reviews
Why it matters: Each of these breaks Google's rules and puts the listing at risk.
48Reviews shown on the pages they describe
Why it matters: A review about a service persuades best on that service's page.
49Every review answered within a week
Why it matters: Replies that name the service show customers, and Google, that someone is paying attention.
Website
A site Google can find, read and trust, and one that looks after visitors.
50Key pages indexed, with nothing blocking Google
Why it matters: One stray setting can hide a whole site from search.
51Every new page reaches Google
Why it matters: Each page we publish is followed up every month until Google shows it.
52No malware, hacks or spam pages
Why it matters: A hacked site can be flagged by Google and lose its rankings.
53A page for every service
Why it matters: A service with no page of its own rarely ranks for that service.
54The towns served named in the text
Why it matters: It tells Google where the business works.
55The home page names the main service and town
Why it matters: In the title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
56Every service page reachable from the menu
Why it matters: With clear link words, so visitors and Google can find each one.
57A site focused on one trade
Why it matters: A clear focus helps Google understand what the business is about.
58A title, description and one main heading on every key page
Why it matters: The basics search engines read first.
59Easy to use on a phone
Why it matters: Most local searches happen on a phone.
60Service pages that are easy to scan
Why it matters: Short sections, headings, bullet points and a questions block.
61Town pages only where they're needed
Why it matters: Added only where the map scan shows weak spots inside the real service area.
62Bing Webmaster Tools set up
Why it matters: The site verified and the sitemap sent to Bing.
63No forwarding to another domain, and no second business
Why it matters: A shared or forwarded site confuses Google about who the business is.
64The sitemap submitted to Google
Why it matters: The sitemap lists every page Google should know about.
65No broken pages or dead links
Why it matters: Broken links waste visits and look careless.
66No text copied from other websites
Why it matters: Copied text gives Google a reason to rank another site instead.
67Photos described for search and screen readers
Why it matters: Descriptions and sensible file names on service and location photos.
68A contact page with the address, hours, a map and a tappable phone
Why it matters: Everything a customer needs to get in touch, in one place.
69A page showing real results for past customers
Why it matters: A case study or success story gives buyers proof.
70A video of the business or its work
Why it matters: Video lets customers see who they're hiring.
Conversion
Month one is about turning more of the current visitors into calls and forms. See how conversion works.
71Phone taps and form sends recorded as real lead events
Why it matters: With Google's automatic form guesses switched off, so nothing is counted twice.
72The visit-to-lead rate recorded before any change
Why it matters: Phone taps and forms against visits over 30 clean days, then every month after.
73Fast for real visitors on a phone
Why it matters: The page shows in 2.5 seconds or less, answers a tap quickly and doesn't jump around.
74One column on phones, with the buttons in easy reach
Why it matters: Call and form buttons at least 48 pixels tall, within reach of a thumb.
75Key pages measured against our conversion standard
Why it matters: The home page, top three service pages and contact page, in month one.
76The phone number in the desktop header
Why it matters: Right where people look first.
77Each location page showing its own listing's number
Why it matters: Matching numbers build trust with Google and with callers.
78A call bar pinned to the bottom of the screen on phones
Why it matters: On every page, for trades.
79A booking link on the site and the Google profile
Why it matters: For trades that take bookings.
80A short form on every service page
Why it matters: Not just a link to the contact page.
81Five fields or fewer, with labels above the fields
Why it matters: Short forms get filled in, and phones show the right keyboard for numbers and email.
82The site's Google rating kept in step with the profile
Why it matters: Set up once, brought up to date every month, and shown only at 4.6 stars or higher.
83Real reviews about each service, on its page
Why it matters: The client's own reviews, word for word and dated.
84A 24/7 line beside the phone, for emergency trades
Why it matters: When the business really answers around the clock.
85License, insurance and credentials near the top
Why it matters: On service pages, right where people decide.
86Answers to what stops people calling
Why it matters: Price, timing, area and guarantees, on every service page.
87Hours and an "open now" line near the top
Why it matters: Visitors know at a glance that someone will pick up.
88A gallery of at least seven of the client's own job photos
Why it matters: Where before and after photos are normal for the trade.
89A measurement readiness score, tracked month on month
Why it matters: A score from 0 to 100 showing how fully we can measure leads, next to the visit-to-lead rate.
Authority
Other sites vouching for the business.
90Visible on the key industry sites for the trade
Why it matters: The sites customers in that trade already trust.
91More people searching for the business by name
Why it matters: Searches for the name show a business is known, and they should keep growing.
AI visibility
What ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI read before they name a business. See the AI search work.
92A strong rating, replies to every review, new reviews coming in
Why it matters: AI tools read reviews when they choose who to name.
93AI crawlers allowed in the robots file
Why it matters: Plenty of sites block ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude or Google's AI without knowing it.
94AI crawlers not blocked by the site's firewall
Why it matters: A firewall can shut them out even when the robots file lets them in.
95No key page opted out of Google's AI answers
Why it matters: One setting can keep a page out of Google's AI answers.
96On the review sites and directories AI tools quote
Why it matters: Found by asking the AI tools directly who they trust for the trade.
97A Google profile complete for AI Mode and Gemini
Why it matters: Category, hours, website, service area and services.
98Yelp and Facebook pages found, correct and rated
Why it matters: Both are common sources in AI answers about local businesses.
99Service pages refreshed each quarter, with the date showing
Why it matters: Current pages give AI tools a reason to trust them.
100The same details on Google, Bing, Apple, Yelp and Facebook
Why it matters: Name, address, phone, hours and website identical everywhere.
101AI answers give the right phone, address and opening status
Why it matters: Checked by asking the AI tools themselves.
102Page text that loads without scripts
Why it matters: Many AI crawlers read only what the server sends.
103Bing Places claimed and matching Google
Why it matters: Another major map, read by more than Bing search.
104An Apple Maps listing matching Google
Why it matters: So Siri and Apple Maps give the right details.
105AI visibility measured every month
Why it matters: The same set of up to 30 real customer questions, asked of ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Claude, and logged against named competitors.
106A real presence on Reddit and YouTube
Why it matters: Where customers already ask about the trade.
107The questions customers really ask, as headings
Why it matters: Each one answered in its first sentence.
108Business, service and question markup matching the profile
Why it matters: The same details, hours and services as the Google listing.
109A fact-packed location page
Why it matters: Address and hours as plain text, the phone as text, reviews that name the area, and real numbers.
110Mentions on local news, community and industry sites
Why it matters: Other sites naming the business give AI tools something to quote.
The urgent ones jump the queue
23 of the 110 checks are marked to jump the queue when they fail.
A site hidden from Google, a hacked site, a listing marked closed or a wrong address goes straight to the top.So does anything that stops us measuring, like missing access or leads that aren't being counted.
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