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Google Maps Checklist for Dallas and Houston Local Businesses

#seo #webdev #marketing #beginners

If your business does not show up in the Google Maps "3-pack" when someone in Dallas or Houston searches "near me," you are missing calls, visits and bookings. Use this checklist to find out why. It is written for owners of local businesses, and it comes from the way we approach local SEO at Nomira Digital, a web design, SEO and AI search agency founded in Nepal that serves businesses across the USA.

How Google ranks local results

Google describes local ranking with three factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Distance is fixed. Relevance and prominence are what you can work on.

The checklist

  • [ ] Google Business Profile is claimed and verified
  • [ ] Primary category is the most specific one for your main service
  • [ ] Secondary categories added for other services
  • [ ] Services and business description filled in, naming the city and neighborhoods you serve
  • [ ] Opening hours correct, including holidays
  • [ ] Business name, address and phone number are identical on your website, profile and directories
  • [ ] Real photos added: team, location, work
  • [ ] Reviews requested from happy customers after every job
  • [ ] Every review answered politely and professionally
  • [ ] Regular posts on your profile (offers, news, tips)
  • [ ] Website loads fast on a phone
  • [ ] Website has a page for each main service and each city you serve
  • [ ] Address, phone number and map shown on the contact page
  • [ ] Local business schema markup added to the site

Service-area businesses

If you work from home or travel to customers (plumbers, electricians, cleaners, agencies), you can hide your street address on Google and list the cities you serve instead.

Common mistakes

  • Using a general category instead of a specific one
  • Different phone numbers or business names in different places
  • Ignoring reviews, especially negative ones
  • Adding a profile and never updating it
  • Stuffing city names into the business name, which can get a profile suspended

Track results

Local rankings take time. Watch calls, direction requests and website clicks from your profile each month, and keep improving.

Get a free audit

Nomira Digital offers a free website and SEO audit that shows what is holding your listing back. Local SEO starts at $500 per month, and final pricing depends on your needs and requirements.

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