The local SEO checklist for Cobb County service businesses

If you run a service business in Cobb County and you're not showing up when people search what you do, this is the list to work through. In order. Each item is something we check on every engagement.

1. Google Business Profile — claimed and complete

• Claimed and verified (the postcard or video step).
• The right primary category — this is the single biggest lever. "Roofing contractor," not "Contractor."
• Every service listed, every attribute filled, real photos, hours correct.
• A few posts and a seeded Q&A so the profile looks active, not abandoned.

2. NAP consistency

Your Name, Address, and Phone must match exactly everywhere Google looks — your site, GBP, Yelp, Bing, Apple Maps, the BBB. A "Ste 200" here and "Suite 200" there is the kind of mismatch that quietly holds you back.

3. Citations

Get listed in the directories that matter for Cobb County and your trade — Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps, BBB, plus industry-specific ones. Clean up duplicates and wrong listings (there are almost always a few).

4. Reviews — recent and replied-to

Google weighs velocity (recent reviews) heavily, not just your all-time count. Set up a way to ask every customer right after the job, and reply to every review — good and bad — in your own voice.

5. Website signals

• Schema (LocalBusiness + your service type) so Google understands what you are.
• A page per city you serve ("roofing in Kennesaw," "roofing in Acworth") and per service.
• Fast on mobile. The map pack feeds searches that are mostly on phones.

6. Links worth having

A handful of real local links — the Cobb Chamber, a supplier, a local press mention — beat a hundred spammy directory links. Quality, not volume.

Work top to bottom. Most businesses are 80% set up and stalled at step 4 or 5 — which is exactly where the rankings live.

Want us to run this checklist against your business for free? Get a free audit and we'll tell you exactly where you stand.