Short answer
- Check it on your phone first. That's how most local customers will see it.
- Within a few seconds a visitor should know what you do, where, and how to contact you.
- Prices or price ranges, real photos and reviews do more selling than clever wording.
- Get the basics for Google right: titles, a page per service, Search Console, matching business details.
First screen (before any scrolling)
- ☐ What you do, in plain words ("Mobile dog grooming in Tampa", not "Excellence in pet care")
- ☐ Where you work: city or service area
- ☐ A tap-to-call phone number
- ☐ One main button: Book, Get a quote, Order, or Call
- ☐ A real photo of your work, team or place
- ☐ A trust signal: rating, years in business, licensed and insured
Pages you need
| Page | What it must answer |
|---|---|
| Home | What, where, why you, how to contact |
| Services or menu | What exactly you offer, with prices or ranges |
| A page per main service | Details, process, FAQs; these are the pages that can rank for specific searches |
| About | Who's behind it, with real photos |
| Contact | Phone, form, hours, map or service area |
| Reviews or work | Proof: genuine reviews, before/after photos, projects |
Small businesses often skip the separate service pages. They're usually the pages that bring in search traffic, because each one can match a specific search.
Trust and proof
- ☐ Genuine reviews, ideally from Google, with names as customers left them
- ☐ Prices, price ranges or "from" prices
- ☐ License numbers, insurance, certifications where relevant to your trade
- ☐ Clear policies: cancellations, deposits, refunds, guarantees you actually offer
- ☐ A physical address or clear service area
- ☐ No stock photos pretending to be your team
Mobile and speed
- ☐ Text readable without zooming
- ☐ Buttons big enough to tap with a thumb
- ☐ No pop-up covering the page on phones
- ☐ Pages load quickly on mobile data. Test with Google's free PageSpeed Insights
- ☐ Images compressed, not straight off a camera
- ☐ Forms short: name, phone, what they need
Google basics
- ☐ Each page has a unique title that says what it's about and where
- ☐ One clear main heading per page
- ☐ Business name, address and phone match your Google Business Profile exactly
- ☐ Site verified in Google Search Console with a sitemap submitted
- ☐ Secure (https) with no browser warnings
- ☐ Your website linked from your Google Business Profile
- ☐ Structured data for your business and FAQs where it fits
The free Local SEO checker covers your Google profile side of this.
Tracking
- ☐ Analytics installed so you know where visitors come from
- ☐ Form submissions and calls counted as conversions
- ☐ If you run ads: Google Ads conversion tracking and/or the Meta Pixel installed and tested
Legal and housekeeping
- ☐ Privacy policy, especially if you collect form data or use tracking tools
- ☐ Cookie consent where your visitors' laws require it
- ☐ Copyright year and business details current
- ☐ Domain registered in your name, with auto-renew on
- ☐ You can get access to your site and hosting without asking a former developer
I'm not a lawyer; check the rules that apply in your country and industry.
Score yourself
| Unticked boxes | What it means |
|---|---|
| 0–5 | Solid. Focus on reviews and more service pages. |
| 6–12 | Fixable gaps. Start with the first screen and mobile sections. |
| 13+ | Your site is probably losing customers. A rebuild may be quicker than patching. |
If you'd rather not fix it yourself, I build small business websites with everything on this list for $397, and you see a free working preview before paying. See Website design.