Welcome! This is your complete guide to Local SEO: Step-by-Step Ranking—a guided article series within the Search Atlas Help Center that walks you through claiming your Google Business Profile, improving local search visibility, and building a strong SEO foundation for your business.
Each article breaks down a key step in the process, guiding you through everything you need to show up and compete in local search results.
⚠️ Known Issues – Updated May 28, 2026
A few active bugs affect workflows referenced in this series. Fixes are in progress; this callout will be removed once they ship.
- Rank Tracker – GBP location search (KE-1249): When creating a new Rank Tracker project, GBP location search may appear to return no results due to a system error (not a data issue).
- Local SEO Heatmaps – Add Business (GBP-1261): Adding a business on the Local SEO Heatmaps page is currently unavailable; both Place ID and GBP import methods return an HTTP 400 error.
- Classic Report Builder – Local SEO reports (RB-1273, fix queued for deployment): The Classic Report Builder may hang when loading Local SEO reports — relevant if you're following Step 6 (Monitor Your Local SEO Performance). Workaround: reload the report URL directly instead of navigating to it within the builder. Local SEO labels may also display as generic "Local SEO ##" rather than the actual location names.
If you hit any of these, please contact Search Atlas support for the latest status.
🧩 Articles in this series
5.Step 5: Build Local Authority Over Time
7. Step 7: Boost Your Local Rankings with Strategic Actions
You can follow each step in order—or jump directly to the topic that fits your current needs.
🔜 Ready? Start with Step 1: Set Up the Essentials →
⚠️ Having issues with your listing?
If your Google Business Profile has been suspended or disappeared from Maps,
follow our guide to recover a suspended Google Business Profile →
📚 Useful Official Resources (Applies to All Steps)
- Google Business Profile Help – Google Support
Official support hub for setting up, verifying, and managing your Business Profile on Google. - Guidelines for representing your business on Google – Google Support
Official policies on how to list your business correctly—critical for staying compliant and avoiding penalties or removals.