Local SEO checklist for Montreal

For Montreal and Quebec business owners who want to show up in the map pack and in local search, in English and French. Tick each item once it’s checked, then work through the empty boxes in order.

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Start with where you rank on Maps

Finish our Google Business Profile checklist before this oneYour profile is the biggest lever for the map pack. It has its own checklist, so this one skips it.
Write down the 5 to 10 searches customers use to find you, in EN and FR“Plombier Rosemont” and “plumber Rosemont” are two different searches. Track both.
Check your Maps ranking on a grid across your service area, not from your officeIn Montreal, rankings change from one neighbourhood to the next. A grid tool shows where you appear and where you drop out.
Note the three businesses in the map pack for your main searchTheir categories, review counts and listings show you the bar you need to clear.
In Search Console, find the searches that include your city or neighbourhoodThe Performance report shows which local searches already bring clicks, and which of your pages Google shows for them.

Local pages on your website

Give each main service its own page, with its own URLOne page for everything can’t match specific searches. A page per service backs up your profile’s categories.
Put the service and the city in each page’s title tag and H1For example “Emergency plumber in Laval”. Write for people first, without piling on neighbourhood names.
Create an area page only where you have real local proofProjects, reviews and response times from that area. Twenty copies with only the city name swapped look like doorway pages to Google.
Link your service pages and area pages to each otherInternal links help Google find every local page and understand which areas each service covers.
Show your name, address and phone as text in the footer and contact pageText, not an image, so Google can read it. Write them exactly as they appear on your Google profile.
Test your main local pages on mobile with PageSpeed InsightsLocal searches often happen on a phone, and slow pages lose visitors. Fix the biggest issues the report flags first.
Check that each local page is indexed, using URL Inspection in Search ConsoleA page Google hasn’t indexed can’t help you rank. The tool tells you why it was left out.

Bilingual structure and hreflang

Give every French and English page its own URLFor example /services and /fr/services. A toggle that swaps text on one URL is invisible to Google.
Translate titles, meta descriptions, headings and URL slugs, not just body textFrench searches match French titles. A French page with an English title sends mixed signals.
Add hreflang tags linking each page to its translation, in both directionsEach version lists itself and the other, for example fr-CA and en-CA. Google ignores tags that don’t point both ways.
Give each language version a canonical tag that points to itselfA French page whose canonical points to the English page tells Google to drop the French one.
Make the language switcher open the same page in the other languageSending people back to the homepage loses them. Matching pages also help Google pair the two versions.
Make every page available in French, on terms at least equal to EnglishThe Charter of the French language requires French versions of commercial content to be at least as accessible. French pages also win French searches.

Local business schema

Add LocalBusiness markup, or the most specific type that fits youFor example Dentist or Plumber. It confirms your business type, address, phone and hours to Google.
Match the name, address, phone and hours in the markup to your profileMarkup that disagrees with your Google profile adds confusion instead of confirming your details.
If you have several locations, give each its own page and its own markupSeveral addresses on one page with one block of markup blur which details belong to which location.
Test the markup with the Schema Markup Validator or the Rich Results TestBoth are free. Fix errors first, then any warnings about your address or hours.
Don’t mark up your own testimonials as star ratingsGoogle doesn’t show review stars for reviews a business publishes about itself on its own site.

Listings, NAP and local links

Pick one exact version of your name, address and phone, and use it everywhereSame suite format, same abbreviations, same number. Google cross-checks these details across the web.
Check and correct your listings on Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp and PagesJaunesApple Business Connect and Bing Places let you claim and edit your listing for free.
Search your old address and old phone number to find outdated listingsMoves and number changes leave stale listings behind. Correct or remove them one by one.
Look for duplicate listings of your business on each directoryDuplicates split your reviews and muddle your details. Ask the directory to merge or remove them.
List your business in your industry’s directories and your local chamber of commerceFor example your professional order or trade association. Pick directories your customers actually use.
Earn 2 or 3 links from local websites this quarterPartners, suppliers, local events you sponsor or local media. A few relevant links beat many random ones.

Reviews beyond your profile

Set up review requests with our Google Business Profile checklistAsking for Google reviews, replying to them and the rules around them are covered there, so this list skips them.
Compare your review count and recency with the current Top 3There’s no magic number. Your target is what the businesses already ranking have.
Set a monthly review target that closes that gapA steady flow of recent reviews beats one big push followed by nothing.
Quote real customer reviews as text on your service and area pagesUse the customer’s first name and the job or area. It adds local proof, as long as you don’t mark them up as star ratings.
Check and reply to reviews on Facebook, Yelp and your industry sitesCustomers read these too. Yelp forbids asking for reviews, so on Yelp you only reply.

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Rather have us go through it with you?

Want a second pair of eyes? We check your profile, your website and where you rank in your area in a free local ranking audit, then tell you what we’d fix first. You don’t have to hire us afterwards.

Free local ranking audit Download the PDF

Local SEO checklist for Montreal

01Start with where you rank on Maps

02Local pages on your website

03Bilingual structure and hreflang

04Local business schema

05Listings, NAP and local links

06Reviews beyond your profile

More free checklists

Google Business Profile

Conversion tracking

Google Ads audit

Meta Ads audit

Klaviyo email flows

Guides on this topic

Google Business Profile Checklist for Montreal Businesses (2026)

How to Rank in the Google Maps Top 3 in Montreal (2026 Guide)