E1128: Local SEO is changing as Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other AI systems influence how people find and evaluate local businesses.
I’m joined by Joy Hawkins and Caleb Ulku for a detailed discussion about what is working in local SEO now, which common tactics are becoming less effective, and how businesses should prepare for AI-powered local search.
Joy and Caleb compare what they are seeing across client accounts, ranking tests, Google Business Profiles, local packs, AI-generated recommendations, website content, reviews, links, and conversion rates.
Topics covered:
– How large language models evaluate local businesses and decide which companies to cite
– Why local businesses need content that clearly explains pricing, processes, outcomes, and service details
– How awards and industry-specific directories influence AI recommendations
– Why winning an award is not enough unless the business also promotes it clearly on its website
– How AI-powered local packs reduce the importance of Google review volume and frequency
– Why Yelp, Facebook, Reddit, and other third-party platforms are becoming more important for local visibility
– Why businesses should encourage customers to describe their experience and outcome in their reviews
– Why fake listings, fake reviews, rank-and-rent listings, and other forms of Google Business Profile spam continue to create problems for legitimate businesses
– How business hours can affect local rankings and why Google’s written guidelines do not always match what works in practice
– Whether keyword-stuffed Google Business Profile names will continue working
– Why improving a local business website’s design can increase leads without rebuilding the entire website
– How AI tools can help businesses improve landing pages, buttons, coupons, images, page layouts, and conversion rates
– How Joy and Caleb use AI to produce content
– Why original interviews, customer stories, project details, pricing information, measurements, timelines, and outcomes make content more useful
– Why publishing dozens or hundreds of similar AI-generated pages is a liability
– How to approach location pages, service-area pages, and multi-location business websites
– When separate location pages compete against each other
– Why press releases appear to have lost much of their previous influence on rankings and AI citations
– Why exact-match anchor text, scaled link building, and guest posting are increasingly risky
– Which local link-building methods still work, including sponsorships, community organizations, youth sports, and relevant award sites
– How excessive informational content, weak search intent, and expansion beyond a site’s authority can damage performance
– How local rank maps and Google Search Console data can reveal missing topical and geographic relevance
– How Google Business Profile categories and services can guide website structure and internal linking
– Where Joy and Caleb disagree about URLs, internal links, location pages, and duplicate content
– Why CTR manipulation and driving-direction manipulation may work temporarily but can create serious long-term risks
– Why tactics that stop working as soon as you stop paying for them are difficult to build a reliable business around
This conversation is for local business owners, SEO consultants, agency owners, marketers, lawyers, home-service companies, and anyone trying to understand how local search is changing.
⭐️ Joy Hawkin’s Agency – Sterling Sky: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/
⭐️ Joy Hawkin’s YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/SterlingSkyInc
⭐️ Joy Hawkin’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyhawkins/
⭐️ Local Search Forum – https://localsearchforum.com/
⭐️ Caleb Ulku on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@calebulku
⭐️ Caleb Ulku – https://calebulku.com/
💎 Compact Keywords – My SEO Course – Get paying customers through SEO – Clear step-by-step video breakdowns – SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Meet the Local SEO Pros
00:34 Getting Recognized IRL
02:02 Local SEO in the LLM Era
04:31 Awards as AI Signals
07:52 Paying for Credibility
12:34 Reviews Beyond Google
15:47 Yelp and Reddit Trust
18:50 Spam and Fake Listings
23:40 Loopholes That May Die
25:50 Big Missed Opportunities
31:35 AI Content That Ranks
36:38 AI Content Scaling Trap
37:12 Unique Content vs Relevance
38:24 Citygate Pages Risk
39:53 Multiple Locations Strategy
41:14 Press Releases Decline
43:08 Anchor Text Crackdown
43:55 Local Link Building Wins
48:46 Traffic Drops and Audits
55:22 GBP Landing Page Fixes
58:03 Citations and CTR Hype
01:02:27 Fake Reviews and Takedowns
01:05:44 Site Structure and URLs
01:10:00 30 Day Action Plan
01:11:25 Wrap Up and Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#localseo #localsearchengineoptimization #localmarketing
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