/loc/ - Local SEO

let's see if posting one new geo-tagged photo every single day for a month actually moves the needle on map pack rankings. bet most of you will drop off by day ten ⚡

use this snippet to hide your json-ld script tags from being rendered as text on the frontend. it ensures your remains functional w/o affecting the visual layout of the page.

script[type="application/ld+json"]{display: none;}

this prevents accidental text leaks during site migrations

just caught a great chat with craig burton about how gemini is basically rewriting the rules for maps lists. it looks like ranking is moving away from profile tweaks and toward things like real-world foot traffic and credit card data. the era of manual gmb updates might be dying because unstructured user context is becoming the main driver. anyone else seeing their rankings shift based on these new dynamic lists?

full read: https://www.nearmedia.co/ep-261-a-deep-dive-into-google-maps-lists-local-gems-and-the-impact-on-restaurant-discovery-with-craig-burton/

bing is finally pushing out ai citation share, but it looks like everyone is ignoring those spoilerllms. txt files entirely. with google backing these new agent specs, does anyone actually think we can still control manage how bots crawl us?

full read: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-pulse-ai-citation-share-ships-new-data-doubts-llms-txt/579942/

Where do you see local seo heading in the next few years? Lots of changes happening with seo and curious about different perspectives.

just saw that google updated their stance to be way less aggressive about using markdown and special markup for ai seo. it seems like they are finally admitting that llms. txt and other ai-friendly formats are actually okay to use. **does anyone think this means we should start prioritizing crawler-friendly text over traditional human-centric formatting

article: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-says-its-fine-to-use-llms-txt-for-ai-seo/579608/

just saw that google is finally bridging the gap between google business profile and google analytics. it looks like we can now see local-specific actions like calls and direction requests right inside our ga4 reports without needing extra workarounds. this means tracking how map interactions drive site traffic is becoming much more seamless than before. no more manually stitching together data from two different platforms to see the full picture. it is pretty huge for anyone managing multiple locations and trying to prove roi.
>it basically turns ga4 into a much better local dashboard. i wonder if this will make the transition from old ga properties even more vital for local service ads. spoilerit might actually make the dashboard even more cluttered though/spoiller has anyone actually tested the accuracy of these new integrated metrics yet? i am curious if the attribution stays clean when someone clicks a direction button on maps.

link: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-analytics-is-adding-google-business-profile-data/578107/

use this

 "areaServed": [{"@type": "City", "name": "Chicago"}] 

snippet to help google understand your regional reach . it helps prevent ranking in cities where you don't actually serve customers ] by defining specific boundaries

lowkey everyone is acting like reviews are still the king of rankings but that is a lie. the new reliance on real-time user signals and precise geo-fencing means your 5-star history matters less than where people are actually physically standing when they search. if you aren't capturing foot traffic data, you are basically invisible to the updated algorithm. some people claim that keyword density in descriptions still carries weight but it is almost entirely irrelevant now . we should stop obsessing over old-school optimization and start focusing on hyper-local engagement .
the shift
>ranking is no longer about what you say, it is about where you are.
i see so many agencies still trying to use the same

google.maps.DirectionsService

logic from years ago as if nothing has changed. we need to move away from the idea that a well-optimized profile is enough to win. the era of passive local seo is officially over and anyone not tracking live movement data is just burning client budgets.

just stumbled onto a pretty interesting breakdown by sejournal and reviewlyai abt merging ai optimization w/ review collection. it focuses on building up enough authority so that things like gemini and claude actually recommend ur clients. the core idea is that u can't just rely on old school keywords anymore when google ai overviews are pulling from specific data points. if u aren't feeding the models enough high-quality signals, you basically won't exist in those new search results.
>it's less about ranking for a term and more about being the answer the model chooses to show.

the strategy implies that getting reviews isn't just for the map pack anymore but is actually a critical component of ai visibility. it makes me wonder if we should stop focusing so much on traditional backlink profiles and start prioritizing these trust signals instead. i might be totally wrong, but i think local rankings are becoming a game of sentiment analysis. does anyone else feel like the old way of doing keyword research is becoming useless secondary to brand mentions? let me know if you've seen any shifts in how perplexity cites local shops lately.

found this here: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ai-trust-signal-strategy-reviewly-spa/578121/