We summoned our brave community to share their most spine-tingling, hair-raising, and downright terrifying local SEO experiences. Prepare to be haunted by client catastrophes, cursed Google Business Profiles, and marketing stories that are best told under the cloak of darkness. Read on if you dare!

Greg "Ghostly" Gifford

Chief Operating Officer at SearchLab Digital

Claire "The Crypt Keeper" Carlile

Local SEO Expert at BrightLocal

In addition to Greg’s totally terrifying Q&As, Claire found even more horrifying answers on a Google Business Profile. 

As you can see, one local car dealership’s poor customer service was brought to the forefront of their GBP Q&A section. Surely answering the phone isn’t as scary as they think? 

In the words of Stephen King, “hotels are superstitious places. No thirteenth floor or room thirteen, no mirrors on the back of the door you come in through, stuff like that.”

However, the Stanley Hotel that inspired his book, The Shining, is making good use of their Q&A section, with guests asking the all-important questions. 

Melissa "Poltergeist" Popp

Content Strategy Director at RicketyRoo

“RicketyRoo welcomed a client fleeing from an evil past agency, a villain that had orchestrated an unholy contract, claiming copyright ownership over every piece of content on the client’s existing website. Like an eerie ghost story where the antagonist traps the innocent in a haunted mansion, this agency had the client ensnared in a legal nightmare, forcing them to relinquish their own digital home.

“The terror didn’t stop there. As we hurried to recreate their website, we felt the haunting pressure of the clock ticking ominously, knowing the previous agency’s shadow loomed large. This unsettling episode wasn’t just a jump scare but a full-length horror film that unfolded right before our eyes. We managed to exorcise the client’s digital demons, but the fear for our industry—now revealed to have its own set of lurking monsters—still lingers.”

Elizabeth "Ghoul" Rule

SEO Analyst at Sterling Sky

“Here is a Local SEO horror story I think many can relate to!!

“It takes a lot to scare me, but when a client sends an email that they have moved their office address without consulting their SEO team I get instant chills down my spine.

“The chills only get worse upon checking the new address when we discover it happens to be located in the SAME building as some of the toughest competition in their industry. This scenario would make even the bravest local SEOs want to run and hide.

“Turns out ALL the injury lawyers in the area rent offices in the same building the client just moved into… guess PI lawyers get a good deal on rent there Cue the Psycho style scream as I realize I will need to explain to the client how the local filter was now going to be working OVERTIME on their listing and their rankings were going to take a hit. Making major business decisions without consulting your SEO team? Now THAT’S scary!!”

Blake "Dracula" Denman

Founder at RicketyRoo

“A former PPC client sent someone to my apartment to threaten me. The client thought I was clicking on his ads. He added single keyword, broad match and upped the budget to $5k/day. I fixed it, and he sent me a commercial grade Vitamix that was used in a Burger King promo. Still have it!”

Amy "Tomb" Toman

SEO Analyst at Digital Law Marketing

“I’m aware of a website that has 200+ “keywords” added in an exceptionally small font on the bottom of every single page (not a footer; customized to each page). I thought that went out in 2010 2005. ”

Dana "Dastardly" DiTomaso

President & Partner at Kick Point

“[I once had] a client who originally wanted to focus on organic traffic increases but then didn’t actually say what they do at their company on their website, in their marketing materials, literally anywhere at all. ”

Ben "Boo" Fisher

Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand

In our latest webinar, Ben Fisher shared a rotten example of a business who created their own business signage to get their GBP verified… This led to a suspension, and we all know there’s no worse local SEO horror story than a GBP suspension! 

Celeste "Gory" Gonzalez

SEO Strategist at RicketyRoo

“A client demanded to know why they did not receive the same amount of leads as they did the year before when they had never done SEO before or tracked leads from their website. Their leads from the previous year came from their paper flyers, Facebook groups, and NextDoor posts. Then that same client then also was upset about Google Ads leads coming from the location radius that he had set and confirmed with our PPC team.”

Krystal "Fang" Taing

Solutions Engineer, Strategic Partnerships at Uberall

“I once had a multi-location eyeglass retailer where a customer spammed their listings and added pictures of Lord Voldemort in glasses to about 50 different locations. This was fun reporting and escalating to Google! “

“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

The Fly (1986)

Even More Tales from the Web-keepers

We also asked our community of local SEOs for their spooky tales, and let’s just say, you might want to sit down reading some of these; they’re guaranteed to scare the hell out of you (or at least make you laugh!). 

Nina P, SEO Lady shared:

“The eCommerce [I owned] sold same sex wedding table decorations, like Mr & Mr / Mrs & Mrs. However, it’s a site I built which had my home office address [on it]. Putting it on Google Maps was a dreadful mistake. We had swingers knocking on the door asking to buy latex clothing and wanting to come in. I still have an answerphone message with a mobile phone number asking me whether I’d like some fun this weekend!”

Nina followed up with another story…

“I was in Tunisia on holiday with my school friend and drinking wine by the pool when my phone pinged and it was the front door CCTV. A very dapper older gentleman with white hair, a leather man bag and golf umbrella was waiting.

“My husband answered the door, there was a short exchange, and the door slammed leaving the gentleman standing there for a second.

“My phone pinged, hubby was furious. Marriage ending mad. “WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?” and I had to put down my wine.

“The gent had politely enquired what range of butt plugs we had in stock, and could he come in to take a look at our toys. What surprised us both is that we are on a residential street with no shop front. 

“My husband thought I was having an affair! I explained about Google Business and in 15 years not one person has come knocking on our door to speak with the SEO Lady. Clearly I’d underestimated the gravitas of naming my business samesexgifts.co.uk which was named Same Sex Gifts on Maps and Facebook.  

“When I got home I hid our address. The domain and eCommerce site are for sale .” 

Ash Nallawalla explained:

“I didn’t keep a screenshot, but my detailed check of a bank’s GBPs showed a horror story that had not been picked up. Google had scrambled up entries of many entities. e.g. Bank A’s ATM showed the address of Bank B or of Bank C, all on the same page. During the same Google glitch, I lost my own “Melbourne SEO” ranking in GBP to a competitor on the same floor of our building. Their photos were shown among ours and the two addresses were mixed up.”

Stefan Janjić Lozo told us: 

“There’s an auto wrecker and spare parts business in Serbia where the reviews on the business are becoming a meme in the region.”

A note from BrightLocal:

Upon further investigation, we found the owner of the business is just plain rude to his customers! We’ll keep the business anonymous, but as you can see from the 1-star review below, he’s certainly left a curse on his customers!

This, in turn, has led to an onslaught of reviews from those commending his rudeness, and as Stefan says, has turned into a bit of a meme.

The website even details at length, how not to behave and communicate with him. The translation includes “Please do not call us before 9am and after 9pm. Most people know when to call, but there are also those who for some reason think it’s okay to call in the morning at 6am or in the evening after 11pm!?” 

“The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years—if it ever did end—began…”

Stephen King, It (1986)

And with that, we close the book on spooky stories, hide the book in a locked box, and keep the locked box well out of sight. Have a great Friday 13th, and remember to avoid breaking mirrors, crossing black cats, or getting your GBP suspended.

We asked the experts how they’re using AI at the moment, and how they think SGE will change the landscape of local search. 

(One small caveat—in the past few weeks we’ve seen new features and functions added to SGE. By the time this piece goes live, we’re sure there will have already been some major changes!) 

Ben Fisher

Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand

What are you doing with AI at the moment? What tactics are you currently using?

AI is a great assistant for our SEO team. They use it for research, some technical tasks, and coming up with ideas for our writers. We don’t use AI for anything that is forward facing like blog post content, and our clients prefer it this way. We play with prompts every day and create a vault of useful prompts. AI assistants can save us a lot of time, especially with the right prompt. Our SEO team can focus more on strategy and critical thinking/analysis because AI can execute many tasks to save time.

Overall, AI assistants can be a valuable asset to any SEO team. They can help SEO professionals save time, improve the quality of their work, focus on more strategic and creative tasks, and stay ahead of the curve.

Despite AI’s impressive capabilities, the human touch remains integral to our processes, ensuring that our strategies are not only data-driven but also empathetic and user-centric.

What do you think about SGE? How do you think SGE will change the landscape of local search?

There is a glimmer of hope for the local SEO profession, as the 3-pack results appear to be the same as what you would see in a regular search. However, I think that as Google learns, there will be new winners and losers. Unfortunately, I think that SMBs will suffer, as the real estate they were used to will be replaced by new features.

Dayna Lucio

Strategist, SEO at Amsive Digital

What are you doing with AI at the moment? What tactics are you currently using?

Mainly it’s been a lot of testing of different platforms to understand the capabilities and differences of each. Right now, I’ve been using AI to help streamline processes such as summarizing data, mapping cities to zip codes for local tracking, or building regex filters for GSC. It’s also been helpful in brainstorming ideas for content such as sourcing questions for FAQs or coming up with metadata tests. I think in general things are moving really fast—something new seems to come up every day! Brands should definitely be thinking about how platforms like BingChat, Bard, ChatGPT, and SGE are providing information about their company, products, or services, and what types of content gaps need to be filled or opportunities they can explore.

What do you think about SGE? How do you think SGE will change the landscape of local search?

I think what we’ve been able to see so far has been interesting, the local examples that Google shared with the comparison layout between restaurants definitely shows how this can be used on a local level. However, I think it more or less is continuing to showcase the things we already stress in local SEO—provide the information that users are looking for on GBP profiles and within on-page content and continue to pay attention to reviews, because this is another way that Google is highlighting those. Like anything with Google, I expect there to be multiple tests and changes as time goes on, so its hard to say what the impact will be. Once more people have access to SGE I think it will be important to test different types of queries and questions about local businesses to see how the answers and layouts changed based on what’s being asked. 

Amanda Jordan

Director of Digital Strategy at RicketyRoo

What are you doing with AI at the moment? What tactics are you currently using?

I currently use AI to help generate ideas and consider new ways to think about data. Right now I think the best use case for many AI tools is for SEOs to understand how generative AI actually works. Knowing the capabilities and limitations of this technology can help us understand what to expect from Search in the future.

What do you think about SGE? How do you think SGE will change the landscape of local search? 

I hope SGE is the end of sites being filled with generic content. My hope is that SGE will encourage websites to focus on unique, personalized, and usable content for users. I believe truly understanding your customers and being obsessed with the customer experience will be extremely important in the future.

Jess Peck

Machine Learning Engineer at Local SEO Guide

What are you doing with AI at the moment? What tactics are you currently using?

We’re currently using machine learning for a series of tasks: analysis, clustering data, forecasting, text analysis, and to an extent content generation. We use several different ML techniques including lda, keyword extraction, text summarization, and technologies like using Google’s APIs and TensorFlow. Like many people, we are also using LLMs like GPT, though not entirely relying on them. For example, we tend to chunk our outputs, and then use other ML techniques to check the input matches the output, and check for plagiarism: we use knowledge graphs and entity extraction to try and streamline parts of these processes.

What do you think about SGE? How do you think SGE will change the landscape of local search? 

Despite being a machine learning engineer in practice I’m deeply ambivalent about SGEs. I don’t actually think these kinds of experiences usually improve sites, and it still feels like Google is scrambling to catch up while ChatGPT eats it’s lunch. 

While I do think SGEs are a logical next step for Google and other search engines I also see it as a way for Google to wash its hands of the consequences of serving certain data to the public. LLMs are trained on all of us, so surely it’s all our fault when they go astray? I think an ideal scenario would have Google back away from OpenAI style chatbots and towards using a combination of LLMs and extractive data to continue down the conversational path they have been going down, but how can that be done without robbing sites of their advertising? 

Fundamentally if your site relies on visitor metrics you must focus on unique aspects that cannot be replaced by a machine. I think UGC might end up being extremely useful: sites like Wirecutter that specialize in human, comprehensive reviews: small hobbyist sites with a human touch. The race is as it has always been: do it better than Google, and invite people into your site.

Andy Simpson

Senior SEO Specialist at Digital Law Marketing

What are you doing with AI at the moment? What tactics are you currently using?

Our team is currently learning how we can use things like ChatGPT as a tool for SEO. We’re definitely not using it for creating site content, we have our own brilliant content team for that. They have been using ChatGPT for some content outlines and ideas but we’re a firm believer in creating good, unique content, unlike the content spewed out by ChatGPT. Bing Chat and Google’s Bard are way off the mark when it comes to anything related to content creation. Very recently we used ChatGPT to expand and suggest additions to our local business schema, it’s fantastic for writing the code for FAQ and HowTo schema, we verify what’s produced but it’s been very good to date. Will Reynolds very recently posted how you can use ChatGPT to help with internal link-building suggestions, it’s a great video to watch and make you start thinking about how you can use ChatGPT as a tool for SEO.

What do you think about SGE? How do you think SGE will change the landscape of local search?

Not an easy one to answer in just a few lines, I recently voted “Meh” to Lily Ray’s question on Google’s SGE, BUT I do like it! It’s “meh” because it’s good but not great and that’s not surprising as this is Version 1.0 of whatever SGE will be eventually before it’s launched to the masses. There’s no doubt it will be launched but in what iteration we don’t know yet. SGE is only open to those that want to take a look at it, it’s not open to the general public yet, so I’m not too worried about what we are currently seeing i.e. I am not panicking if my client does/does not display in results displayed by SGE—it’s nice when they do and interesting to see what does display when they don’t. As someone who’s been doing SEO for more than two decades, it’s great to have a new toy to play with. SGE (and Google’s Bard) is seeing constant updates and changes, so what we see this week can be different the following week. It’s an exhilarating time to be in the local search space, how will it change the landscape of local search and/or search in general? At this moment in time, depending on the search query, it dominates the top of the desktop/mobile search experience, users are going to either ignore it and think “what the hell is this” until they get familiar with it OR they won’t scroll down to the 10 blue links below, and the organic SERPs will be lost to many users forever… let’s just see where this ride takes us!

Conclusion: 

Overall, it looks like AI is a great tool to help SEOs manage processes, generate top-level ideas, and help structure content. But, we’re all clear that generative AI should not be a replacement for content creation. 

Additionally, SGE proves an exciting time for local search specifically, with a general sense of optimism around it. Let’s see what happens in the coming months! 

Read on to find out their advice, and learn how you can make the most of your reporting efforts. 

Krystal Taing

Solutions Engineer, Strategic Partnerships at Uberall

Typically the success of a local SEO campaign is measured by its ability to drive more relevant traffic and leads to your business, increase your brand awareness and visibility, and, ultimately, lead to more revenue. It’s imperative to define the success criteria before you launch the campaign, as well as identify the tools you will use to measure this. I typically use a combination of the following:

• Google Business Profile Insights to track GBP clicks
• Monitoring the increase in reviews and the average ratings on critical sites
• Website analytics to evaluate traffic and conversion rates
• Rank tracking to measure visibility for the targeted keywords
• Ideally, sales, calls, or bookings during the defined period

Stefan Somborac

Founder at Marketing Metrology

SEO is more than just ranking. It’s about driving business results that matter. In most cases, the desired outcome is revenue. But that’s not always the case! For example, your goal might be getting volunteers for a local charity event, signatures on a petition, sign-ups for a loyalty program, or downloads of a coupon to be redeemed during in-store visits.

Achieving that ultimate business goal is generally a series of events. Valuable metrics measure the outcomes of each step along the way. While SEO isn’t just about ranking, rankings are fundamental. So, yes, rankings are a vital metric.

Rank for keywords that your customers are using to search—ranking well for keywords no one is searching for will prove fruitless!

Business owners may think in terms of industry terms that lay people aren’t likely to search (e.g. “injectable hyaluronic acid” vs. “lip filler”). Don’t ignore the industry jargon, but focus on the more common search terms.

There may be a significant local component to consider as well. A keyword with a large national search volume may not be a common search query in your region.

Similarly, a common search term in one region might not be a common term in another—for example, New Yorkers looking for a winter hat might search for “beanie”, while Torontonians might search for “toque”.

How do you measure this? Search volume is a good starting point but you can do more. Check your rankings to make sure you’re ranking for your target keywords. Then, check Google Search Console and Google Business Profile performance insights. Are those keywords leading to search impressions? If you rank well for a keyword people are searching for, there should be impressions!

Pay attention to click-through rate (CTR)

Rankings should lead to impressions, which should lead to clicks. Check Google Search Console for click rates. Check Google Business Profile performance insights for Business Profile interactions.

Don’t worry too much about the Overview; aggregate data often hide important details. Look at the more detailed breakouts: calls, website clicks, etc. Unfortunately, GBP Performance doesn’t connect which keywords are leading to interactions.

SEOs are marketers. It took me a while to grasp this simple notion. (h/t Rand Fishkin.)

Dayna Lucio

Strategist, SEO at Amsive Digital

It’s important to look at insights around actions that are important to your business. So, if you’re a service area business, you’re looking at phone calls and website visits from GBP, but maybe not direction requests. However, if you are a restaurant, then looking at all of those action metrics from the listing is going to help show growth and if what you’re doing is working.

Additionally, from an organic visibility standpoint, I like to look at Total Search Impressions and especially Discovery Search Impressions from GBP insights.

It’s important to use UTMs to help measure other metrics in Google Analytics, so you can see what’s driving sessions and conversions.

Also, tracking rankings to understand the changes from that standpoint. However, I really think looking at conversions and how you’re driving customers to action is one of the most important. Seeing more form fills start coming in after optimizing a profile or local landing page is definitely a sign of success.

Greg Gifford

Chief Operating Officer at SearchLab

It depends on the client’s business goals—but, ultimately, you should be tracking organic traffic and leads, and they should be increasing over time. Increased visibility SHOULD result in more traffic, which SHOULD result in increased leads, which in turn SHOULD lead to more sales. Most agencies/freelancers don’t ask for sales information to tie everything together, so most people will use organic traffic and leads as the bar.

Elizabeth Linder

SEO Strategist at Kick Point

First, make sure tracking is set up properly on their site, and then build reports that specifically target a client’s goals. Every local SEO campaign should have a purpose to meet a specific goal.

Friendly reminder: it’s important to always set realistic expectations with your clients on any local SEO project or campaign.

Celeste Gonzalez

SEO Strategist at RicketyRoo

A local client is investing in SEO to gain new customers for their services. While trying to measure success for a local SEO campaign includes tracking organic traffic and traffic from maps, the most important metric to track is how many leads clients are getting from this traffic. We want to know the ROI, and it’s important to track form submissions and phone calls that come in from organic users.

Amy Toman

SEO Analyst at Digital Law Marketing

While steady and increasing traffic is lovely, qualified leads are the true mark of success. Getting tons of traffic to blogs twice a year is helpful, but if the traffic arrives nationally and not locally, it doesn’t help. So while those occasional bumps are nice, they’re not indicative of success locally. For that, I look to calls, social interaction, and LSA leads.

Claire Carlile

Local SEO Expert at BrightLocal

I usually measure the success of a local SEO campaign against the KPIs that are put in place before a campaign starts. These are usually based on what it is that a business needs to drive leads and conversions—things like phone calls, form fills, and other inquiries. 

Harmony Huskinson

Local SEO Specialist at Portent

Often, the strategist’s measures of success and the business’s measures of success can be different. While a business ultimately cares most about the leads achieved from local SEO, we are responsible for explaining what it takes to achieve those leads.

By growing local rankings, we can improve organic traffic, which then results in more leads. This concept seems simple to explain, but I’ve seen SEOs get excited about rankings that aren’t really bringing in traffic or leads.

Ultimately, the bottom line for success isn’t a metric; it’s building sufficient trust with the business to help them understand that local SEO is an ever-evolving discipline based on several modalities. If the business trusts the SEO, that means more investment in the channel, more acceptance when something doesn’t work, and a celebration across both sides of the aisle when initiatives are successful.

Colan Nielsen

VP Local Search at Sterling Sky

As far as metrics go, it’s still all about traffic, leads, and sales. 

How do you report on your local SEO campaigns?

Let us know over on Twitter or in our Facebook Community, The Local Pack.

We know the same few tips always get all the attention, but some of those can take a while to implement, and ultimately require more expertise, sign-off, and resource!

That’s why we asked a group of local SEO experts to share their most under-appreciated tactics for local SEO success. These are the simplest of tips that most busy marketers might overlook.

Colan Nielsen

VP Local Search at Sterling Sky

Become an expert at utilizing geo-grid ranking reports. Understanding how you rank across your entire market is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what you can use them for.

Greg Gifford

Chief Operating Officer at SearchLab

Meta keywords, baby…

Joy Hawkins

Owner/President at Sterling Sky

A lot of people that focus on local pack rankings seriously neglect traditional SEO factors onsite. They think ranking has more to do with the actual listing when it really has more to do with the content on the website.

Elizabeth Linder

SEO Strategist at Kick Point

I’m not sure these are necessarily underrated or overlooked by everyone, but they can be depending on the client:

• Asking for reviews! The quality and quantity of reviews can make such a big impact on local search performance and it’s a great way to not only help with local search, but to improve overall customer experience.
• Writing unique, helpful, relevant content. Depending on the industry, making sure you’re going above and beyond for content creation can build links faster than outreach.
• Treat local content creation like a game of Jeopardy. What are all the things potential customers can ask about a business, service, or product? If this was going to be a Jeopardy category, what would I need to know to get all the answers right?
• Not repeating keywords in your title tags. You have ample room in your title tag to incorporate close synonyms. For example, if your business name already incorporates the target keyword for a page, utilize a close synonym elsewhere in the title tag, rather than repeating the same keyword more than once, so you can help rank for closely related queries.
• Schema markup! Just because some schema types don’t have rich results on Google, doesn’t mean they never will. Google is adding rich results for schema all the time; by adding in all and any relevant schema now, you’ll always be one step ahead.

Amy Toman

SEO Analyst at Digital Law Marketing

One of the most underrated tips is the use of photos on Google listings. Adding new photos on GBPs are a great way to “teach” Google and users about the services you provide, especially if there is not a category that matches them. Because Google’s systems can understand the content of images, these can be almost as important as posts at portraying your business. 

Claire Carlile

Local SEO Expert at BrightLocal

Improving site speed, improving internal linking, on-page optimization, and link earning are the nuts and bolts of our industry, and rightly so in many cases.

The part that is so often missed out is sitting down and drawing out the marketing insights that exist within the organization—especially small and medium-sized businesses. This is a lesser utilized building block for success and something which so much of marketing strategy and tactics should rest upon.  

Ask questions like:

• What is our marketplace – both geographically and vertically?
• What problem(s) are we solving for our potential customers?
• How are we (or can we) solve it in a more effective/friendly/faster (or whatever is important to our key client groups) way than our competitors?
• What are the key frustrations for our potential customers in terms of finding a service or product to meet their needs?
• Who are our evangelists?
• What can we learn from them in terms of what we are getting right?
• Who are our detractors and what can we learn from them in terms of improving our product or service?

You get the picture!

Crystal Horton

Local Service Ads & Google Product Expert at Crystal Horton Digital

Adding photos to a Google Business Profile increases views you wouldn’t otherwise have, which could turn into a potential inquiry.

Emily Brady

Sr Manager, SEO at Podium

One thing a lot of businesses overlook is updating their GBP category to accommodate seasonality. Your primary category is one of the strongest “ranking factors” you can actually control on your Google listing. So, if you’re in an industry that’s impacted by seasonality, don’t be afraid to change your primary category as your customers’ needs change. A great example of this is HVAC companies, which can update their business category to be more “air conditioner” specific during the summer months.

Dayna Lucio

Strategist, SEO at Amsive Digital

• For multi-location and franchise businesses, develop a plan for new locations opening throughout the year. Build out local pages with information and grand opening messaging or specials. Build out your GBP before opening. Add your opening date and your GBP will display “opening soon” or “recently opened” on your profile. This allows you to start building up your local presence and start adding posts to educate potential customers about your business. 
• Also, for GBP – monitor your Q&As. Sometimes the questions are from people that are trying to message the business, so answering these could turn that person into a potential customer. Additionally, you can flag questions on your profile that are offensive, perhaps a misplaced review, or questions that are irrelevant to your business. Typically, Google will remove these without hassle. 
• For content, take advantage of the experts within your business. This is a great opportunity for small businesses, especially with the continued evolution and emphasis of E-E-A-T. Make the time to do interviews with the individuals that are doing the ins and outs of various jobs within the business. For example, a plumbing company could interview their lead plumber about common problems and then create a blog series. 
• Add videos & photos to GBP. Continue to add new photos regularly. 
• Take note of the categories that competitors are using on GBP to ensure you’ve chosen the correct primary category. You can always test changing your primary category or add them as secondary categories. 
• Check your NAP information on citations. Yes, beyond GBP. You don’t want to miss out on a potential customer because your hours or phone number are wrong on Yelp. 
• For location pages, don’t overlook adding information like FAQs, reviews, and team bios. That’s all unique information that sets your location apart. Also, remember to use schema markup. If you have the opportunity to choose a specific type of LocalBusiness schema like “Restaurant” to describe your business, then do it. 

Are there any tactics you often overlook? Perhaps this list has inspired your local search strategy and reminded you of the most underrated ideas to get your client to rank higher. What are your preferred local SEO tactics that most people ignore? Let us know over on Twitter or in our Facebook Community, The Local Pack.

We know that employee wellbeing is important for the growth and success of an agency. By putting your people first, you’ll create a culture for your company that people love being a part of.

With that in mind, we spoke to a group of local SEO experts, to find out what makes their company culture what it is. They’ve shared valuable ideas to help you make your agency the best place to work!

Blake Denman

Founder at RicketyRoo

Employee wellbeing; our core ‘culture’ word is ‘balance’. RicketyRoo has been 100% remote since 2018 and we’ve learned a lot in the last five years. I look at a big part of my role as acquiring great talent for our team. Once we acquire great talent, I need to keep them happy. How do I do that? I’ve implemented things that I would personally be looking for if I were looking for a job. Such as:

• Competitive compensation
• Average 33-35 hour work weeks (not 40+)
• 100% remote
• Employees set their own schedules
• Company-paid health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with a 5% company match
• 12-week paid maternal, paternal, and adoption leave
• PTO, sick pay, natural disaster, and bereavement pay policies

Those are all ‘things’ that have served the agency as a great foundation. 

When it comes to the company culture, that’s a bit harder to define. 

The culture, in our case, has mainly been set by the team. The agency didn’t go through some elaborate process or workshop to figure it out, it just became what it is. As our team grows, the culture will naturally evolve, too.

Here’s what’s really helped us have a STELLAR culture:

• I meet with each person on the team every week for a weekly sync
• One weekly all-hands meeting
• Every quarter I meet with each person on the team. It’s a reverse performance review where I’m wanting to make sure they feel like the work they are doing is aligning with their career path, what their career path is, and how the agency can help them get there.
• Roo Book Club
• Cafe Disco—We all go over a process together or we bring in an expert to school us on their expertise.

Joy Hawkins

Owner/President at Sterling Sky

I think understanding what your employees care about is crucial. It’s not the same for everyone. One of the best decisions we ever made was our unlimited vacation policy. It allows people to have the freedom to take the time off work they want instead of dictating it for them.

Elizabeth Linder

SEO Strategist at Kick Point

I spoke with another Kick Point team member Laura Salter, Co. Director of Strategy to help provide you with an answer to this question:

• The number one thing is to treat each other as humans first—even (and maybe especially) when that goes against what we’ve all been taught about how businesses ‘should’ run.
• Pay fairly, give people the time off they need (without guilt), and work at creating safe spaces for people to be themselves.
• Really spend the time to determine what kind of workloads are possible, manageable, and sustainable for each of your team members and structure your timelines and deadlines around that.
• Be realistic and clear with clients about timelines (and how they will change as the project goes on) from the beginning instead of overpromising and under-delivering.
• Be deliberate in choosing to work with clients that see your working relationship as an equal partnership.
• Listen and follow through. If something is making your team unhappy, actually work to change it. No empty promises.

Colan Nielsen

VP Local Search at Sterling Sky

In my experience, employee well-being comes down to many factors. If I had to isolate one I would say this: Treat your employees well and provide opportunities for them to do the things they love most and are good at.

Claire Carlile

Local SEO Expert at BrightLocal

It’s just me here at Claire Carlile Marketing Towers so I’m my own Career Architect, Business Coach, and HR Manager. I think I’ve come a long way in understanding what I personally need in order to balance work life, home life, health and fitness, family life, personal life, and emotional health—from investing in psychotherapy to embracing the role of meds in helping keep myself in balance.

Greg Gifford

Chief Operating Officer at SearchLab

We’ve doubled down on work-life balance and company wellbeing. We’ve instituted profit-sharing bonuses and retention bonuses to reward our team. We’ve recently switched to unlimited PTO, and we’re monitoring the time people take away from work to ensure that everyone takes a break… If someone goes too long without taking time off, we require a few days off. With so many remote employees, personal connections aren’t as easy to make, so we make sure to have social hangouts where people can chat and get to know each other. It’s also important to keep the team learning, so we’re constantly training and teaching.

Amy Toman

SEO Analyst at Digital Law Marketing

Work culture is changing rapidly in the aftermath of the pandemic, and the rise of working from home. For companies to continue to draw and retain staff to this structure, elements that may have previously been overlooked need to be addressed. Communication should be easy (I love Slack for this), and occasional get-togethers are nice. Yearly gatherings are also a great way to build positive company culture among those who are based far apart. But truly the best thing is to encourage positive communication on a regular basis. Slack channels, video chats, and message boards are great for sharing resources and experiences.

Amanda Jordan

Director of Digital Strategy at RicketyRoo

The places I’ve worked with the best cultures have focused on transparency, curiosity, acceptance, empowerment, and personal development. These weren’t just nice words on an “about us” page but principles that the agency owners lived by and practiced themselves. One of my favorite things about working at RicketyRoo is that Blake cares about what each member of the team wants to do with their career.

The biggest mistake agencies can make with their culture is to not consciously consider their principles when making new hires, choosing clients, communicating internally, and producing work.

Ben Fisher

Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand

Having a voice and being heard is super important. We use slack as our main way of internally communicating, and we have a specific channel where no owners are involved in, this allows our people to communicate effectively with each other with zero oversight. A. It is a sign of trust, B. It allows for creativity and venting. 

Then there is our feedback loop, we have calls with all staff bi-weekly and touch base on everything from personal issues to professional needs. Additionally, most ideas from the owners are vetted by the team and this allows for changes and sometimes even vetos, we are very aware that our team is in the trenches and their wellbeing is paramount, no one likes to do things they are told to do, it really needs to be more of a hey we all feel this way.

Also, every meeting ends with any thoughts, ideas, or concerns that you want to discuss. This can be as open-ended as our team wants. Everyone has a voice.

Lastly, we are a 100 % remote team, this is a benefit for sure but can always lead to problems for some. So we make sure to team build at least once a year in Vegas for a retreat.

Dayna Lucio

Strategist, SEO at Amsive Digital

I think collaboration is great for company culture and that cross-team collaboration can be beneficial as well. You can learn so much from your coworkers and especially in an agency where people have so many backgrounds and experiences to share. Nothing really compares to a big team brainstorming session.

One of my favorite things that we do is have a Slack channel dedicated to shouting out team members. It’s great to see our team members supporting each other and hearing about all the great things that everyone is doing.

We continued the conversation around agency culture at our recent webinar with Greg Gifford and Jen Salamandick. Catch up with the replay to learn more about how strategy and culture are the keystones of a successful agency. 

We gathered some of the industry’s top experts, to share their predictions for the year ahead. So shake off that January gloom, and see what they’ve got to say about the next 12 months in Local SEO.

Changes to Google Business Profile

Amanda Jordan

Director of Digital Strategy at RicketyRoo

I expect to see changes in how Google Business Profiles (GBPs) are managed as well as how they show up in search results. I wouldn’t be surprised if mobile local SERPs go through some drastic changes. Always check your mobile, local peeps!

Crystal Horton

Local Service Ads & Google Product Expert at Crystal Horton Digital

We are noticing a decrease in GBP phone calls and an increase in calls from Local Services Ads. I predict Google will continue to make changes with the interface in the first quarter and local search will become a different beast. 

Dayna Lucio

Strategist, SEO at Amsive Digital

I think in 2023 we’re going to continue to see an evolution for GBP. More emphasis on location-specific photos and videos versus generic stock photos, more emphasis on highlighting reviews and customer experiences, and more specific categories being added. I also think that there will be more ways for users to provide feedback about businesses. Additionally, with the recent update regarding E-E-A-T, I think that really opens the door for local businesses and content creation, especially when it comes to demonstrating first-hand experience in niche areas.

Greg Gifford

VP of Search at SearchLab

Everyone will continue to call it “Google My Business” and “GMB” for at least another year…

Visual Search

Claire Carlile

Local SEO Expert at BrightLocal

I’ll continue to keep an eye on Google’s visual search and multisearch “near me” functionality, in terms of understanding the opportunities they present to the local businesses that I work with.  That said, I’ll also be thinking about making sure that my clients aren’t keeping all of their eggs in Google’s basket: understanding the opportunity provided by Apple Maps and any other sources for leads is top of my 2023 list.

Video in Local

Joy Hawkins

Owner/President at Sterling Sky

We’re seeing video become more and more important in the organic SERPs. With Google adding the ability to add videos to reviews now (along with photos) and videos auto-playing in the Google Maps app, I think businesses are going to start paying a lot more close attention to video assets next year.

Ben Fisher

Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand

So I think next year will bring the normalization of video and images in local. Additionally, I think we may still see more ways for merchants to make more out of GBP. 

Now that the name change and in-Search experience is all complete, it’s time to build features and fix broken ones. The impact images had this year was pretty impressive and I think we may see the same impact from video.

Authenticity and Quality

Krystal Taing

Solutions Engineer, Strategic Partnerships at Uberall

I think 2023 will bring demand for authenticity. We’ve seen a number of trends such as spam on the map, fake reviews, and content written for algorithms (not people), get a decent amount of attention over the last few years in order to help consumers build trust with brands.

While search engines and sites are attempting to make strides here, I don’t think the impact will be strong enough to move the needle for consumers. This is why we see pushes towards areas and apps that create more authentic experiences like photos, videos, and events. 

Elizabeth Linder

SEO Strategist at Kick Point

It felt like Google spent a lot of time focusing on quality content and legitimate businesses this past year. I feel like quality localized content that tells a searcher who you are, where you’re located, and what you do, is going to continue to make a difference when ranking in local search results.

Make sure you’re providing customers with accurate, helpful information about your business in all areas; your Google Business Profile, your website, and any other important citation sites for your industry will continue to be key in performing well on search.

Service-area Businesses

Colan Nielsen

Vice President, Local Search at Sterling Sky

I say this every year and occasionally I get it right: Google will continue to roll out features specific to service-area businesses. Home services continue to be a high-growth industry. According to technavio, the home services market is expected to increase to USD 5.14 trillion between 2021 and 2026. With that growth, it would make a lot of sense for Google to give the home services industry some attention. For instance, Google recently launched the ability to add predefined service areas. The big question is whether or not the service areas will start to impact ranking in 2023. 

What about AI?

Crystal Carter

Head of Comms at Wix

The coming year will be an exciting time for SEO. With generative search from tools like ChatGPT and Google SERPs rich with multi-media, SEO is extremely dynamic. As a result, investing in the core of your digital presence is particularly important, as well as informing your Knowledge Panel, your GBP, which is now used as a data source for some Google’s most important new features. Those who invest in utilizing all aspects of GBP should see solid results. 

Emily Brady

Sr Manager, SEO at Podium

As more SEOs adopt AI for content generation, I think we’ll see a renewed interest in website content for local businesses. Small businesses are typically running SEO on shoestring budgets, so a tool that enables them to create content faster (and cheaper) for their local clients could generate more interest in things like long-form content and blogging for SMBs. Depending on how good that content is, the result could be a more competitive landscape for editorial search results small businesses are targeting.

On the Subject of AI…

With all this talk about AI, we thought we’d see what the bots have to say about themselves. So, without further ado, it’s time to introduce Randall Bott, Vice President of Automation at Advanced Internet.

Randall Bott

Vice President, Automation at Advanced Internet

As an AI language model, I am not able to make predictions about future trends in local search or any other topic. However, I can provide some information about local search and suggest some potential developments that may occur in the coming years.

One trend that has been increasingly important in local search is the use of online reviews and ratings. These reviews and ratings can help businesses attract new customers and improve their online reputation, and they are often used by search engines as a ranking factor in local search results. It is likely that this trend will continue in the coming years, and businesses may need to focus more on actively soliciting and managing online reviews in order to improve their local search visibility.

Another trend that may continue to grow in importance is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in local search. This technology can be used to improve the accuracy and relevance of local search results, and it may be incorporated more widely into local search algorithms in the future.

Finally, it is possible that the use of voice assistants and other voice-based search technologies will continue to rise in popularity, leading to an increased focus on optimizing for voice search in local SEO efforts.

Again, these are just a few potential trends that may occur in the field of local search in the coming years, and they are not meant to be definitive predictions.

Time to See What 2023 Has to Offer

Could some of these predictions hold true? We’ll try and remember to circle back at the end of the year to see! 

Overall it feels like there’s a real buzz around potential changes to Google Business Profile, an increase in video and visual search, and while no-one seems quite sure what AI is going to bring to the table, we’re all equally excited and nervous about it.

Overall, 2023 could shape up to be an exciting year for local SEO, with new technologies and trends emerging that will have a major impact on the industry. 

Stay tuned for more updates and insights as we continue to monitor these developments in the coming months.

We know that local SEO is ever-evolving, I mean, we’re still navigating the ‘openness’ update announced last year.

So, we spoke to some of the industry’s top experts to determine what we could expect for the year ahead. Spoiler alert: yes, they all mention AI, but read on to find out what their predictions will be around updates to GBP, authenticity, and more! 

Artificial Intelligence

Ben Fisher

Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand

Artificial intelligence (AI) is still on the rise. AI will reshape our workflows, content creation, and even how users find answers in 2024. As SEOs, we will need to prepare and adapt even more than we did in 2023 as AI continues to be used in our industry.

Expect personalization on steroids. AI will crunch large amounts of data to help craft content that resonates deeply with your audience. Think laser-focused content and narratives that feel handmade. And all the data analysis that was out of reach will be close to your fingertips in 2024.

Users want answers, fast. Enter Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). This rising star is all about optimizing for concise, direct replies, the holy grail of zero-click searches. AI will power this shift, ensuring your content delivers the quick hits users crave. Someone will start to crack the code of AI SEO, learning to harness its power effectively (think gentle nudges, not direct control).

The AI arms race will heat up. Big tech will continue to throw money at AI tools. Get ready for AI video, audio, and who knows what else, to help to your SEO strategy. Just be ready and open to change. It has always been a constant in our industry—adapt or die!

Content will remain king; editors will be needed. No amount of AI can replace well-crafted, relevant content. But AI can help you understand user behavior and tailor your content accordingly. Don’t forget the human touch, though. Editors will be more crucial than ever, ensuring quality remains the north star.

Then there’s the UGC avalanche. AI will unleash a flood of user-generated content, a mixed bag of gems and noise. New strategies will be needed to filter the good from the bad. I predict search engines will step up the penalties of AI misuse and move to clarify what they consider to be useful and not.

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Read BrightLocal's Brand Beacon Report 2024

Authentic, Rich Content 

Krystal Taing

Solutions Engineer, Strategic Partnerships at Uberall

I believe that in 2024, there will be a much stronger emphasis on rich content that truly engages customers. This involves going beyond just keywords and focusing on delivering immersive experiences through diverse content formats like photos, videos, detailed service information, and even more specific location attributes. Businesses that invest in creating high-quality, varied content are likely to stand out and capture more attention in local search results. It’s not just about optimization; it’s about captivating and fulfilling the needs of potential customers.

Joy Hawkins

Owner/President at Sterling Sky

With the rise of AI-written content and fake engagement (purchased reviews/followers), I think Google will continue to reward sites they see with genuine user-generated content. I also think they will reward businesses who publish new things that aren’t already on the internet. Specifically, I think they will continue to reward data-backed information like case studies.

Elizabeth Linder

SEO Strategist at Kick Point

Visuals (images and videos) are going to be even more important for local businesses like restaurants, clothing stores, hotels, attractions, etc. for converting customers. With so many more AI images and videos out there, incorporating real, high-quality images of a local business (and what they sell) directly on a website or Google Business Profile will be a great way to instill trust in customers and stand out in search results.

Changes in Local SERPs and GBP

Dayna Lucio

Strategist, SEO at Amsive Digital

I think based on the way this year has gone we’re going to continue to see a lot of changes with search. With some of the recent updates, we’re already seeing a change in how some tactics used to work and now don’t anymore; I feel like 2024 is going to have more of those moments come to light. I’m also thinking of more testing of new features by Google/Bing and more integration of AI into the search results. Additionally, I think that we might continue to see changes to GBP features and maybe the way businesses can present themselves on the platform. We’ve already been seeing this a little bit with the change in the ways that products and services are displayed in some categories. In 2024, I still think that real-customer reviews will be big to help differentiate businesses.

Claire Carlile

Local SEO Expert at BrightLocal

I’ll dust off that crystal ball… what does 2024 hold for us, in terms of local SEO? I predict there will be changes. Changes to the SERP, changes how (and perhaps where?) our potential customers make their searches, and changes (as ever) to Google Business Profile in terms of look, feel, and functionality.

How do I know this? Well, we all know this because it happens every year. As local businesses, we offer real products and services to real people. So, like every year I suggest that businesses put the time and effort into understanding their customers, their marketplace, and their competitors.

Monitor your business’s relevant SERPs, for the relevant terms, from the relevant locations. Monitor SERP features and make sure that you jump on the opportunities before your competitors do. Make sure you REALLY speak with your customers and potential customers so you can gain a much deeper insight into their decision-making processes through to the actual nuts and bolts of how and where they gather information.

The foundational tenets of good marketing will hold true even with the rising tide of preoccupation with AI—so keep abreast of both and you’ll be golden.

Elizabeth Linder

SEO Strategist at Kick Point

We’ve all been continuing to see a shift towards focusing on relevant, high-quality content, and I think we’re going to continue to see that. I’m not ever entirely trusting Google to do the best job at ranking the best local content for users all of the time, but I think it’s a clear direction they keep pushing. Focusing on targeting users who are more likely to convert rather than solely chasing rankings is going to be more helpful to local businesses in the long run.

Focusing time on higher-quality link opportunities, rather than just building as many local links as possible, is going to have more of an impact. Focus on links that build on your authority as a local business, and that are more likely to bring in leads, rather than spending time building out as many links as possible, regardless of the quality.

Lastly, for SEOs in particular, it’s also always been important to be able to prove the work you do is providing positive results and I don’t see that changing anytime soon! With the introduction to GA4, SEOs need to understand how GA4 gathers data. I’ve been getting more and more familiar with GA4 over the past year and a bit (you can’t help it with Dana DiTomaso around!) and I’ve also been taking Kick Point Playbook’s Analytics for Agencies course. It’s been an amazing learning resource and I strongly encourage more people to take the course and build on their data skills. Dana will also be doing a BrightLocal Academy course on GA4, so keep your eyes peeled!

Crystal Horton

Local Service Ads & Google Product Expert at Crystal Horton Digital

Local Services Ads will continue to be a disruptor for local search pushing organic results further down for primary keywords. Long tail keywords will play a role in 2024 to increase organic traffic from search results to continue to reach goals. 

Here’s to an Exciting 2024

All in all, the road ahead looks like an exciting one, with potential new learnings about the transformative power of AI, rich content experiences, and ongoing changes in SERPs. As local SEO professionals, you’ll need to keep your finger on the pulse, ready to adapt to any changes and challenges that come your way. 

What better way to stay ahead than to sign up for our newsletter, or join our Facebook community of 3,000+ local search professionals to share new findings and insights? 

Here’s to an exciting and innovative future! 

Expert Focus is a series designed to provide you with the most relevant insights from local search experts. Each month we’ll cover a different question and share insights from key figures in the local SEO community in an effort to help you further your knowledge and strategy.

Have any of the following ever happened to you?

• You’ve got a handful of clients, but you never or rarely have calls with them
• You do have calls with your clients but you have to send a bunch of emails before you can get them on the phone
• You share links to reports with clients, but have no idea if they’re reading them
• Your client is resistant to your input or ideas
• Your clients still won’t follow your advice and respond to customer reviews

If you’re sitting there nodding your head, then I’m afraid to say it sounds like you’ve got an unengaged client on your hands.

Don’t take it personally; unengaged clients can be a part of agency life.

Perhaps they weren’t convinced enough in the first place, or they’re just too busy and under-resourced to dedicate time to local SEO right now, maybe they thought hiring you was job done and that’s where their part of the relationship concluded.

Whatever the reason, your job as an agency or freelancer is to keep your clients engaged.

Who better to advise on keeping clients engaged and invested with local SEO work than our trusted roster of local search pros?

This issue of ‘We Asked the Experts’ sees 10 local SEO experts extend their advice on how to get and keep clients engaged.

Read on to benefit from our experts’ top tips!

We Asked the Experts: How Do You Keep Your Clients Engaged?

Laura Salter

Digital Strategist at Kick Point

“With unengaged clients, you have to simplify. Do as much work as you can without their review and approvals, and give them just one concrete action to do for you at a time instead of overwhelming them with emails or meeting requests.”

Blake Denman

Founder at RicketyRoo

“A lot of reports can be really confusing to SMB owners. We created a one-page Google Data Studio report that shows what SMB owners care about, leads. Traffic and rankings don’t pay the bills; new business does. Being able to just report on how leads are doing keeps clients engaged.
If we find that we need to constantly request information from the client and they don’t respond, we send a final email putting notice that if we don’t start getting the things we need, we’ll terminate the agreement (on good terms) and move on.”

Carrie Hill

Local Search Analyst & Community Manager at Sterling Sky

“Uncommunicative clients are a problem. While we always wish to develop client partnerships, and that those clients are invested in their success as much as you are — that doesn’t always happen. I firmly believe that a strong onboarding and setup process can help with this. 

“If I have access and logins to everything (GMB, Yelp, directories, Analytics, Search Console, etc.), a domain-based email, access to the website, and permission to market on their behalf, I can do a lot for a client that is not communicating or providing feedback. From adding new content to the site to building/improving existing links and listings – there’s much that can be done to help their marketing.  

“That being said, they won’t be as successful as the clients that are dialed in, provide timely feedback, and do their assigned “homework” — but if you have all the marketing tools you can work without them if they get busy and go radio silent for a bit.”

Tim Capper

Local SEO Consultant at Online Ownership

“You often get extremes with clients – some clients are on the phone or sending emails constantly and you begin to wonder when they fit their actual work in, to the other end of the scale being the unengaged clients.

“To be fair, I have not encountered too many of these, but when I do they fall into a couple of types:

1. You are liaising with someone or a set of people in the company that do not quite understand what you are doing or have become disinterested in their own job at the company.
2. The other scenario is where you have built a level of trust with the client to act in their best interests and once a month email is enough to keep the ship headed in the right direction.

“Because I have encountered both of these over the years, I actually quite enjoy the autonomy afforded by the second type of client in this regard and it is often when I can be more creative with a business. I once worked with a client that would only reply “Thanks” after the month end reports until one day nearing the end of a year I got a sentence “Many thanks, we just had our highest yearly turn over, keep it up”.

Ben Fisher

Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand

“We don’t see too many of these types of clients but when we do we set up a quarterly meeting to touch base, and then we will identify what they need to be educated on. 

“Most clients do not read or understand reports, so to touch base once in a while helps. That being said, our services are geared toward doing things for our client (like review responses) so they can go about working on the business. 

“My advice to others that run into this issue is to try and set expectations up front, listen to your new clients, and feel them out for how engaged they will be. If you get a feeling they will be unengaged, set up a client touch base call sooner rather than later. “

Claire Carlile

Local SEO Expert at BrightLocal

“First off it’s worth considering why we need clients to be engaged and what engagement looks like in the context of your working relationship. Having a shared understanding of these things from the outset is going to be key to building the foundations for a successful ongoing relationship that keeps everyone happy — both you and the client. 

“In my experience, having a good level of engagement is critical to getting sh** done. As a solo consultant I can strategize and I can implement some tactics but I’ll always be working alongside internal resources to actually move the needle. 

“It helps to discuss these issues with a potential client before you start work — to understand the nature of their internal resource, how much time they’ll be able to spend on the project per week or month, to agree on what will be included in reporting and how these KPIs will help them measure their journey towards success, whatever that might be, and I’ll include all of these in the service level agreement. 

“If you have all of this in place and have that shared expectation and understanding you’ll be in a much better place to re-engage a client. You can refer them back to your original agreement and they can have a chance to comment on the reasons they’re not able to fulfill their side of the agreement. Maybe they just need a couple of months off while they juggle a project, maybe they actually forgot what it is they were supposed to be doing.  

“Whatever it is, you get the chance to have an open and honest conversation about the issue and hopefully, you can work something out. Good luck!”

Amy Toman

SEO Analyst at Digital Law Marketing

“I find the best way to draw clients in is to educate them by relating to their own experiences. I connect the current need to their personal experiences. For example, to get them involved in review management, I ask them about how they search for new products. Do they read reviews? What do they look for? What means the most to them? I then bring it back to their situation. Do their reviews accurately reflect their business? Do their responses? How can they change that? By applying this method, I can usually get a client excited enough to help themselves.”

Andy Simpson

Senior SEO Specialist at Digital Law Marketing

“I try and educate the client as much as possible. During my time both in the USA and in the UK I have invited clients to local Chamber events or meetups to listen to me speak to small business owners about specific areas of local SEO. 

“During the Q&A it’s fascinating to listen to business owners share ideas and theories on what they think they should be doing to what they actually should be doing. This has led to more engagement and an increase in trust from the client, so it’s a win-win for both of us.”

Crystal Horton

Digital Account Manager at Accelerate Marketing

“What we typically do is first, try to engage with our clients through our project management software, Basecamp, with a Drift video giving an update of stats about their account and an invite to meet on Zoom. 

“If a response has not been made within 24 hours, we make a phone call and then send a follow-up text message. If we don’t receive a response in 24 hours we send an email with the same drift video and Zoom invitation. If we haven’t received a response in 24 hours we take it a step further and schedule an appointment and send a calendar invite.

“We focus on asking what their goals are so that it’s more about them and less about us so that they will engage with us. “

Niki Mosier

Head of SEO at Two Octobers

“Unengaged clients can definitely be a struggle, especially if they come back after a few months of silence and are not happy with what the results are. I think one thing that can help keep clients engaged is to give them the data that helps them do their jobs better. If they need data to take to someone above them or to help them make decisions, provide them with that data. 

“If it’s a matter of clients not buying into something like responding to reviews or implementing something like Schema, show them data that speaks to why this is helpful. Maybe that means implementing something temporarily in Google Tag Manager so you have some data to back up your case.”

How do you handle unengaged clients? Have our experts taught you something new? Keep the conversation going in the comments!

Expert Focus is a series designed to provide you with the most relevant insights from local search experts. Each month we’ll cover a different question and share insights from key figures in the local SEO community in an effort to help you further your knowledge and strategy.

We Asked the Experts is back with a new task to tackle and some new expert local SEOs to share their insights!

This time around we’re tackling Google My Business — considered a key source of visibility and leads for local businesses – and more specifically, how to make your Google Business Profile listing more clickable.

Attributes, posts, photos, reviews, Google Pointy and beyond – there’s a lot to tackle when it comes to Google My Business, and it can be hard to know where to begin.

Hopefully, our experts can help to simplify the process, as they share how to make Google My Business listings more exciting, more engaging, and more ‘clickable’. 

Read on to hear how our roster of local marketing pros would approach Google My Business optimization, and how they help clients make their listings more enticing — leading to more leads, more conversions, and better business.

How do you make a GMB listing more click-worthy?

Niki Mosier

Head of SEO at Two Octobers

“Having a GMB listing is definitely important but getting people to engage with the listing is even better.

“I’m a big fan of utilizing the Q&A feature to help make the listing more helpful and hopefully encourage going to the website for more information.

“Fresh photos don’t necessarily make the listing clickable but are a great way to make it more engaging. I’ve found product listings can be a great way to get more traffic to a website from the GMB listing as well.”

Andy Simpson

Senior SEO Specialist at Digital Law Marketing

“Use as many of the GMB features that are available!

“If there are Services then I’ll use that; if there are Products, I’ll use that; if both are open to me, I favor Products over Services, as it’s much more visually stimulating on the GMB profile. You can also add links on Products that you can then track using UTM codes, etc.

“We use GMB posts on all top-level services provided by the client. We post because we know these posts appear in the 3-pack, plus we’re just fueling the beast (Google). Is it a ranking factor? Probably not. But do our clients’ GMB profiles look better than our competitors’ profiles? Yes.

“We also upload good images, and videos too, as and when possible.”

Ben Fisher

Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand

“Pay attention to the first 80 characters of a GMB post. This makes it much more engaging across most surfaces.

“Make sure that you have Q&A populated with real questions and answers that you get/give on a regular basis, and finally, respond to all reviews for the sake of a prospective client. “

Krystal Taing

Solutions Engineer, Strategic Partnerships at Uberall

“Focus on delivering the same aesthetic as if you were a brick and mortar shop on Main Street decorating your storefront window. Use every inch of digital real estate to teach the customer about your products or services.

“Determine what is most important to communicate to your audience and put it on display. Assuming you have the previously mentioned core elements covered, I’d focus on visualization and engagement. From a visual perspective, I’d ensure you have rich and helpful images as well as updated Google Posts live, if available leverage the Product Editor or have Local Inventory Ads displayed.

“Engage with your customers by responding to their reviews, answering their questions, and enabling messaging.”

Steve Wiideman

President at Wiideman Consulting Group

“When it comes to improving appearance in Google Maps, image is everything. Literally, a business’s photos can make or break a potential user action. Monitoring and managing photos that appear in search results should be a weekly, possibly even daily, task.

“For multi-location brands, one test of replacing a default store image with local store images increased listing engagement by greater than 20%. One might guess that users know the difference between a stock photo and a photo taken by a company who cares about their first impression with potential customers.”

Amy Toman

SEO Analyst at Digital Law Marketing

“Photos! I make sure [my clients] have many photos of valuable content, showing the staff who provide the services or work at the business. So we’ll show the staff in photos working with their specialized equipment, or standing by their vans with signage, or (for SABs), standing near local monuments like Welcome to [Location] signs. Because these are seen primarily on mobile devices, we tend to crop them so the subject is easy to identify.

“We don’t recommend stock photos for this; we want to show recognizable staff to gain interest, especially when the same staff can also be seen on the associated website.

“While it’s never a guarantee, designating a cover photo is also helpful, but because you’re never sure if Google will use your “suggestion,” we don’t count on that. (But if Google is reading this, it would be lovely if listing owners could indeed designate cover images and expect them to be used.)

“Products! Adding your products and especially services to this menu is the best thing you can do right now. This section appears quite prominently in knowledge panels and attracts lots of attention. Attention should be paid to cropping so the elements may be quickly identified on mobile devices. This section especially helps SABs gain more attention to their listings.

“Reviews! Having reviews, in general, is a good thing, but reviews that mention the business by name, or specific services, are more likely to be seen in the small snippets in Maps results. I, therefore, recommend suggesting several ways of approaching clients about reviews, helping phrase your “ask” so their reviews get picked up by Google.”

Greg Gifford

VP of Search at SearchLab

“I’m a big fan of optimizing everything possible. Reviews are key, so we make sure our clients have a killer process for requesting reviews – we want as many as possible and a score in the sweet spot of 4.3-4.6.

“We also upload awesome, professionally-shot photos. If clients have them, we upload videos. We upload common questions to the Q&A section and then write awesome answers (this has probably been one of the most successful strategies).

“Finally, we make sure that there’s at least one live Google Post every week, with an optimized thumbnail image and compelling visible text in thumbnail view.”

Crystal Horton

Digital Account Manager at Accelerate Marketing

“We coach our clients on how to get reviews that generate great reviews that will get people to take action and click. We also get our clients to respond to reviews to increase the likelihood of somebody clicking because they like that our client has taken the time to respond.

“We create review videos with our clients’ customers in order to get the video carousel to show up on Google while somebody searches for our client. We also add a booking link to the client’s GMB site.

“We make sure that the “leave a message” option has been turned on for our client to make it easier for people to message our clients quickly and/or make an appointment. Hours of operation are always updated and that special hours are posted as well.

“We add as many FAQs as possible to answer questions and to be the only company that provides answers to questions, and add products and services to the clients GMB page to give people an idea of what is available.”

Blake Denman

Founder at RicketyRoo

“For the local pack, the listing’s review count is going to make it more ‘clickable’. Once a user clicks into the GMB listing, we want to make sure we have the Questions & Answers filled out with good content, and great photos and videos.”

Tim Capper

Local SEO Consultant at Online Ownership

“Each business is a little bit different and you should certainly experiment to see which produces the best results.

“Also, keep in mind that results shown to users are slightly different depending on where the user finds you – branded query, local pack service query, local finder, or maps – each displays slightly differently. There is no one magic way of optimizing that will suit all.”

So, according to our experts, you can increase your chances of gaining more leads through Google My Business by taking advantage of and optimizing each GMB component. Make sure you’ve got authentic, engaging photos, use Q&A to show customers more about the business, and showcase great customer support through responding to reviews.

Finally, as Tim Capper suggests, experiment with what works for you and keep testing until you find that magic formula.

Below we’ve shared some of our top resources related to Google My Business, so you can take the experts’ advice into your own hands.

Expert Focus is a brand-new series designed to provide you with the most relevant insights from local search experts. Each month we’ll cover a different question and share insights from key figures in the local SEO community in an effort to help you further your knowledge and strategy.

This month we’re tackling local SEO campaigns and, more specifically, how to measure the success of them.

We asked ten local SEO experts, when all’s said and done – reviews have been generated, citations built, and GMB listings optimized – how do you know whether what you’ve done has actually worked?

Below, we’ve compiled the very best insights to help you understand the most effective way to report back to clients – including what metrics to cover and more. Plus, at the end of this article, you’ll find a whole host of resources to help you do things just like the experts.

Read on to benefit from the unique tips, tricks, and opinions of local SEO pros, from quick snackable knowledge morsels to in-depth analysis.

How do you measure the success of a local SEO campaign?