Local SEO in the Age of AI Search: What Small Businesses Must Do Now
You could say, we are witnessing the most radical change to local search. Since mobile map packs first came on the scene. For a long time, small businesses had a fairly simple playbook to follow. They optimized their Google Business Profiles, built local citations, gathered positive reviews, and targeted geographic keywords to secure a spot in the coveted Local 3-Pack. Those days are over. The new reality is that such a straightforward approach won’t cut it anymore. With the advent of generative AI and Google AI Overviews, the way people use search has been turned on its head. Where once you were shown an index of links, the engine now synthesizes information from all over the web to give you an answer right there on the page. It is a move from link to answer engine that poses a real threat to old ways of doing things; adapt or you will be invisible. How AI Overviews Are Cannibalizing Local Pack Clicks Zero-click searches are the order of the day, and they are putting a dent ...