I recently spoke at BrightonSEO San Diego, where I shared my experience from working at Google and my years helping clients improve their Google Business Profile’s performance. I explained why this shift matters and what local marketers should do about it. Here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways.

From Links to Answers

For over two decades, Google has been a gateway to the web. Searchers typed in a query and were served 10 blue links. But that model is quickly becoming outdated.

Enter AI Overviews (previously known as Search Generative Experience or SGE). These AI-generated summaries sit atop the search results, answering questions directly on the page without requiring users to click through. And it’s happening a lot more than you might think:

• 88% of informational queries now trigger an AI Overview (Source: SEMrush)
• 40%+ of local business queries are beginning to do the same (Source: LocalFalcon)
• And a staggering 69% of all searches end without a single click (Source: Similarweb)

This has massive implications. Google is no longer just curating information; it’s synthesizing it. And in doing so, it’s reshaping how consumers discover and engage with local businesses.

Your Website Isn’t Dead, But It’s Not Where the Action Starts

Let’s be clear. Your business’s website still matters. It’s a key source of structured content that Google uses to inform its large language models (LLMs) like Gemini. But when it comes to local queries, the most critical piece of your online presence is now your Google Business Profile (GBP).

Why? Because that’s what powers the Knowledge Panel, and the Knowledge Panel is fast becoming the place where decisions are made.

Whether in AI Mode or traditional search, users are increasingly interacting with the GBP interface, not your website. Clicking on the business name or image doesn’t take users to the site. It opens the GBP directly in the search results. Even photos and videos are rendered right there in the panel.

As the image above shows, clicking on the links in AI Mode will open the business knowledge panel instead of taking you to the business website.

This means your Google Business Profile isn’t just a listing anymore. It’s your new homepage.

What Local Marketers Should Do Right Now

So how do you adapt? Here are six actionable steps to future-proof your clients’ visibility in a world dominated by AI and zero-click experiences:

1. Optimize Descriptions and Services with Intent

Your Google Business Profile description and service list are no longer just for users. They’re data sources for Google’s AI.

Use clear, keyword-rich language that mirrors the way people ask questions. For example, if you’re a family law firm, don’t just say “We offer legal services.” Say, “We help with divorce filings, child custody, and adoption cases in [City Name].”

Inject your unique selling points and highlight anything that might resonate with search intent.

2. Choose the Most Specific Primary Category

This one’s easy to overlook, but it’s arguably the most impactful change you can make. Don’t settle for generic categories like “Lawyer” or “Store.” Go specific: “Personal Injury Attorney” or “Mexican Restaurant” gives Google a much clearer signal about what you do.

Once you’ve nailed the primary category, add relevant secondary categories. Avoid anything that doesn’t directly relate to your services. Irrelevant categories can dilute your authority and confuse the algorithm.

3. Reviews: Prioritize Frequency, not Just Volume

Yes, you need a lot of reviews. But you also need them to be frequent, relevant, and full of keywords.

Google’s AI models now extract intent and attributes from review content. So a review that says, “Best place for emergency dental work in Tampa!” is more valuable than one that says simply, “Great service.” Encourage customers to be specific and include photos whenever possible.

4. Complete Every Section of Your Profile

Google rewards data-rich profiles. Fill out every attribute, even if the answer is “No.” For instance, if a business isn’t woman-owned, still mark that attribute as “No” rather than leaving it blank. A complete profile sends trust signals and helps the AI understand your business more confidently.

Consistency matters too. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) match exactly across your website, GBP, and directories.

5. Use Real Photos and Videos and Update Them Often

AI is now scanning visual content, not just metadata. That means every image or video you upload is another opportunity to confirm your relevance, authenticity, and location.

Showcase interior and exterior shots, team members in action, and real customers (with permission). Avoid stock photography or AI-generated images. They’re easily flagged and less trusted by the algorithm.

6. Post Regularly to Influence Conversions

Google Posts might not boost rankings, but they do improve conversions. Treat them like digital signage. Promote seasonal offers, share news, or highlight unique services.

Since users are now engaging more with your GBP than your website, this is your chance to shape their perception and nudge them toward action, whether that’s a call, a direction request, or a visit.

The Big Takeaway

Google is no longer just a search engine. It’s an answer engine. And the businesses that win in this environment are the ones who feed the machine with the best, most relevant, and most complete data.

In this new world, your Google Business Profile is the most important source of local business data for Google AI.

It’s a living, breathing representation of your business, and it might be the only thing a customer sees before they decide to call, visit, or move on.

So optimize it like your business depends on it.

Because increasingly, it does.

When a suspension occurs or a verification fails, it can feel like Google just pulled the rug out from under you. To help you stay one step ahead, our CEO, Myles Anderson, sat down with two of the industry’s sharpest minds, Joy Hawkins and Ben Fisher, at the 2025 Local SEO for Good event to get their most practical, no-nonsense Google Business Profile advice.

Here’s a breakdown of the top strategies and insider tips they shared.

Mastering Suspensions and Reinstatement

Suspensions remain one of the biggest frustrations for GBP managers, but if you prepare properly, you can be reinstated.

Be Proactive and Patient

Joy Hawkins’ advice was simple but critical:

“Have your required documents, like your business license, ready before a suspension hits.”

— Joy Hawkins, Owner/Founder, Sterling Sky

Don’t wait until panic mode sets in. Gather your documentation early, keep it updated, and store it safely.

Patience is also key. Reinstatements can take time, and Google’s new appeal process can be unforgiving. Once prompted, you may only have 60 minutes to upload all your files.

Your Suspension Reinstatement Checklist

When submitting an appeal, your goal is to provide a body of proof that your business exists and operates legitimately at its stated address.

Here’s what to include:

• Business license: The name and address must match your GBP listing exactly. There can be no variations or typos.
  
• Secretary of State entry: Provide either a link to your official record or a screenshot of it alongside the search URL.
  
• Utility bills: Only include if necessary, and make sure they match the business name.
  
• Alternative utility proof: If utilities are included in your rent, use a cell phone bill in your business name instead, but ensure it is in the exact GBP business name, not a personal name or parent company name.
  
• DBA/fictitious name: Have your DBA (Doing Business As) information handy and updated.
  
• Third-party proof: Gather supporting evidence from organizations like the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce that can prove your business’s existence.

Verification Made Simple

Verification can be confusing, especially for service area businesses (SABs).

For Service Area Businesses (SABs)

Ben Fisher cleared up one major misconception:

“A service business doesn’t have to verify using the owner’s home address.”

—Ben Fisher, Co-Founder and Diamond Google Product Expert, Steady Demand

• Verify at a client location: You can drive to a location that matches your service area (e.g., a home you are selling if you are a realtor) and use that for verification.
• Signage is not required: If you are a service area business and your address is hidden, you do not need to show signage during video verification.

How do you handling failed video verification?

• Check the link: Google’s messaging can be poor. If you receive an email saying verification failed, click the link to view your profile; it may actually be verified.
• Request a live agent: If the automated verification fails, contact support and request a live agent to conduct the video verification. This allows you to interact and explain your situation (e.g., if you are in a new development without street signs).
• Bulk verification: If you manage ten or more storefront locations with the same business name, you should use the bulk verification process via Google’s Business Profile Help Center.

Ranking, Service Areas, and Physical Addresses

When it comes to local rankings, location still matters… a lot!

As Ben Fisher put it:

“The data is clear: having a physical address has a massive impact on your ranking radius.”

—Ben Fisher, Co-Founder and Diamond Google Product Expert, Steady Demand

Service area businesses (SABs) rank, on average, within a two-mile radius of their address. A storefront location, however, can rank anywhere from five to ten miles away.

Should SABs get a physical address?

If the potential lead generation outweighs the rent cost, SABs should invest in a staffed office. A published physical address provides a clear ranking benefit and can expand your reach fivefold.

Guidelines:

• The office must be staffed during business hours.
  
• Avoid coworking spaces as they frequently trigger filtering issues. As Joy warns, “Avoid them at all costs—they’re the landmines of local SEO.”
  
• Adding service areas to a storefront listing will not help you rank. You should never have overlapping service areas on multiple listings, as this is a cause for suspension.
  
• You cannot set your service area to be more than two hours of driving time from your verification address.
  

Resolving Missing Reviews

You’ve earned the review, but it’s not showing up. Frustrating, right? This often happens when Google’s filters remove reviews from brand-new accounts or shared Wi-Fi networks.

Here’s how to fix it:

1. Identify the cause: Reviews from new Google accounts are most likely to disappear.
   
2. Escalate to Support: Contact GBP support. Remember to reply to the first self-directed email you receive to open a path to a human agent.
   
3. Provide detailed proof: You need to help Google manually match the review to your profile. Ben explained why: “Google has to manually match up the review to your profile because reviews live in the Maps database, not the GBP database.” Provide a spreadsheet containing the reviewer’s name, the date, and the full review text.
   
4. Extract text easily: If a customer sends you a screenshot of the review, upload it to an OCR tool to quickly extract the text for your spreadsheet.
   

AI Content and NAP Consistency

Is NAP consistency still important?

Don’t sweat the small stuff. You no longer need to obsess over exact matches in punctuation or address formatting (like “Street” vs. “St”) across all directories. Google’s algorithm is smart enough to handle minor variations.

For managing citations at scale, tools like BrightLocal’s Citation Builder ensure your listings are correct where they count.

Can you use AI-generated content and images?

• AI-generated text: You can use Google’s feature to generate a description with AI inside the GBP control panel, as tests have shown there’s no negative impact on GBP ranking.
  
• AI-generated images: Proceed with caution. Google appears to be working to devalue them, and tests have shown that an initial ranking benefit was later reversed.
  
• Text on images: Adding keyword-rich text to an image and uploading it to your profile can provide a small, marginal ranking impact for long-tail queries.
  

Final Thoughts

Getting the most out of your Google Business Profile comes down to one thing: planning ahead.

Gather your documents early, keep your data clean, and build from a real, staffed address when you can. If AI tools save you time, great, but stay human at the core of your marketing.

You can see more of the videos from this year’s Local SEO for Good event on our YouTube channel.

Local SEO can mean a lot of things. For the sake of this article, it refers to organic visibility in Google Maps via the Local Pack. Or, more plainly, your Google Business Profile (GBP).

GBP is particularly relevant today because small businesses are losing organic clicks from top and mid-funnel queries to AI Overviews (AIO). For any business or marketer, fewer clicks means less data. For these small businesses, it can mean fewer leads, too.

In other words, showing up for bottom-of-funnel search queries is more important than ever. For local businesses, those queries are the ones driving prospective customers to the Local Pack.

How AIOs Impact SMBs: A Quick Look at 2025

For a lot of businesses, clicks go down as AIOs take over relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). This is true even if the business ranks well in the overviews, as the business referenced below does. While some AIO citations result in clicks, many do not.

Correlation is not causation, but this is not an isolated example. SMBs are seeing fewer clicks across the board, and it’s not difficult to guess why.

GBP is a Critical Source of Leads for SMBs

The bright side is this: GBP remains a critical source of leads for SMBs. In fact, I’ve seen about 10-15% more calls come through GBP compared to pre-AIO times.

Additionally, first-time calls to businesses with aggressive marketing packages saw their Google listings start to drive more leads than their organic website traffic (which was unusual for the businesses I work with, historically).

With the advent of AIOs, GBP has overtaken organic search for phone calls by a margin of about 12%.

Small Business Local SEO 101: Make Patterns, Not Big Changes

SMBs need an actionable and consistent approach to GBP. We’ll dive into tactics in a minute, but for now, I want to focus on the right approach: Don’t look for one “big” change to fix everything. Look for small improvements and iterate on them.

Google actually encourages this approach with on-site SEO in its SEO Starter guide. It says “…if you’re not satisfied with your results and your business strategies allow it, try iterating with the changes and see if they make a difference.”

This statement isn’t about GBP, but the same principle applies. Don’t chase the big fixes; instead, iterate on the small ones to create a positive pattern.

This includes things like:

• Posting regularly, in a natural cadence that reflects your business’s updates, events, specials, etc.
• Gathering reviews over time, naturally, and in a way that reflects customer experience
• Consistently reviewing changes to your GBP data and keeping it fresh, accurate, and updated
• Responding to reviews consistently, over time
• Responding to customer questions in the Q&A section as they are asked
• Keeping your website updated with relevant content and information

Let’s Talk Strategy: Tactics that Customers (and Google!) Love

So, what patterns should you create? And which tactics create them? The simple answer is this: Focus on the things you can control, or at least try to.

Below, I’ve listed what I consider the more important local SEO tactics for small businesses. Some of them may seem obvious; others not. But they’re all important, especially when taken as part of a larger strategy.

Keep Your Profile Updated & Accurate

This one’s pretty obvious: it’s important to keep your business information updated and accurate. Not because it’ll help you rank, but because it’s a good customer experience. (And because customers will get annoyed if your information is wrong.)

A 2023 study from BrightLocal found that 62% of consumers would not use a business if they found incorrect information about them online.

It’s also completely within your control and could impact whether or not a customer is able to find or call you. Thus, it’s worth noting.

Describe Your Business Accurately (Don’t worry about the SEO)

As a general rule of thumb, make sure your GBP accurately reflects your business as customers experience it in the real world. This means filling out every field in your profile and adding as much detail as GBP allows, including your business description.

Here are a few best practices for the description:

• DO fill out your business description with as much helpful information as possible, so customers can see what you’re about.
• DON’T use keywords in your description or try to cater to what you think Google wants.

Keep Your Photos Updated (and Helpful)

Include photos of your business storefront so customers know what it looks like from the street or parking lot. Add pictures of the inside, too, so they know what to expect when they get there.

Update images if something changes. This is especially relevant for businesses (such as restaurants) that change their menu frequently. Service-based businesses, such as law firms, may not need to update their photos as often unless something at the business location changes.

A few things to avoid:

• Stock photos
• Geo-tagging your images
• Low-quality images
• Outdated images

Show Customers What You Have to Offer

If it’s available for your business type, add products and services to your listing.

Products are detailed snapshots of what you offer; services are more like a menu of what you do.

I find the products feature particularly valuable because you can add a detailed description, image, and link to a related page on your website from the product listing. Even for service-based businesses (like law firms or dentists), “products” are a great way to give customers more information about how you can help them.

Prep for GBP Suspensions Before They Happen

Google Business Profile suspensions are a hassle. Prepare for them in advance. There are two types of suspensions: hard and soft suspensions. A soft suspension keeps you from editing your business information; a hard suspension completely removes it from SERPs.

If your listing gets suspended, you can appeal it and submit evidence for reinstatement.

Here’s a quick list of what you should have on file to make sure you can appeal your listing quickly in the unfortunate event of a suspension:

• Business registration
• Business license
• Tax certificates
• Utility bills (Internet, phone, water, etc.)

I also recommend keeping a picture of their storefront with signage on hand as well.

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

Treat reviews like an ongoing part of your business operations and request them consistently.

The number of reviews and average star rating are important, but velocity (how often people review your business) is also important. If you can, I recommend using review management software, such as BrightLocal, GatherUp, or Podium, to request reviews.

A few best practices and notes regarding reviews:

• It’s okay if your star rating isn’t 5/5. People know you’re not perfect, and a 4.8/5 can look more authentic to customers anyway.
• Respond to reviews. Be kind and don’t get defensive. If you’re able, offer to fix the problem. If not, let the customer know you’ll do better next time.
• If a review is fake or harassment, do not respond to it; instead, report it to Google so it can be removed.
• Do not have your employees leave reviews! Only reviews from real customers count.

Perfect Your Intake (Make Every Lead Count)

It’s easy to treat your digital marketing as something separate from your business’s day-to-day operations. Once you get a lead or someone walks through the door, your Google Listing has done its job, right?

Kind of. The next step is just as important, though. When you get a lead (call, form, text), you need to make sure that prospective customers have the same helpful experience they got online. If you can, audit your intake (you’ll need call tracking for this!) and coach your team on how to work with prospective customers/clients when they reach out.

The goal is to turn leads into revenue, and that only happens when the lead converts.

Track everything really well (call Tracking, UTM codes, etc.)

Speaking of call tracking, if your business gets leads over the phone, use call tracking software on your website and your Google listing. Call data is part of your local SEO Strategy.

Set up call recording (if permitted by local laws) and pay attention to the origin of your calls.

Additionally, make sure to add UTM tracking codes to your Google listing and any links on it (appointment link, product link, website link, etc.). I won’t go into too much detail here, but this resource from Claire Carlile has everything you need to know (including a template!).

What about directory listings (other than GBP)?

“Local SEO” used to be synonymous with “directory listings,” and the general rule of thumb was this: The more, the merrier! Today, it’s more closely associated with Google Maps optimization, and it’s worth asking whether other directories are worth the time and money it takes to stay listed in them.

Not long ago, I revised my approach to these third-party listings and removed clients from many of them. Here’s what happened:

• Rankings did not go down (they went up, on average, for important terms)
• Leads did not go down (they went up, on average, for most clients)

This doesn’t mean directories don’t have their place, but syndicating your business information to 80+ listings that will never be indexed or seen by humans simply is not needed to achieve local SEO success.

When Third-party Directory Listings Really Matter

Local SEO is still SEO, so “it depends” applies even to third-party directory listings. There are a few technical instances in which directories are relevant, and not just for your ideal clients:

New Businesses

I’ve worked with some new businesses that struggle to get their Google listing verified because they are so new.

If your business falls into this category, consider getting it listed in more directories than I recommended above. Listings that come with a unique profile that Google can index are best. Syndicating your data to many publishers is one way you can show search engines that your business is, in fact, “legit” and has some semblance of an online footprint.

Website Indexation

The same goes for new websites (often associated with new businesses).

In recent years, I’ve seen new domains struggle to get indexed without the help of some third-party mentions. Directory listings are one way to encourage crawlers to engage with your site.

Of course, your website needs to include some kind of value and helpful content, too, but getting onto directory listings can help move the indexation process along.

Address Changes

Changing an address in GBP can be really easy, but it can also be tough if Google deems the change unreliable. Having additional listings (ones that are easier to update, ideally) with the new address in place can increase the likelihood of Google accepting the change quickly.

LLMs Use Listings for Business Information

Kate Herbert-Smith, Digital Learning Manager at BrightLocal

BrightLocal’s research from July 2025 found that AI has bought citations and listings back into a more prominent position. While their importance had been waning for a few years, LLMs now use them as a regular source of information for your brand.

A few of our findings:

• Yelp is used as a source in a third of all searches, and often multiple times in one search.
• LLMs use reviews from Yelp, Google Business Profile, and other sources to get additional rich information.
• LLMs also take information from social media channels.
• Businesses own websites are incredibly important sources for LLMs.
• Industry niche directories are a regular source of information.

Read the full study

Your On-site SEO Matters, Too!

Your website is part of your local SEO strategy, too. Not only because it can rank for local queries, but also because your website optimization can impact your performance in Google Maps.

It goes without saying that for your GBP to reap the benefits of an optimized and authoritative website, you need a live website to optimize. But research shows that only 40% of SMBs said they had a dedicated website for their business.

Here’s an example of how an active website can impact your local SEO:

I encountered a business not too long ago that wasn’t new, wasn’t indexed except for the home page. Additionally, Google refused to display their website on GBP (would deny the update every time). Initially, the clear problem was thin content. However, the site encountered the same issues after that was fixed.

After checking the site’s technical elements (robots.txt, internal links, etc.), I noticed unsavory backlinks in the client’s backlink profile and submitted a disavow file.

Within two weeks, the site was indexed, and the firm’s visibility in Google Maps increased by 44%. Calls followed a similar pattern:

In short, the relevance of your website impacts the relevance of your Google listing.

If you’re interested in how to structure your website for local success and how to optimize your service pages, check out my course on mastering service page optimization from BrightLocal Academy.

Conclusion

SEO is iterative, and local SEO is no exception. Don’t look for one big lever you can pull and walk away. GBP isn’t a slot machine. If you treat it like one, you’ll end up disappointed. Look for the little things you can do consistently (and well!) that pile up over time. That’s how you win.

The good news, though, is that Google Business Profile will play a key role in what comes next.

As he put it:

“Google Business Profile is the digital storefront. It’s the point of truth across Google Search and Maps.”

From Keywords to Conversations

According to Riaz, search has moved far beyond “pizza near me.” Today’s customers type, or speak, more nuanced queries: “find me a gluten-free deep-dish pizza with vegan cheese that I can enjoy on a dog-friendly patio.” These conversational searches carry more context and more commercial intent.

“We’ve gone from people typing ‘pool cleaning’ to asking ‘why is my pool green and how do I fix it?’ Search is becoming more conversational and contextual.”

For businesses, this means two things:

1. Your visibility depends on how complete and accurate your information is.
2. Customers are closer to taking action when they find you.

Search Without the Search Box

Riaz pointed to Google Lens, Circle to Search, and AI Overviews as proof that discovery is expanding. One in five Lens searches already has purchase intent.

“One in every five Lens searches has commercial intent. That’s a huge opportunity for businesses.”

Add to that AI summaries at the top of results, and even AI Mode, which reasons through complex questions, and you have customers discovering businesses in entirely new ways. 

Local businesses can no longer rely solely on text-based search. Visibility now requires being present in images, summaries, and AI-driven conversations.

Google Business Profile: The Digital Storefront

Despite the buzz around new AI features, Omar stressed the central role of the Google Business Profile. He described it as the “point of truth” across Maps and Search, and now, increasingly, across AI-driven results.

“Businesses with complete profiles see up to seven times more clicks than those without.”

Complete profiles, with categories, attributes, hours, and rich visuals, are far more likely to surface in conversational queries. In other words, GBP is no longer just a listing; it’s the storefront through which AI introduces your business to customers.

For practical steps, see our guides on Google Business Profile optimization.

SEO Isn’t Dead, It’s Evolving

Riaz was clear: don’t throw away your SEO playbook. The fundamentals still matter — crawlability, technical health, and unique content remain the foundation.

“The fundamentals of SEO are even more important now than before. The goal is still to help people find outstanding original content that adds unique value.”

But in an AI-first world, the yardstick is shifting. Success is measured less in raw clicks and more in engagement, conversions, and loyalty. For marketers, that means rethinking what performance looks like — focusing on outcomes, not just traffic volume.

Our Local SEO Checklist can help make sure you’ve got the essentials in place.

2025 Priorities for Local Businesses

Looking ahead, Google is steering businesses toward four key content priorities:

• Messaging and chat: adding WhatsApp and SMS directly into GBP.
• Social integration: linking Instagram, YouTube, and X to build authenticity.
• Google Posts: using posts as part of an active social strategy.
• Structured menus and ordering: especially for restaurants and cafés, where customers expect to browse and book without friction. For more, check out our restaurant SEO guide.

“We’re advising businesses to treat Google Posts as part of their social strategy — updating at least once a week improves visibility.”

The thread running through all of these? Freshness, completeness, and authenticity. Google wants GBP to be an active channel, not a static listing.

The Data Gap and What Comes Next

One audience concern resonated: visibility into AI traffic. Right now, tracking is limited. While Omar acknowledged this frustration, he noted that these are very new products, and analytics will evolve.

“AI Mode has only just launched in over 180 markets. Tracking and analytics will evolve, but right now it’s still very new.”

For now, his advice was to double down on what’s within your control: strong content, complete business profiles, and consistent engagement.

Google Doubling Down

Omar Riaz’s session underscored an important truth: Google isn’t moving away from local business visibility, it’s doubling down on it. By weaving AI into search, by expanding the role of Google Business Profile, and by emphasizing fresh, authentic content, Google is signaling that the businesses that adapt now will be best positioned tomorrow.

As Riaz made clear;

“Those who invest in completeness, authenticity, and adaptability will be the ones who thrive in Google’s AI-first future.”

This is a real issue that has grown significantly in recent months, so much so that Google has introduced new guidance and recommendations. While facing a sudden flood of negative reviews can feel stressful and even overwhelming, it’s important to know that you’re not alone and that there are clear, calm steps you can take to protect your Google Business Profile. Let’s look at what’s happening and how to handle it with confidence.

Understanding the Google review scam

This phenomenon, often called review bombing, is a coordinated effort in which a business receives a high volume of unearned, fraudulent 1-star ratings on Google Business Profile, often dropped all at once. Sometimes, the review includes a little text, but often, it’s just the star rating.

Source 

The unfortunate reality is that many of these campaigns are actually extortion attempts. The individuals responsible will post the negative reviews and then contact the business, claiming they can “fix” the problem and remove the reviews for a fee.

It’s crucial to understand that these attacks are not a reflection of your quality or service. They are a criminal scheme designed to panic you into paying.

If you are contacted by anyone claiming they can remove the bad reviews for money, the most important piece of advice is not to engage with them and not to pay them anything.

Paying the ransom simply encourages the criminals and makes your business a target for future attacks. Google’s platform is the only legitimate way to have fraudulent reviews removed.

New Policies & Shady Review Schemes: Is Google Helping or Hurting?

Learn more

How to confirm and identify Google review sabotage

Before raising the alarm, you need to confirm that you are dealing with a malicious attack and not an unfortunate wave of genuine complaints. Look out for these tell-tale signs of review sabotage:

• Sudden influx of negative reviews: Review ‘attacks’ often come in sharp waves. Keep an eye out for an immediate, unnatural spike in negative reviews on your Google Business Profile, particularly if they are all posted within a day or two.

If you are dealing with just one or two potentially fraudulent reviews that are not part of a coordinated attack, you should still report them.

You can find the steps for removing any fraudulent Google reviews here. 

• Phone numbers in reviews: Some fraudulent reviews may even include a phone number in the review text or even in the profile picture. This is a crucial red flag, as including contact information in a review is almost always against Google’s guidelines and is a clear indicator that the review should be removed. Under no circumstances should you call the number provided; this is just another tactic to draw you into contact with the scammer.
• Check reviewer history: Check how many reviews these Google accounts have made elsewhere. In most cases, fraudulent accounts will have none or only a few other reviews. Genuine, active reviewers typically have a broader history of activity.
• Look for red flags in the Profiles: Do the names and profile photos on Google look legitimate? Profiles with no profile picture and a generic alias as the name are often clear signs of a fake account. One person even saw someone use “John Doe” for one of the accounts. 
• Cross-check your system: Do your due diligence by checking your booking system, client records, or sales data to confirm whether these individuals had actually visited or purchased from you. This is the strongest way to verify which Google reviews are genuine and which are fraudulent.
• Trust your instincts: Do the reviews just feel wrong? If the content or tone of the reviews is inconsistent with your usual feedback, especially if you have a history of thousands of glowing reviews, it’s highly likely to be part of the attack. Some of the fake reviews have a very obvious pattern across each review. With a similar structure and generic complaints that could have been generated by AI.

Source

How to get these Google reviews removed

Dealing with a review bomb or extortion scam requires a calm, systematic approach. Focus on immediate flagging, thorough documentation, and a clear escalation path.

Step 1: Flag the reviews immediately

This is your first and most immediate action.

• Go to the negative review.
• Click the stop sign with an exclamation point next to it, and select ‘spam’.
• Ensure you are logged into Google as the manager/owner of the Google Business Profile (GBP).

Clay Seaman’s experience emphasizes the importance and speed of this initial step:

“I manage around 500 GBPs. Had this happen ONCE before about a year ago, and they mentioned in the review to pay them or more negative reviews were going to continue. I flagged those and they were removed very quickly.

On October 8, 2025 we had “10” 1 star reviews posted on one of our GBPs in a row with a lengthy specific message that looked legit but also you can see it was fake—all 10 had a similar message. Flagged all 10 on the 9th first thing. Google removed this morning first thing when I checked.”

Step 2: Document everything (build your case file)

You need evidence in case the initial flagging isn’t successful within a few days.

• Take Screenshots: Capture all suspicious Google reviews, noting the reviewer’s name, the time, and the date.
• Collect evidence: Save any emails or messages from people offering to remove the reviews for money. This evidence of a coordinated attack is vital. You can find advice from Google here on what evidence to prepare.

Step 3: Appeal/escalate to Google

If the reviews are not removed within 3 days after flagging, it’s time to escalate using Google’s dedicated tools.

• Submit a Report: Report the reviews immediately to Google using the dedicated reporting form. Provide all the requested information and attach the screenshots and files you collected in Step 2.

Step 4: Post a professional response

While you wait for Google to investigate, it’s a good idea to manage public perception.

• Post a Simple, Professional Response: Consider posting one general response to the cluster of fake reviews on your Google Business Profile. This lets your real customers know what’s happening.

Step 5: Dilute the impact and consider escalation

Here are proactive measures you can take while waiting for Google’s final decision.

• Encourage genuine reviews: To soften the blow to your overall average, gently encourage your recent, happy customers to leave an honest review on Google. A positive influx of real reviews helps dilute the impact of the fake ones.
• The Multi-layered strategy (if all else fails): If you are facing significant resistance or delays, you can consider a more aggressive approach, as advised by Local SEO specialist and spam fighter, Jason Brown:

“Flag the reviews using the tool. Go back and appeal the reviews and upload the image from the scammer. Then post for help on the forum. Finally, contact the local news stations. Once the press contacts Google, the reviews get removed prior to the story going live.”

Stay informed and prepared

The world of online reviews is always changing, and Google is constantly updating its policies to better combat these shady schemes. Understanding Google’s rules is your best defense.

For an in-depth look at the shifting landscape of review policies and the tactics being used, read this helpful BrightLocal article on shady review schemes.

By staying vigilant and handling these attacks calmly, you can successfully protect the great reputation you’ve worked hard to build on Google!

Our guide to Google local search is jargon-free, up to date, explains everything in plain English, and is packed with easy-to-action tips.

We’ll touch on the essential local SEO tools you’ll need to make your life easier and provide you with a complete overview of which areas you need to focus on to make your business more visible to local customers. So, let’s get started!

The Basics: Why local search?

If you’re new to Google local search or have come over from traditional SEO, you may wonder where it’s come from and why it’s so important to local businesses everywhere. The answer to this question lies with a piece of tech that you likely have in your pocket, in your hands, or on your desk right now—your smartphone.

The widespread availability of mobile technology has seriously changed how we behave as consumers. We can now hop online at any time, from any location, and search for something we need or want. That means that anything from the nearest pizza place to the pet grooming parlor (plus any product or service you can think of in between) is just a few taps on your smartphone screen away.

Constant connectivity equals convenience, so more and more, everyday shoppers are heading to Google on their phones when they need to find something. According to BrightLocal’s own Local Consumer Review Survey, 21% of consumers go online to find a local business every day, 77% search for a local business at least once per week, and 91% look online for local businesses at least once a month.

It’s easy to see how appearing prominently on Google when local people search for your kind of service can be lucrative!

What is a ‘local search’? How does it differ from a normal search?

A local search is perhaps best described with an example:

You’re driving in town and have a flat tire. You pull out your smartphone, head to your web browser, and type ‘mechanic’ into Google.

Whether or not you add ‘near me’, you’re still performing a local search as you’re looking for a specific service in your local area.

Thanks to modern technology, and provided you’ve allowed for this in your privacy settings, Google can accurately pinpoint your location. It can use your Wi-Fi connection or GPS, for example, to get an idea of where you are and then return results for products, services, and merchants that are in close proximity to your location.

Without getting too technical, proximity between searcher and business is one of the three key pillars of local search (along with relevance and prominence) for businesses looking to get their web presence seen by the right people at the right time.

Google will calculate the distance from the search user to a local business when deciding how to rank search results. It knows that, more often than not, search users need a solution that is close to them—especially when searching on a mobile device.

Breaking Down Your Search

You may think there’s nothing much to decode when you type a few words into Google to hunt down a vital product or service. That’s actually not the case, though.

The words and phrases you type in before hitting ‘search’ are a good indicator to Google whether you need something local or a solution from further afield. Let’s look at some of the ways that Google works out if you’re looking for something local.

“Near Me” Searches

Let’s go back to that city drive and your flat tire.

Now, chances are, you don’t just type in mechanic, although that is possible. In your eagerness to return to the road with a fully inflated tire as soon as possible, you might tell Google you’re looking for a “mechanic near me”.

Right away, ‘near me’ triggers a local search, as you need assistance close to your physical location.

The same is true of your customers’ searches. Whether they’re looking for a pool cleaner or a cable guy, ‘near me’ flags up to Google that only a business close to the searcher’s current location will suffice.

This means that Google knows to present that user with service providers from their immediate area. If you’re a mechanic in that city, you’ll want to ensure that you have your local search visibility taken care of to be visible to that customer and stand a chance of winning that job.

Geo-targeted Searches

In some cases, rather than typing in “near me”, you may simply add your location to the end of the search to be assured that you’ll be served relevant results. For example, “mechanic brighton”.

It’s pretty clear to Google that this is a local search, and so to be useful, it needs to show you listings for mechanics in Brighton.

You’d also use geo-targeted searches if you were looking for a place in a specific location that isn’t near you, for example when planning a trip. It’s important to remember this because otherwise, it’s easy to think that ‘local search’ equals ‘near me search’.

Location-enabled Searches

If you have your location enabled on your phone, you can perform a local search without even realizing it. In most cases, if you simply type in ‘mechanic’, you’ll get local results simply because you have location services enabled on your phone (Google is clever enough to know that you’re probably not looking for a definition of a mechanic unless you specifically ask for one).

This can vary depending on the type of business searched for, though. Searches for popular business types like hotels, restaurants, and car dealerships are always likely to trigger a location-enabled search.

What is a local search result in Google?

As we’ve seen, there are several types of ways to make a local search on Google, and fittingly, there are multiple types of local search results, too.

Depending on the device used for the search and the type of search performed, a different type of local search result may be shown.

Here, we just want to share a few terms that pop up most often to describe local search results so you feel comfortable with each one when you carry out local searches, speak to a local SEO agency, or look for local SEO services.

Local Pack

The most common result you’ll see when making a local search for a business is the Local Pack, though Google is doing its best to make AI Overviews the de facto search result—more on this shortly.

The Local Pack is a section of Google’s search results that shows the top local businesses related to your query. Whenever your query has local intent, Google will show a set of local businesses that might answer your query.

You’ll see the Local Pack appear if you go to Google and type in your search query in the search bar. It will often have an image of a map above or beside it and then usually three suggested local businesses below or to the side, sometimes with snippets of reviews, opening times, justifications, and photos.

For local businesses, this is the ultimate goal in local SEO, as these three spots are generally consistent across mobile and desktop and are by far the most popular way of discovering local businesses on Google.

Google Maps

If you use Google Maps to perform a search, you’ll get local map results. This will show the location of businesses matching your search query on a map with options for filtering according to criteria such as ‘top rated’ or ‘open now’, or even business types like ‘restaurants’.

Local Finder

If you click a listing in the Local Pack or scroll through the list of businesses on Google Maps, you’ll get what are called ‘Local Finder’ results. The Local Finder is the source of truth for all local listings on Google.

Wherever you see listings for a particular search term in a particular location, the Local Finder results are what’s being pulled. BrightLocal tracks these positions in our Local Rank Tracker and Local Search Grid.

Google AI Overviews

Getting back to general browser results, today you might find an AI Overview result in response to your local search query. These responses are generated by Google’s Gemini LLM (“AI” is entirely a misnomer—and a deliberate one: there is no “intelligence” going on here, merely pattern recognition and prediction, and the same is true of other LLMs like ChatGPT).

In this local search result type, Gemini does its best to discern what sort of result the user is searching for and pulls from authoritative guides and online sources to compile a response that’s conversational in tone.

The sources themselves are hidden behind ‘link’ icons and in the right-hand box (which I’ve already opened in the screenshot above).

These results are experimental and vary wildly from day to day and from search to search. It’s safe to say that until Google has stabilized Gemini and implemented it fully and consistently, you can’t rely on AI Overviews appearing for any given search, be that local or otherwise.

“Find Results On”

This may vary depending on where in the world you are searching from, but thanks to Google’s ongoing legal issues in the EU (the governing bodies of which want to see Google stop ‘self-preferencing’ in its products) the search giant has had to compromise and place links to other directories prominently in search results.

This is why you might see ‘Find Results On’ above even the Local Pack in your search results. The prominence of these directories in local search results (and in organic results) further highlights the importance of getting your business featured in all the right directories.

Get Citations Done Fast... and Own Your Listings Forever

No recurring fees. Complete Control. Super-low cost.

Get Started with Citation Builder _{Start Your Free Account}

Localized Organic Results

Localized organic results are a slightly different version of local search results. These results are shown in the main search area. They aren’t strictly business-related (so they likely won’t include specific local businesses unless they’re performing very well in local SEO for the search term you’ve used), but they do have a strong local connection via their content.

If the searcher is clearly looking for something local, the results will often consist of directory listings or ‘listicle’ style articles (such as “Top 10 Best X in Y”) and articles from local bloggers and newspapers.

Non-Google Local Search

As mentioned above, we’re now in an era where not everyone relies solely on Google to search the web. 

In fact, they might not even need to go to the traditional ‘web’ (as found via a browser). Search behavior has changed so much in recent years that it’s now perfectly normal for someone to, say, use ChatGPT to get restaurant recommendations and details, use Instagram to check out what the food looks like, and then find an impartial video review on YouTube or TikTok to make the final decision.

Our own Local Business Discovery and Trust Report found these to be the top apps for business discovery on social media:

1. Facebook (59% of consumers use Facebook to learn about businesses)
2. YouTube (49%)
3. Instagram (40%)
4. TikTok (32%)
5. Twitter/X (28%

Let’s take a brief tour of some of these to understand what a local search might look like.

Local Search on Facebook

Facebook is the #1 social media app for business discovery, so we have a dedicated guide to local search and Facebook. For now, let’s move on to some of the others on this list.

Local Search on Instagram

Instagram isn’t quite clever (or perhaps nosy) enough to use your location to prop up a generic search like ‘restaurant’ or ‘restaurant near me’ but if you include a place name, like ‘restaurant new york’, you’ll see posts related to that search, generally from super-popular Instagram accounts.

Another way to search for local businesses on Instagram is a clunky one, but it’s great for a more visual way to browse if you love Instagram.

1. Type a business name you know is in the area and industry you’re researching into the search bar and scroll over to ‘Places’:
   
   
2. Tap on the business name to see posts related to that ‘Place’.
   
3. Zoom out of the map and click ‘Search This Area’ to see a bunch of posts and reels related to your search. That’s where you’ll find similar business types.
   

This is a niche trick for Instagram business search, but it works and highlights the importance of having an updated and engaging Instagram presence that’s properly detailed, with opening times and the correct address.

Local Search on TikTok

TikTok works in much the same way for business discovery as Instagram, but with one key difference: TikTok actually gives businesses the equivalent of a directory listing.

Perform a business search or stumble across a business another way, and you’ll eventually land on the business’s own listing, which contains:

• reviews on TikTok
• reviews from other platforms like Google Maps
• a link to call the business
• a link to find the business on Apple Maps
• the full address, price range, and even…
• an estimate of how close to you the business is (no other platform does this!)

Where does TikTok get this information from? It doesn’t just aggregate it from other platforms, it actually requests business owners to submit and verify their business details via a dedicated form.

With a social media platform taking business discovery so seriously, you can see why Google’s not in the same position it used to be for local search.

Local Search on YouTube

Unlike some of the other platforms mentioned here, YouTube doesn’t need to keep track of your location and doesn’t tailor its search results based on it. Instead, to perform a local search on YouTube, you’ll need to add your location to the search term (e.g. restaurants brighton).

A local search on YouTube provides you with the same kind of results you’d get for a standard YouTube. It’ll likely be comprised of listicles from popular bloggers or review sites, peppered with sponsored posts from content creators or the businesses themselves.

Where YouTube really comes into its own is in individual product or business reviews. Depending on the sector, you could find a host of reviews to help you make a local business decision, or better yet, local experts who take the time to provide their unbiased reviews.

ChatGPT (and other non-Google LLMs)

Finally, we come to LLMs like ChatGPT, and LLM-powered search engines like Perplexity and Arc Search. What all these have in common is that they’re less ‘search engines’ and more ‘answer engines’. By this, I mean that they’re designed to provide clear answers to questions, rather than a host of results for the user to browse around and use to come to their own conclusions.

They’re designed for conversational activity, so you can start a local search with a simple question like ‘where is a good coffee shop in brixton’, and then refine the results conversationally, without having to repeat the question, like so: “which of these is close to t a train station”. This sort of conversation is what LLM providers mean when they say things like “it can help you plan an entire trip”.

As you can see in the screenshot above, ChatGPT answers local business questions with a map and a carousel of businesses it’s highlighted as suitable for the search term. Want to know which sources it used to decide on this list? Just click ‘Sources’ at the bottom, and ChatGPT will provide you with the list of top sources (usually business websites, authoritative blogs, directories, or local news sources) that it used.

Where do LLMs get the bulk of their information from? The training data used (and how up-to-date it is) is different depending on the LLM you choose, but by far the most popular, ChatGPT, primarily uses Microsoft Bing as its search engine, leveraging its data to provide up-to-date information when searching the web through the “ChatGPT Search” feature. This is because OpenAI, the developers of ChatGPT, have a partnership with Microsoft, which owns Bing.

Uncovering ChatGPT Search Sources

Learn More

What about other search engines?

While they’re not nearly as popular as Google, there are a multitude of niche or localized search engines available, from industry stalwarts like Yahoo! and Bing to others like Baidu and Yandex. Take a look at our guide to alternative search engines to learn how local search works on those platforms.

Conclusion

Now that you know the differences and commonalities between local search types and local search results, you can dive further into learning what affects these things.

Whatever you do, always be testing and learning. There’s no such thing as set-it-and-forget-it in SEO, and local search is no different. Even citations have to be updated sometimes!

If you’re no longer the best person to handle the ongoing maintenance and upkeep required, you can transfer Google Business Profile ownership to a designated replacement. Read on to find out how to start this process and what you’ll need to consider along the way. 

Can I transfer Google Business Profile ownership?

Whether you’ve run out of time, changed jobs, or sold your business, there could well come a time when you wish to transfer ownership of your Google Business Profile to someone else. While Google has numerous policies around listings management, it does allow primary owners to merge Google Business profiles and to transfer ownership of a listing to someone else. 

Things to Consider Before Transferring Google Business Profile Ownership

While the process of transferring ownership of your listing is straightforward, there are still a few things that you’ll need to consider. 

Roles

There are two main roles within the Google Business ecosystem: owners and managers. Owners are further categorized as primary owners and owners.

Your profile can have multiple owners and managers, but only one primary owner. The primary owner is the only one who can transfer ownership of the listing to another user. A primary owner can only remove themselves from a listing when another user is appointed as the primary owner to take their place.

There’s a Holding Period

Transferring ownership is a quick process, but once the primary owner role is assigned to another user, a seven-day holding period will commence. During this handover phase, the new primary owner will have limited capability to enact changes. They won’t be able to remove other owners or managers, for example, nor can they recover a deleted profile or delete a listing.

Listing Accuracy

When transferring ownership to another user, the listing information, including reviews, will be maintained. However, it’s still a good idea to check the listing for accuracy and ensure all contact information, opening hours, and location information are up to date.

Communicating the Change

While you won’t need to tell anyone outside of your organization that you have successfully transferred Google Business Profile ownership to someone else, there may be people within the business that you’ll need to notify. 

How to Transfer Ownership of a Google Business Profile

There are several steps involved in the ownership transfer process:

Step 1: Log in to your listing

Go to business.google.com to access your listing control panel and admin tools.

Step 2: Choose your listing

Click the listing you wish to transfer and then navigate to ‘Settings.’ You can find this by clicking on the three dots icon to the right of your screen.

Step 3: Navigate to ‘People and access’

When the Business Profile settings menu loads, select the ‘People and access’ option. This is where you add and remove other managers and owners and assign roles.

Step 4: Add the new owner (option A)

When the ‘People and access’ menu loads, you’ll see that you have the option to add a person to the listing.

If the person you wish to transfer ownership to isn’t already a manager for the listing, you’ll need to add them. Enter their email address and select ‘Owner’ from the two role options given. Then click ‘Invite’.

Step 4: Change role to owner (option B)

If the person you’re transferring ownership to is already a manager, you can change their role to ‘Owner’ rather than add them to the listing.

Simply click on their name and then select ‘Primary owner.’

Step 5: Await invitation acceptance

If you’ve invited a new user to own the listing, you’ll need to wait for that person to accept the invitation before you can proceed. They can do this by opening the email sent by Google and clicking on the link provided.

Step 6: Remove the previous owner

When the new owner accepts their invitation, you’ll need to log back into your Google Business Profile, navigate to the ‘People and access’ menu, and remove the old owner. This process will complete the transfer of ownership. 

Why might I need to transfer Google Business Profile ownership?

There are multiple reasons why you may need to transfer ownership of your Google Business listing. Often, these reasons relate to a notable change within the business, such as the arrival of new owners or the appointment of a new marketing team. During that transition period, your profile must remain helpful, trustworthy, and up-to-date, and for that to happen, you need to ensure the right person has ownership.  

A Change in Business Ownership

If you’ve sold your business, the new owners will need full access to the Google Business listing to manage their presence on Google Search and Maps. They’ll only have complete control of their profile when they become the primary owner.

The Departure of a Key Employee

The primary owner of your Google listing may be an employee or contractor rather than the physical owner of the local business. Often, this is because that person originally set up the listing or was given responsibility for managing the Google Business Profile as part of their role.

If that employee leaves or the contract reaches an endpoint, someone within the business will need to be appointed as the primary owner so they can manage the profile and assign roles in the future.

Changes to Agency Relationships

If your business has worked with a marketing or local SEO agency, that agency may have initially claimed the business listing. It’s always advisable to request the transfer of ownership to yourself or someone within your business when this happens so that you don’t lose control if you cease work with that agency.

To Create a Central Management Team

Are you opening a new location? Or perhaps you already have multiple locations? Businesses with more than one storefront or service area will have multiple listings to manage. Often, it’s more efficient to consolidate that management into a centralized hub, with one designated owner responsible for updating and maintaining those multiple listings. 

Conclusion

Your Google Business Profile listing is a central pillar of your local search presence. It can be an invaluable tool, but it’s only an asset to your business when it is accurate, provides up-to-date contact information, and is proactively maintained. Our Local Business Discovery and Trust Report 2023 found that 62% of consumers would avoid using a business if they found incorrect information online.

If your circumstances change, whether due to a business sale, a transition into a new role, or the arrival of a different marketing team, transferring the ownership of your Google Business profile can ensure it continues to perform at an optimal level.

The process of appointing a new listing owner is straightforward, but as we have seen, there are a few steps to follow and several things you’ll need to consider. Use the above information as your guide, and you should find the process quick and easy. 

At Google I/O 2025, we learned more about Google’s vision for AI search, and just before then, we found out about some new Google Business Profile (GBP) functionality. The direction is clear. Google is doubling down on AI and trying to improve the user experience of searchers.

So, what’s at the heart of this strategy? A renewed focus on personalization using AI, local discovery, smart spending, and seamless, enjoyable experiences, especially when it comes to food, events, and things to do.

AI Mode and the Future of Search

As part of the keynote on day one of Google I/O, Google announced a brand new AI Mode, along with a number of upgrades to Google Gemini.

While these aren’t local specific, there’s a good chance they’ll affect how users search for and discover businesses moving forward.

AI Mode is a fully AI search experience. Google created it early in 2025 in Search Labs and is now rolling it out to the whole of the US.

In their own words:

“AI Mode is our most powerful AI search, with more advanced reasoning and multimodality, and the ability to go deeper through follow-up questions and helpful links to the web. Over the coming weeks, you’ll see a new tab for AI Mode appear in Search and in the search bar in the Google app.”

– Elizabeth Reid, VP, Head of Search, Google

Right now AI Mode is opt-in; you have to navigate to it as it sits in its own tab at the top of the screen. But realistically, and hammered home by Liz Reid, Google’s Head of Search, this is the future of search. A truly personalized experience.

So what does that mean for you? How can you future-proof yourself?

It means that traditional search is not necessarily long for this world. AI Mode is designed to learn from you. It’ll look at your emails, your search history and try to tailor your searches based on that.

“Today the search experience for someone looking something up varies from postal code to postal code, but with this type of feature it’s going to vary from individual to individual.”

– Ross Simmonds, CEO, Foundation & Distribution.ai via LinkedIn

If it knows you’ve booked a hotel in downtown Miami, for instance, it can start giving you a tailored itinerary, and local restaurant suggestions.

If you’ve told it about allergies, it can omit any recipes it suggests in a search that includes those ingredients. That doesn’t sound too much of an issue for a local business, right? You’re not giving someone a recipe. But think about what that sort of learning and personalization actually means.

• When a user asks for a list of places to buy products in their local area, Google will already know their shopping preferences from their emails (and other sources). It could exclude certain shops from their list, while including them more regularly for others.
• If Google knows about an allergy, it can give tailored suggestions for places to eat based on the menus in Google Business Profiles.
• It can tailor recommendations based on the vibe it knows a user has. If it knows all about their interests, the brands they interact with, the papers they read, the inspirational content they interact with, the bands they listen to, or anything else, it can give them a recommendation that matches it.

This truly tailored searching is likely to be what Google wants all search experiences to be like in the future. So, while AI Mode may be in its own tab, for now, there’s a good chance it will inform how search works in the future. Therefore, it will affect how people find your business.

It’s currently available across the US.

For marketers or local businesses, AI Mode will bring some new truths:

• Clicks will likely go down.
  This is already the case for a lot of sites based purely on AI Overviews. But AI Mode may decrease them even more, even when it does provide links.
• Ranking for general terms may become less important.
  Depending on the personalization, the same term could show completely different results.
• Your brand and reputation is more important than ever.
  Making sure AI understands your brand, and that your brand is both familiar and respected locally will be crucial for getting it found. It goes without saying, but continue to work at getting more reviews.
• Diversifying your channels is going to be important.
  Look beyond simply optimizing for Google. Where else is your brand visible? TikTok, YouTube, Yelp?
• Your Google Business Profile remains important.
  In the examples Google uses in its presentation, the AI continues to surface the full profile for the local businesses it recommends.
• You can’t track traffic from AI Overviews or AI Mode.
  As it stands, Google is not offering the opportunity to track traffic from its AI search functions. 

“Right now, ranking #1 for a broad key phrase means you get a lot of clicks, but many people will drop out when the price is wrong, the brand isn’t a good fit for them, or doesn’t fit some kind of personal requirement.

The personalisation we’ll see within AI-type systems will mean a “broad” term with 50,000 searches a month may generate 1,000 different sets of results/recommendations based on the user profile. Fewer clicks, but much higher qualification is likely the future—so as Myriam Jessier has been publishing, making sure AI systems understand what your brand is, will be paramount.”

– Mark Williams-Cook, SEO Direct, Candour via LinkedIn

On top of AI Mode, Google announced a number of upgrades to Google Gemini and a rollout of AI Overviews to new countries. If you hadn’t realised by now, Google is all in on AI.

Google Business Profile Releases: Event Posts and ‘What’s Happening’

Just before Google IO, Google rolled out a brand-new Event Post display for restaurants and bars. This significant update makes GBP Posts more visible than ever in mobile search.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Displays prominently for branded searches on mobile
• Pulls content from your GBP event posts or connected social accounts
• Highlights timely updates like ‘Live Band Tonight’ or ‘Happy Hour Today’
• Prioritizes recency—outdated content disappears quickly
• Not available on Maps or desktop (yet)
• Live in English-speaking markets: US, UK, CA, AU, NZ
• Available only for single-location listings

And there’s more! Google has also introduced the new ‘What’s Happening’ section for restaurants and bars. This is a dedicated space at the top of a GBP profile to spotlight events, deals, and specials.

“This is the first time in a while that Google has made Posts more visible in search. The intent is clear: Google wants to surface what’s happening right now at your business.”

– Claudia Tomina, Google Product Expert and CEO, Reputation ARM via LinkedIn

This space is designed to drive immediate engagement, putting updates like ‘Today’s Special’ or ‘Live Music Saturday’ front and center. To be eligible to appear in this new space:

• Post directly to your GBP using Google Posts, or
• Connect your Facebook, Instagram, and X profiles for automatic syncing.

It’s a small change with a big impact, especially for businesses that rely on footfall and timely promotions.

What These New Features Mean for Local Businesses

These recent GBP changes are all about enhancing the discoverability and appeal of local businesses. From event-led footfall to deal-driven dining decisions, Google is reinforcing the power of local relevance and giving businesses more tools to stay visible and competitive.

At BrightLocal, we’ll be tracking these developments closely and helping businesses make the most of every new feature as it rolls out.

If Google detects multiple listings for the same business, that profile won’t be eligible for inclusion in Google’s Local Pack and Google Maps, meaning duplicate Google listings could be actively harming your search visibility.

Having various profiles is something of a minefield for local business owners, as there are multiple reasons why an extra listing or two might have popped up:

• It could be that a Google Business Profile was created by a previous employee or local SEO agency, and you didn’t have permission to manage that listing, so you created another one
• Perhaps you moved to a new location, and rather than update the existing listing, you created a new profile
• Your service business may have created multiple listings to represent each unique service, rather than including them on a single profile
• You might even have created a duplicate listing by mistake

Whatever the reason, you’ll need to resolve the conflict to be eligible for Search and Maps.

At this point, you’re probably wondering how to merge two Google Business listings. You’re in the right place! We’re here to walk you through it, but first, a word of warning: proceed with caution because this process can be more problematic than it first appears.

Is it possible to merge Google Business Profiles together?

The short answer is yes; you can merge two or more Google Business Profiles to create a single listing. 

The longer answer is that it isn’t just a case of selecting a few duplicate listings and then combining them into one page. As you’ve probably guessed, Google will only allow multiple listings to be merged in certain circumstances.

The main requirement is that you can only merge listings for the same business. The addresses must be the same, and the information for each listing must be broadly very similar.

Additionally, you’ll only be able to merge multiple listings if you are the verified owner of each listing and can see each profile within your Google Business dashboard.

These requirements do rule out some instances where you may want to merge several different listings. If you were to acquire a new business in a totally different location, for example, you couldn’t merge that firm’s listing with your own existing Google Business Profile. Ditto if you find a dupe that you’d like to fold into your main listing but don’t own or manage that additional profile.

How to Merge Two Google Business Listings

The good news is that only a few steps are required to combine additional listings into one main profile for your business.

Step 1: Confirm you meet Google’s requirements

First things first, you’ll need to double-check that you meet each of these requirements:

• Duplicate listings do exist
• Each listing gives the same business name
• The address stated on each listing is the same
•  The listing information is virtually identical across each profile
• You own or manage each listing via your Google Business Profile account 

With those requirements met, here’s what you’ll need to do next.

Step 2: Locate each profile’s ID

Each Google listing has a unique ID that identifies it specifically. To merge multiple pages, you’ll need to note down the ID of each listing to be merged.

1. To find the ID number, log into your Google Business Account and find the first listing to be merged.
2. Once the listing is open, locate the menu in the top right corner.

   
   

3. Select ‘Business Profile settings’ and then from the following menu click ‘Advanced settings’.
   
   
4. Your ID will be at the top of the next screen. Copy that ID and repeat each step until you have the ID for each listing you wish to combine.

Step 3: Submit a request

1. Open the Google Business Help Centre and select the profile you wish to merge from the drop-down box. In the ‘Tell us what we can help with’ box, enter ‘Merge duplicate profiles’ and then click ‘Next’.

2. Select your issue from the options given and click Next.

3. Provide the IDs and request a merger.

Pros and Cons of Merging Google Business Profiles

Local search visibility is a powerful tool for your business, so you’ll want to do all you can to present the clearest and most accurate version of your business in Maps and Search. Cleaning up duplicate profiles and consolidating your presence is one way to do that, but merging two or more listings isn’t always smooth sailing.  

Advantages of Merging Google Business Profiles

Now you know how to merge two Google Business listings, let’s explore the advantages of going through this process.

• Eligibility for Search and Maps: When Google detects multiple listings for the same business name and address, those listings will no longer be visible in Search and Maps. Merging or deleting duplicate listings so you have just one Google Business Profile for your business restores your eligibility.
• Improved local search rankings: Information spread across multiple listings can hamper your ability to rank well for your core Google Business listing. Consolidating your business information and activity, such as images, review responses, and Posts, into a single, unified profile can boost your local rankings.
• A stronger review profile: Multiple listings could mean your reviews are spread across numerous profiles. Most consumers won’t click through to each listing to read your reviews, so the majority will only ever see a snapshot of your feedback. Given that more than half (53%) of consumers want to read positive experiences of local businesses, it makes sense that you’ll gain more benefits from your positive reputation if those reviews are gathered in one profile. This is also important for your local search rankings.
• An improved consumer experience: Multiple listings can be confusing for local search users and could sow a seed of distrust. Eliminating that confusion by having just one accurate and up-to-date listing ensures a more streamlined, more positive customer experience.
• More efficient profile management: Managing multiple listings is inefficient and unnecessary. Merging those unnecessary listings into a single profile frees up your time and efforts so you can focus on making your primary Google Business Profile the best it can be.

Disadvantages of Merging Google Business Profiles

While it’s always advisable to comply with Google’s policies and stick with a single Google Business listing, there are some disadvantages to merging two or more profiles.

• Loss of optimization: Chances are, the two listings you wish to consolidate have different levels of optimization. There is a risk that some of that could be lost if a stronger profile merges with a weaker one. This could result in a loss of local search visibility.
• Loss of review responses: Merging listings will also merge reviews, but it’s been widely reported that review responses often aren’t included in this process. This can be particularly problematic if you’ve had to address negative feedback recently.  
• Negative reviews: If one listing has been plagued by negative reviews, you might not want those to be pulled into your main listing without any means of response. You could consider deleting the duplicate profile instead.
• Inaccurate content: If one of the listings contains inaccurate or outdated information and images, you run the risk of that showing up on your consolidated profile. Rather than merging with an inaccurate profile, a better option would be to delete the incorrect listing.

When is it a good idea to merge Google Business Profiles?

If you’re committed to maintaining a strong local search presence, you can’t afford to drop the ball when it comes to managing your Google Business Profile. Regularly checking for duplicate listings and taking appropriate action to clean up your presence is key to staying in control (and on the right side of Google’s Business Profile policies).

It’s a good idea to consider merging duplicate listings as soon as you become aware that the issue exists. The longer you have multiple listings active, the greater the chances your Search and Maps visibility will be impacted. 

Keep in mind that merging may not always be the best option. Merging inaccurate, malicious, or very outdated listings with your main profile could do more harm than good. Consider deleting those listings (or reporting malicious listings to Google) rather than merging. 

Can I merge more than two Google Business Profiles?

In some circumstances, there may be more than two Google Business Profiles for your business. If the listings are for the same business, at the same address, and contain broadly the same information, you can merge more than two profiles to create a single consolidated profile. 

Conclusion

Having more than one Google Business Profile isn’t just against Google’s policies. It can also confuse search users, increase the risk of inaccurate information being made public, and weaken your review profile.

Merging is one way to regain control and return your search presence to a single optimized listing. While this is straightforward, you should always consider whether merging is the right course of action. Reporting malicious listings or deleting very old listings might be a better choice.

Is it just you? What about your local competitors? What about your industry?! Welcome to hours of digging through forums and ranking tools to get the answers you need for your bosses and clients.

Wish you had a way to quickly determine which ranking changes are being felt throughout your industry?

Introducing Local RankFlux, the world’s only ‘weather report’ for Google’s local ranking algorithm.

The wider SEO industry has been lucky to have multiple tools dedicated to tracking seismic changes in organic SERPs for years. Local SEO? Not so much!

That ends today, with the (re)launch of Local RankFlux: a completely free tracking tool and early-warning system from BrightLocal, designed to give local marketers the edge in understanding what’s happening with Google’s local algorithm.

How Does It Work?

BrightLocal’s local rank tracking software has been monitoring the local SERPs of our customers for years. With Local RankFlux, we apply the same technology to a set group of:

28 keywords x 26 industries x 20 cities = 14,560 keywords (560 per industry)

This means we’re tracking nearly 15k SERPs every day to determine a statistical point of variation (the Local RankFlux score) and to understand if similarities are seen in specific industries.

Local RankFlux simply looks at all these SERPs, calculates how much the rankings for these keywords have changed since yesterday, and gives the level of variation a score, from 0 (no change at all) to 10 (complete upheaval, volcanoes erupting, cities falling into the sea).

• 0 – 3 indicates ‘low’, expected fluctuation (i.e. nothing significant has happened)
• 3.1 – 6 indicates ‘medium’ fluctuation (i.e. something minor has happened)
• 6.1 – 10 indicates ‘high’ fluctuation (i.e. something major has happened – likely a local algorithm update)

That’s the simple version, though! I’d encourage you to take a look at our detailed methodology so you can better understand how the Local RankFlux Score is calculated… The more you know!

How Do I Use It?

Easy! Just bookmark the URL www.brightlocal.com/local-rankflux today, and when you think there’s been a rumble in your rankings, head there, check the score, and filter the data to your own industry to see if there’s anything more to learn.

Want to be ahead of the game? Sign up for one or more of our email alerts:

Daily: Simple. Get a daily email telling you today’s Local RankFlux score.
Weekly: Sign up, and every seven days you’ll get an email with the previous week’s Local RankFlux scores.
Urgent: Sign up to ‘Urgent’ to only receive an email when the score is above 4, which we determine to mean that a Google local algorithm update is likely.

Happy Rankings!

We hope you find Local RankFlux useful and can get a bit more sleep next time you feel that ol’ tremble in the rankings.

Want to know more about Local RankFlux, or need to report a bug? Get in touch with us at content@brightlocal.com.