Brady Madden offers insights on the relationship between AI, Local SEO, and online reputation. The core message is that while AI, such as Large Language Models (LLMs), is an efficiency tool for tasks like content brainstorming, it requires mandatory human editing to ensure brand voice, accuracy, and "SEO Search Empathy." For local businesses,

Google Maps and a fully built-out Google Business Profile (GBP) remain the most critical platforms. However, to rank in AI recommendations, the focus is shifting to off-page SEO signals, including brand mentions, sentiment on platforms like Reddit, and local community activities.

Above all, reputation is paramount, as LLMs scrape reviews from all sources to ensure they recommend the most honest and trustworthy service providers, making consistent service quality and high-velocity, high-quality reviews vital for search visibility.

Joy Hawkins outlines the critical shifts in local SEO, emphasizing that Google Reviews are the Undisputed #1 Factor. Reviews are now considered "table stakes" for all SEO and ad return on investment (ROI).

The core strategy centers on hitting the 10-review threshold for an immediate ranking boost, prioritizing the recency and velocity of new reviews, incentivizing front-line staff to collect them, and encouraging customers to include keywords in their feedback.

Beyond reviews, On-Page SEO remains foundational, as the website is a core asset. It requires dedicated pages for every single service to clearly signal offerings to Google, for example, creating separate pages for "Ant Control" and "Wasp Removal" instead of a single page for "Pest Control."

Conversely, many old strategies are now deprecated. Citations are considered "almost not important at all," and backlinks are largely ineffective for moving local pack rankings; businesses should focus their time on only a dozen high-traffic directories.

A deep dive into how the world of search is being fundamentally reshaped by the emergence of ChatGPT and Large Language Models (LLMs), giving rise to the critical new discipline: Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO.

Guillermo and Eduardo break down the difference with a simple analogy: SEO is your "pickup line"—it tells Google what you do—while GEO is your "reputation," which teaches AI why your brand is trustworthy enough to be recommended.