Оur first-ever in-person Local Update, recorded live at BrightonSEO 🎉 We asked four speakers to share one key takeaway from their talks, and here's what happened.

Here are the talks our guests shared their takeaways from:

🎤 Local SEO in the Age of AI Search: Don’t Get Left Behind (Michel van Luijtelaar)
🎤 How to Turn Your Locations' Presence into Performance (Sara Vordermeier)
🎤 Mindset for SEO: Future Career Progression (Greg Gifford)
🎤 Trust & Traffic: How Community Fuels Organic Growth (Erin Simmons)

Another week, another Local Update. But before we dive into today’s show notes, a quick announcement: next week’s episode will be recorded in person at BrightonSEO!

Claire and Darren have a busy few weeks ahead. Here are the upcoming events they’ll be speaking at and answering your local search questions:

⭐ Claire Carlile

• Women in Tech SEO – All Things Local SEO AMA
  📅 October 29th | ⏰ 11 AM EST | 💬 WTS Slack
• Sterling Sky Reddit AMA
  🔗 r/localsearch — coming soon!

⭐ Darren Shaw

• Sterling Sky Reddit AMA
  📅 November 3rd | 🔗 r/localsearch
• Emcee at LocalU Global 2026
  🎤 January 28, 2026 | 🌐 All-day virtual event
  💸 Tickets only $99 until the agenda drops
  🔗 Get tickets here: https://localu.org/virtual-2026

Alright, now let’s get into this week’s episode. Here’s what we cover 👇

📝 Google Local Results Without Call Button - Web Guide Or Bug? (Search Engine Roundtable)

📝 Can Your Business Be on Google? A Guide to GBP Eligibility by Business Type (Miriam Ellis)

📝 How To: Build A Content Audit Assistant With ScreamingFrog and AI (Ian Lurie)

📝 New: Google Business Profile Report Negative Review Extortion Scams (Search Engine Roundtable)

📝 A sudden spike in organic search traffic in GA4, but Search Console shows nothing (Dana DiTomaso)

📝 AI Citations, User Locations, & Query Context (Yext)

On this week’s episode of The Whitespark Local Update, Darren and Claire dive into what’s new, what’s weird, and what actually matters in local SEO.

Here’s what we cover:

📝 Why Local SEO is thriving in the AI-first search era (Rob Tindula on SEL)

📝 Ranking in Local SEO: The One Signal Google Trusts Most (Claudia Tomina)

📝 Citation consistency for LLMs (Matthew Forzan, and thanks to David Iwanow for the heads up)

📝 NEW Bing Places for Business

📝What Google’s num=100 Change Means for SEO Data (Noah Learner)

📝 Advancing your SEO Strategy for AIOs and the AI-era of search (Seer Interactive)