Right now, while you're reading this, potential customers are searching for exactly what you offer. They're typing "web design agency Sydney" or "Reliable real estate agent in NZ" into their phones, ready to invest in services that could transform their businesses. The question isn't whether these searches are happening, they absolutely are. The question is whether your business shows up when they do.
Here's what's actually happening when you ignore local SEO: You're essentially funding your competitors' growth. Every day you delay optimizing for local search, you're handing over potential leads to businesses that might not even be better than yours, they're just more visible.
This sounds very unforgiving, but the solution to this is surprisingly straightforward. Local SEO isn't just another marketing tactic, it's optimising your business to start appearing in front of your potential customers. And right now, you might be operating from a back alley when you could be positioned on the main street. The next few minutes will show you exactly how to claim that prime real estate in search engines and turn local search into a predictable revenue engine for your business.
What is local SEO and how does it work?
Local SEO is how you capture customers actively searching for your services in your area. These customers might be looking for your service on Google maps, general Google search, asking LLMs about the same service you provide or even be searching Facebook or other social media platform.
An example of this would be, when someone in Sydney searches for "Head spa in Sydney" or "Car repair in Ponsonby" Google doesn't show them results from London. It prioritizes businesses that can actually serve them locally with in their area, or even in their neighbourhood. For service-based searches, Google heavily focusses on proximity and location.
Test it yourself. Search "coffee shop near me" right now. You'll see cafés within walking distance, not ones across the globe or the ones who use the best coffee beans. That's local search algorithms working exactly as designed.
This is why when you do local SEO right, you become the obvious choice of the service provider or product seller, in your area for the customers searching for it.
How is AI changing local SEO
AI results and LLM search is fundamentally rewiring how local search works, and honestly, most agencies are still playing catch-up.
Google's AI algorithms now understand context and intent with scary precision. They're not just matching keywords anymore; they're interpreting what people actually mean when they search. When someone types "Fine dine restaurant near me" AI considers their location, search history, device, time of day, and dozens of other signals to serve hyper-relevant results.
AI SEO is taking over traditional SEO tricks and hacks
Traditional local SEO was about stuffing location keywords and claiming directory listings. Now? AI rewards businesses that genuinely understand their local market and demonstrate authentic expertise through content, reviews, and user engagement patterns.
The technical shift is profound. AI can detect whether your content actually serves local customers or if you're just keyword-stuffing. It analyzes user behavior signals, how long people stay on your site, whether they convert, if they return. Fake local optimization gets exposed fast.
A great opportunity for small businesses
AI also democratizes local visibility. Small businesses with genuine local expertise can now outrank massive competitors who rely on generic, large quantity of content. The algorithm rewards authentic local knowledge and real community connection over corporate SEO budgets and mass backlinking.
How to excel at local SEO
Excelling at local SEO isn't about gaming the system, it's about genuinely becoming the business your community can't ignore.
Stop thinking like a marketer, instead think like a local business authority.
The businesses dominating local search aren't the ones with the biggest SEO budgets. They're the ones solving real problems for real people in their neighborhoods. They understand that AI doesn't just crawl websites, it evaluates ecosystems. Your Google My Business profile, your authentic customer reviews, local content, your community involvement and reviews, AI and LLMs see it all as interconnected signals of genuine local relevance.
Publishing insights that only someone embedded in your local market could provide. Earn reviews that mention specific neighborhood challenges you've solved. It's creating content that demonstrates that you are a reliable business working with the local community.
Optimise your Google My Business profile
It is almost disappointing to see how many local businesses in New Zealand and Australia who are great at what they do, forget about this very essential step. Google business page is free to make and is probably going to be the first touch point when someone searches for your product or service type. Create a Google my business profile page for yourself, add the services or product you sell and basic info about your businesses.
Ask customers to write genuine reviews
This is something we as a team lacked on for many years. Recently we have started to request our clients to write us a short honest Google review too.
Your local customers writing reviews for your business shows AI and Google that you are a genuine and locally based business, increasing your chaces to appear on top in searches when someone in your area searches for your product or service.
Community events and publications
If you are part of a business group or community and you know of a local publication going out, tryto include your business listed in it. Your business being listed in local online magazine or publication signals search engines of your business authority in your industry.
Excellence in local SEO isn't a destination, it's the natural byproduct of building something genuinely worth finding and the results are rewarding.
