There’s something energizing about being in a room full of people who care about local business as much as we do. And that’s what made Local SEO for Good 2025 so special.
With two days of incredible talks and presentations about what you need to know for local marketing success right now.
Whether you tuned in live or are just catching up now, we’ve rounded up the key moments and insights from the event so you can dive straight into the good stuff.
Building a Brand That Locals Love, and How That Just Might Help You Battle Against the Big Behemoths
Wil’s keynote talk inspired us to consider the real need for authentic marketing in an age of AI. He talked us through various examples of brands that do this well, and gave practical tips on how to appear in AI search results.
Wil Reynolds
Founder and CEO at Seer Interactive
“There’s a lot of different ways to win in this new future. The question is, are we going to go back to what SEO was founded on, which was low quality, sometimes spammy stuff? Or are we going to go try to win for humans? And really, I want you to think you’re not going to win by outsourcing your authenticity. So lean into that. As a local business, I think now’s the best time to be rewarded for that.”
From Google Maps to TikTok: Adapting Local Content for Every Platform
Melissa walks us through creating bespoke content for a mix of social media channels, including Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. She explains how to repurpose content and ensure everything is localized and authentically valuable for potential customers.
Melissa Popp Content Strategy Director at RicketyRoo
“Show the things that go wrong. People love human stories. Don’t shy away from failures. They’re actually a goldmine for content. And make sure that you’re tagging every post with a location and any businesses you’re asked… You want to invite people to that conversation, whether it’s a good review or a bad review. Talk to those people about it and share with your community about that.”
Rad Ranking Roadmap for Reddit
Andrew showed us how authentic engagement on Reddit can boost both Google rankings and AI visibility.
Andrew Shotland CEO at Local SEO Guide
“I don’t care about your website. Maybe when I go to find your phone number, fill out a form. I do, but I don’t care about your 500 blog posts you wrote about how to fix your toilet. I care about people telling me how to do things and giving me advice. And so if you can get on Facebook or Reddit or whatever and be there with the content you put on your website, I think you have a lot better chance of ranking better and a lot better chance of actually converting customers from those sites.”
The New Customer Journey: How Local Searchers Find and Choose Lawyers
Near Media’s session uncovered how consumers really search for personal injury lawyers. Reviews, response times, and knowing where people start their search can make all the difference in capturing high-intent leads.
David Mihm
Local Search Consultant at Near Media
“Law firms need an outrageous number of reviews and near-perfect ratings in order to get those initial clicks and additional considerations. And if you do happen to get a phone call from somebody who has done a search and has chosen you for their first call, you’d better respond within a couple of hours because you might lose the case if you’re more delayed than that.”
Greg Sterling
Co-Founder at Near Media
“We found a number of demographic differences… younger people are more inclined to start their lawyer search on Google. And older people are more inclined to tap into word-of-mouth referrals. That doesn’t mean that older people aren’t using Google, or that younger people aren’t using word of mouth. It just means this is sort of their go-to entry point for this kind of inquiry.”
Mike Blumenthal
Co-Founder at Near Media
“I would add that in terms of Google AIOs… it’s a function of query length, and low funnel queries are typically shorter. Google delivers the local pack where longer queries… are not as local in nature. So Google sort of makes this transition, apparently based on query length, whether they show AIOs or whether they show the local.”
Technical SEO for Local Websites and Why It Matters
Iva reminded us that technical SEO isn’t separate from local; it’s the foundation. A site that’s fast, structured, and easy for search engines to understand helps every part of your local strategy shine.
Iva Jovanovic Freelance SEO Specialist at Self-Employed
“There’s this division in SEO of doing on-page, off-page, technical, and local. They all benefit one another, and local SEO definitely benefits from technical SEO. Technical SEO is the thing that allows the content from your website to perform to its full potential. It is what helps search engines find and get what your website is about and ultimately index your website and its content.”
GBP Problems and How to Solve Them + AMA
Joy and Ben shared practical tips for navigating Google Business Profile hurdles, from verification tricks to maximizing your ranking radius.
Joy Hawkins
Owner/President at Sterling Sky
“If you’re a service business, you actually don’t have to verify your business at your home address. A lot of people think you do. You can actually drive out, like if you’re a realtor, you can drive out to a home that you are selling in the neighborhood that matches your service area. And as long as you can, like start your car, open the door to the house, and then like, show your sign on the front line, you’re good to verify there.”
Ben Fisher
Founder and VP of Marketing at Steady Demand
“From the work that we’ve seen and done, we see that a service for your business on average… will rank, you know, up to about two miles a day, right? Whereas, you know, a storefront can now rank anywhere from 5 to 10 miles… So it’s a clear win if you can get a physical address, of course, you have to abide by the guidelines.”
Marketing Advice from the Best Marketer You’ve Never Heard Of
Andi’s keynote talk showed how sharp strategy and tight targeting can transform results.
Andi Jarvis
Founder and Strategy Director at Eximo Marketing
“Most marketers are terrible at this, but great positioning is like having one tennis ball and throwing it at someone. You throw a tennis ball at someone, and they’ll catch it. You throw ten tennis balls at someone, they’re not going to catch any of them… You’ve got to focus, you’ve got to remove to improve.”
A Conversation with Google
Omar reinforced that the fundamentals still matter: clear SEO, a complete GBP, and content that brings real value to customers.
Omar Riaz
Strategic Partnerships at Google
“The fundamentals of SEO are even more important now than before. Even the way people are searching is evolving, the core goal remains the same, and the goal is to help people find outstanding original content that adds unique value… Now, in the new world, where the more informed users are coming to the website, it’s really important to look beyond the click-through rates, to measure what really matters, like engagement, conversations, and building a loyal audience.”
Choose Wisely: GBP Category Strategies for Maximizing Google Maps Visibility
Elizabeth showed why GBP categories are a big deal. Use every available slot thoughtfully to give your business a stronger shot at visibility.
Elizabeth Rule SEO Analyst at Sterling Sky
“Once we choose the best primary category, you then want to spell out all the possible secondary categories that are available… since we have nine available sections in the additional category section on GBP, you’re going to want to fill up all nine if at all possible with relevant categories. Because, remember, secondary categories were number seven on the list of local search ranking factors out of over 100 factors. So they’re still very important for local rankings.”
Mining Gold from Customer Feedback
Julian explained how to turn customer feedback into insights. He explained how to spot keyword-rich themes in reviews, use them in on-page content, and learn from negative feedback to improve operations.
Julian Hooks
Senior Manager of SEO at Asurion
“There’s a ton of value in criticism, and no one likes getting one-star reviews, but a lot of times they are very much justified… Frequent complaints highlight operational and content opportunities. You can use these to fix the issue if it’s something happening in real time in the store… Rewriting service descriptions to clarify expectations… using this for CRO tests and user experience updates to the site. If people are frustrated about something, try to fix it.”
Keeping Humans in Marketing
Leighanne encouraged using AI as a tool, not a replacement. She emphasized that true connection and trust come from human insight.
Leighanne Jones (Rayome)
SEO Manager at Beyond Blue Media
“AI can provide the foundation or the bones [of] strategy, but I don’t think it should be used as a full implementation of everything that you’re doing… writing content faster with AI doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to get you results faster. Nothing is a guarantee. So Google still follows its own ranking processes… speed doesn’t guarantee visibility or success.”
Local SEO: How To Make More Customers Click, Choose, and Walk Through Your Doors
Krystal and Paul wrapped up the event with data-driven insights on how consumers find and choose local businesses online.
Krystal Taing
Solutions Engineer, Strategic Partnerships at Uberall
“One of the most interesting things… was so much feedback about pricing, either not having pricing online that someone can access or having conflicting pricing… another big one is information accuracy. Keep it consistent and accurate. Make sure your map pin, your address, your phone number—make sure that it’s published and it’s effortless for someone to find you and to engage with you.”
Paul Modaley
Content Marketing Manager at Uberall
“If you have a regularly updated and completed business profile, you will see five times more views on your listing. And I just put it in the mind of a searcher. You find a business online, like there’s no website URL, there’s a bunch of blank data, and there’s just a picture of maps and street view. Think about that. Trust engagement. Having a much more detailed profile and listing is going to get you more views. And then, of course, those are going to lead to more clicks.”
Conclusion
From AI to authenticity, from technical SEO to the power of reviews, Local SEO for Good 2025 delivered a wealth of insights to help local marketers stay ahead. Whether you’re refining your content strategy, tightening technical foundations, or engaging your community, these lessons set the stage for a stronger, more visible local presence in 2025 and beyond.
Catch up on all the talks from day 1 and day 2 now on our YouTube channel.
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