Local search in the AI era
When someone types "best [service] near me" into Google in 2026, they might get a Google Business Pack, an AI Overview, or both. The businesses that appear in both are the ones optimising for two separate systems simultaneously — traditional local SEO and AI citation signals.
The good news: the requirements overlap significantly. A business with a complete, consistent, and well-reviewed Google Business Profile will also tend to be cited positively by AI assistants — because AI pulls from the same signals Google uses for local ranking.
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The 7 local SEO signals that matter in 2026
- Review velocity: Getting 2–3 new reviews per month consistently outperforms having 100 reviews from 3 years ago. Recency matters.
- Review response rate: Businesses that respond to every review (including negative) rank higher and are cited more by AI. UVORA's Reputation module generates personalised AI responses in 30 seconds.
- NAP consistency: Name, Address, Phone must be identical across Google Business, website, Facebook, Yelp, and every directory. One inconsistency can suppress your ranking.
- GBP post frequency: Post at least once a week. Businesses with regular GBP posts appear in AI Overviews for local queries more frequently.
- Category specificity: Use the most specific primary category, not the broadest. "Italian restaurant" beats "restaurant". "Family law attorney" beats "lawyer".
- Photo quantity and recency: 10+ photos with at least one added per month. AI assistants use image data to validate that a business is active.
- Q&A section: Pre-populate the GBP Q&A with your most common questions and well-structured answers. These get extracted directly by AI assistants.