The New Rules of Local Search: How to Win When Google Keeps Changing the Game
Great Podcast Interview with Tanner O’Brien of ActionCoach Central Texas!
Before we get into the recap, just want to say how much I enjoyed talking with my buddy Tanner about the state of marketing, search, AI and how Home Service Business can win.
Here are all their links to follow the great work they’re doing over there:
Action Coach YouTube Channel
Let’s get into the recap!
The landscape of local search has fundamentally shifted. If you’re a home service business owner watching your phone ring less frequently, it’s not because you’re not working hard enough—it’s because the game has changed. Your customers are searching in places you’re not showing up.
Kyle Bailey, with 15 years in home service marketing, breaks down exactly where your marketing dollars are leaking and which systems will plug the holes.
Search Everywhere: The New Reality
Google no longer dominates search the way it once did. While AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude haven’t taken massive chunks of Google’s traffic yet, they’ve forced Google to respond in ways that directly impact your business.
The evolution of Google’s search results page:
- 10+ years ago: 10 blue organic links
- Then: Ads pushed above organic results
- Next: Maps appeared (initially showing 10 businesses, then 7, then 5, now just 3)
- Today: AI overviews sit at the top, followed by ads, then the map, with organic results buried below
The problem? These AI overviews create “zero-click results”—users find their answer without clicking through to your website.
Where You Need to Be Present
Don’t limit yourself to traditional search engine optimization. You need to practice “search everywhere marketing”:
- Google Business Profile (your #1 priority)
- Yelp
- Reddit (create an account under your business name and monitor conversations)
- Instagram (tell your story visually)
- TikTok (if your competitors are there)
- Industry-specific platforms (like Houzz for remodelers, Thumbtack, etc.)
The Google Business Profile: Your Most Critical Asset
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business, Google Places, Google Maps) deserves your immediate attention. Here’s why: after the ads, the map listing is the next thing served—and you can still win there.
Optimize Your Profile Completely
Fill out every section:
- List all your services with links to corresponding website pages
- Add products (even if you need to create some just for the links)
- Include high-quality photos and videos
- Create posts regularly
- Answer all questions
Consistency Is Everything: NAP Information
Your Name, Address, and Phone number must be formatted identically everywhere online.
Critical formatting rules:
- If you use “Suite 100” on your website, use “Suite 100” on GBP—not “Ste 100”
- Format phone numbers the same way everywhere: (555) 555-5555 or 555-555-5555—not a mix
- Don’t use dots instead of dashes in phone numbers
- Keep your business name exactly the same across all platforms
This seems minor, but Google weighs consistency heavily in rankings.
Reviews: Your Fuel for Growth
If you don’t have a systematic review process built into your business operations, stop reading and build one right now. Reviews are that important.
How to Ask for Reviews the Right Way
Never incentivize positive reviews. Google will suspend your account, and you might not get it back.
Instead, use this approach:
- Identify satisfied customers (not the difficult ones)
- Reach out personally—by phone if they’re solid customers
- Say: “I’m glad you had a good experience. Would you leave us a review?”
- Guide them to mention keywords: “Just say ‘I hired Kyle for GBP optimization’ and describe how it went”
- Don’t ask for five-star reviews specifically—that’s what triggers violations
Make It Easy
Send direct links to your review profiles. Better yet, create QR codes—they convert better than links because people understand the immediate action required.
Rotate through platforms monthly:
- Month 1: Request Google reviews
- Month 2: Ask for Yelp reviews
- Month 3: Request Houzz reviews (or your industry platform)
- Month 4: Circle back to Google
Respond to Every Review—Even Negative Ones
When you respond to a review, you’re not talking to that customer anymore. You’re talking to every potential customer reading your profile.
For negative reviews:
- Stay calm and professional
- Acknowledge their experience
- Offer a reasonable solution
- Remember: People expect some negative reviews and judge you on how you handle them
Example response: “Mrs. Smith, I’m sorry you had that experience. We discussed this that day, but I’m happy to address it further. Please call me directly, or if you’re a restaurant, come in—your next meal is on us.”
For positive reviews:
- Thank them by name
- Mention the specific service you provided
- Include keywords naturally
Example: “Thank you, Mrs. Smith. We really enjoyed cleaning your ducts today. I know you had allergy concerns, and we’re looking forward to you and your family breathing clean air again. Call us anytime.”
The Review Story Blog Post
Take reviews from completed jobs and turn them into blog posts. Tell the story: “Sarah had a closed-off dining room. We opened up the wall between the dining room and kitchen, turning a galley kitchen into an open gathering area. Here’s the before and after, and here’s what Sarah had to say…”
This approach is powerful for SEO and customer engagement.
Your Website: From Front Line to Validation Tool
Your website is no longer where customers start—it’s where they validate their decision after finding you elsewhere.
Get Honest Feedback First
Before making changes:
- Pick five people you trust to tell you the truth
- Ask them to pretend they don’t know you
- Have them compare your site to three strong competitors
- Ask: “Does our website suck? Be honest.”
- Question customers directly: “What could we do better?”
Visual Impact Matters Immediately
If you look significantly worse than your competition from a visual standpoint, you’re already behind. Modern consumers make snap judgments.
Optimize Your Homepage for Conversions
Surprising data: Even for high-research purchases like remodeling (six-figure engagements), 65-70% of people fill out the form on the homepage—not on service pages.
Homepage conversion checklist:
- Position your form at the top right on desktop
- Ensure it loads high on mobile
- Use dropdown menus instead of making people type
- Include: name, phone, email, service needed (dropdown), area of town (dropdown), brief description
- Make the form take no more than 7 seconds to reach the description field
Make Phone Numbers Click-to-Call
This is a Google ranking factor.
Test it:
- Mouse over phone numbers on desktop (you should see a click indicator)
- Tap phone numbers on mobile (it should immediately dial)
- If they don’t work, fix this immediately
Website User Experience Affects Map Ranking
Your website’s user experience feeds into Google’s overall evaluation of your business, which affects your map ranking. Poor website performance hurts you everywhere.
The AI Search Challenge
AI search platforms pull from unexpected sources—old forums, citations that Google deprecated years ago, Reddit threads, and industry-specific sites.
The Franchise Problem
AI might pull positive reviews from your local franchise location but combine them with negative complaints about the brand from forums discussing other locations nationwide. This mixed reputation damages your local rankings despite your excellent service.
Monitor Your AI Presence Weekly
Search your business name plus your service in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude at least once a week. You need to know what potential customers see.
Case study: A Dallas remodeling company ranked #1 on Google for 200+ keywords (kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, room additions, etc.) but didn’t appear at all in ChatGPT results—despite having the same number of reviews.
AI Rankings Are Still Unstable
AI search results change dramatically from week to week and month to month. The top five results one week might not even appear the next. As AI platforms evolve, they’re gradually moving closer to Google’s methodology, but everything remains in flux.
Young Buyers Are Leading the Shift
A growing segment of young homeowners and decision-makers use AI to make buying choices. Just as mobile search exploded around 2015 when younger users entered the market, AI search will follow the same pattern.
The lesson: Bad reviews on insignificant platforms like HotFrog (deprecated by Google years ago) can now resurface and damage your AI search presence.
Reaching Past Customers: Money Sitting in Your Backyard
If you’re not regularly reaching out to past customers, you’re leaving money on the table.
The Re-engagement Sequence
Initial contact: “Hey Tanner, I know we remodeled your kitchen last year. You mentioned you were happy with it. Do you have any friends who’d love a great kitchen too?”
Build the relationship: “We’d like to add you to our mailing list—just once a month, we’ll show you projects we’re working on. If you know anyone we can help, pass along our information, and we’ll buy you a steak dinner.”
Create a campaign cycle:
- Month 1: Share your latest project
- Month 2: Request a Google review
- Month 3: Ask for a Yelp review
- Month 4: Request a Houzz review (or industry platform)
- Month 5: Share another project
- Repeat
The Personal Touch for Top Customers
Even if you’re running 10 trucks, personally call solid customers who haven’t left reviews:
“Hey, I know you’re busy—we all are. It would mean a lot to me. Reviews are like gasoline for our business these days. Here’s the link to make it easy for you.”
What’s Coming: The Battle for Search Dominance
Google remains the biggest player despite losing some market share to AI platforms. Four or five major AI platforms are fighting for the same small slice of pie that Google lost.
The Consolidation Prediction
With current valuations and the money being poured into AI platforms, at least a couple must fail or get acquired within 24 months. Don’t be surprised to see a deal between Google and a major AI player—that would put Google back in the driver’s seat.
Why Google Still Wins on Local
The user experience advantage:
Imagine you’re driving and feel a wobble in your steering wheel. You need a tire shop now. You might use ChatGPT regularly, but when you can’t get fast directions in their browser, you’ll switch back to Google Maps.
That friction—that “chit on the wrong side of the ledger”—adds up. Until AI platforms match Google Maps’ navigation experience, they won’t dominate local search.
The Voice Search Dead End
Remember when everyone said you had to optimize for voice search with Alexa and Siri? It went nowhere because the experience wasn’t good enough.
The same principle applies: If AI browsers can’t match Google Maps’ functionality, they won’t take over local search—no matter how good their AI answers are.
Augmented Reality: The Next Frontier?
Google Glass failed 10 years ago because people felt uncomfortable being recorded without knowing it. Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses and Apple Vision Pro might succeed where Google Glass didn’t—but only if society becomes comfortable with constant recording.
The permission question: When you hold up a phone to record, everyone knows. With glasses, they don’t. That lack of visible permission creates discomfort, especially in male-to-female interactions.
However: Americans once thought we’d never accept cameras everywhere. Now they’re ubiquitous. Perhaps the same shift will happen with wearable recording devices as younger generations enter the market.
Your Action Plan: Start Today
Immediate Actions (Do This Week)
- Audit your Google Business Profile
- Fill in every blank field
- Add or update photos and videos
- List all services with website links
- Verify NAP consistency
- Check your website
- Test all phone numbers for click-to-call
- Move your contact form to the top of your homepage
- Get honest feedback from five trusted people
- Start asking for reviews
- Identify 10 satisfied customers
- Call or text them personally
- Send direct review links or QR codes
- Search yourself on AI platforms
- Check ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude
- Document what you find
- Identify any negative content that needs addressing
Ongoing Systems (Build These In)
- Monthly customer outreach campaign
- Share projects
- Rotate review requests across platforms
- Maintain relationships
- Weekly AI monitoring
- Search your business in AI platforms
- Track changes in results
- Compare to Google results
- Social media presence
- Study top competitors in major markets
- Post regularly on Instagram and Facebook
- Consider TikTok if competitors are there
- Review response protocol
- Answer every review within 24 hours
- Vary your responses
- Include service keywords naturally
The Bottom Line
The rules have changed. You can’t just be good at your trade anymore—you need to be everywhere your customers are searching. Google’s dominance is slipping, AI is pulling from unexpected sources, and your competition is showing up in places you’re not.
But here’s the good news: Local businesses still have a massive advantage. While e-commerce and regional players struggle with the changes, you can win with the map listing, strong reviews, and a solid Google Business Profile.
The businesses that win won’t be the ones with the best service—they’ll be the ones potential customers actually find.
Start implementing these changes today. Your future revenue depends on it.
About Kyle Bailey: Kyle brings 15 years of home service marketing expertise, specializing in helping local businesses navigate the evolving search landscape. Find him at frontburnermarketing.net or on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
