Local SEO in 2025-26

The Transformation of Local Search

Open Google on your phone and type “dentist near me” today, and you’ll immediately notice how dramatically the search landscape has evolved. Before encountering a single traditional blue link, you’re now presented with three distinct result formats:

• AI Overview – A Gemini-generated summary recommending three specific practices, complete with photos and convenient “Book appointment” buttons
• Map Pack – The familiar “Places” section, now pushed significantly lower on the page
• Dive Deeper – A mixed-content panel featuring Reddit discussions, “People Also Ask” questions, and locally-relevant blog content

This restructured search experience represents a fundamental shift in local SEO strategy. The reintroduction of Local Pack elements within AI Overviews on March 14, 2025, after an 18-month hiatus, has completely reshaped the discipline.

Four major trends are driving this transformation:

1. Gemini-powered AI Overviews dominating prime SERP real estate
2. Google Business Profile evolving from static listing to interactive hub with messaging, social integration, and video
3. EU’s Digital Markets Act forcing Google to redesign its self-preferencing elements
4. Local Service Ads expanding across verticals, creating a major new revenue stream for Google

Let’s examine each development and outline specific strategies to adapt and thrive in this new environment.

Gemini, AI Overviews and the New Three-Pack

What the Data Reveals

Research from StreetFight examining 1,000 restaurant queries in April 2025 found only 26% overlap between businesses featured in traditional Map Packs versus those highlighted in AI Overviews. This means local businesses now face two distinct ranking challenges.

Why the Divergence Exists

Gemini relies heavily on entity data—structured information about a business’s identity—compared to the traditional Map Pack’s emphasis on proximity and review quantity. Consistent Name-Address-Phone-Category (NAPC) alignment across digital touchpoints has become the critical factor for securing that coveted position in the AI Overview.

Winning the AI Overview Placement

To optimize for AI Overview inclusion:

• Conduct a comprehensive entity audit across your Google Business Profile, schema.org markup, and top-tier citation sources. Follow our detailed guide to local SEO optimization for step-by-step instructions.
• Craft a compelling 160-character “hero sentence” that clearly defines your business value proposition. Place this prominently on your homepage or location pages, as Gemini frequently extracts the first clear description it encounters.
• Regularly refresh visual content with monthly image uploads. Google’s Image Search team confirmed at I/O 2024 that freshness now directly impacts ranking. Remember to compress files, add geotags, and include them in your image sitemap as outlined in our technical SEO guide for site speed and mobile optimization.
• Build topical authority through Q&A-style content targeting specific “near me” variations and creating strong internal linking structures following on-page SEO best practices.

Understanding how Google AI Overviews function has become essential for local SEO professionals looking to maintain visibility in this new search paradigm.

Google Business Profile: From Static Listing to Mini Super-App

Google’s transformation of GBP from a simple informational listing to an interactive communication layer represents a significant strategic shift.

WhatsApp, SMS and Social Media Integration

Since February 2025, businesses can enable direct WhatsApp or SMS messaging capabilities directly within their Google Business Profiles. Simultaneously, Google now pulls recent posts from major social platforms—Instagram, TikTok, and X—into a browsable carousel within your profile.

Businesses that activate these messaging features display a distinctive green “Usually responds in minutes” badge, which Gemini algorithms consistently highlight in overview summaries.

Essential Setup Checklist

The Critical Role of Video Content

Video verification pins a brief clip to the top of your business profile and frequently serves as the thumbnail in AI Overviews. Record a simple walkthrough from your street sign to reception area to demonstrate authentic physical presence.

For detailed screenshots and complete setup instructions, our comprehensive local SEO tutorial provides visual guidance for each step.

The DMA Impact: Europe’s Regulatory Experiment

On March 19, 2025, the European Commission released preliminary findings indicating Google’s violation of Article 6(5) of the Digital Markets Act by favoring its own travel, hotel, and local search units. In response, Google has begun testing alternative layouts that position map elements lower on the page and incorporate comparison-site boxes above its proprietary listings.

Strategic Responses to Regulatory Changes

1. Enhance structured data implementation for third-party aggregators
Make your business information accessible to external comparison sites and booking portals by implementing comprehensive schema markup. This creates a hedge against potential future changes where Google must prioritize external comparison tools. Follow our structured data schema markup guide for complete instructions.

2. Track SERP visibility changes
Implement weekly monitoring of your target keywords using automated Puppeteer scripts to capture screenshots and measure vertical real estate allocation. This proactive approach helps identify shifting SERP patterns early. For technical implementation details, refer to our crawlability and indexability guide.

Local Service Ads 2.0: The Pay-Per-Lead Revolution

Google’s Local Service Ads program has expanded dramatically, now encompassing more than 80 business categories including newly-added verticals like EV repair and medical aesthetics. A March 2025 auto repair marketing podcast confirmed the nationwide U.S. rollout.

Impact on Organic Search Strategy

The rise of LSAs directly affects traditional local search visibility. Heat-mapping studies show that in markets where LSAs appear, organic Map Pack interactions drop by 17%. Businesses that don’t participate risk losing significant above-the-fold visibility.

Implementation Strategy

1. Prepare verification documentation early
Upload required licenses, insurance certificates, and identification well in advance, as the approval process typically takes 2-4 weeks.

2. Prioritize review acquisition
Focus on gathering reviews through the dedicated “Google Guaranteed” request link, as LSA results prioritize businesses by review volume.

3. Implement proper attribution tracking
Configure phone calls and messages as custom conversion events in GA4 to accurately measure performance. Our GA4 fundamentals guide provides detailed instructions for tracking phone-click events.

Multimodal Search: Preparing for Visual and Voice Queries

Google Lens now supports Multisearch Near Me functionality across the United States, with international language expansion expected “within months”. This technology allows users to capture images with their camera and add location-based queries like “fix near me” to discover relevant local services.

Visual Search Optimization Tactics

• Implement geo-tagging for all product and location images with precise latitude and longitude coordinates
• Add product-level schema markup (Product, Offer, ImageObject) that includes the areaServed property
• Optimize image alt text with straightforward, location-specific descriptions (e.g., “blue-denim-jacket Sydney CBD”) rather than elaborate descriptions

For a comprehensive approach to organizing this visual content within your site architecture, refer to our topic clusters and pillar pages guide.

Advanced Trust Signals: Reactions, Author Credibility, Social Proof

Google is currently testing emoji reactions on Google Business Profile reviews. Early data suggests that even a single positive reaction (❤️ or 👍) can dramatically improve a review’s visibility, potentially moving a five-star review from sixth position to first place.

Simultaneously, blog content cited within AI Overviews has begun displaying author profile images alongside experience badges (e.g., “5 years experience”) pulled from ProfilePage schema markup.

Implementation Checklist

• Identify your most impactful positive review and encourage loyal customers to add reactions
• Enhance blog author profiles with education credentials, professional qualifications, and high-quality headshots
• Incorporate sameAs links to professional platforms like LinkedIn
• Strengthen internal linking patterns by connecting relevant content to cornerstone resources like our link building fundamentals guide

Measuring Success in the New Search Landscape

A BrightEdge report from April 9, 2025, revealed that overlap between pages cited in AI Overviews and traditional top-10 organic results has fallen to just 15%. This divergence means that relying solely on click metrics risks overlooking significant visibility opportunities.

Modern Local SEO KPI Framework

Connect these metrics to your content production schedule to accurately attribute performance improvements to specific optimization initiatives.

Strategic Roadmap: 12-Month Implementation Plan

Conclusion: From Static Listings to Dynamic Conversations

Local SEO has evolved beyond the traditional checklist of citations and reviews. In 2025-26, businesses must compete effectively across three interconnected interfaces—Gemini’s AI Overview card, the repositioned Map Pack, and expanding Local Service Ads—each driven by distinct ranking signals and algorithms.

Success requires treating Google’s ecosystem as an extension of your own digital presence: implementing real-time messaging capabilities, creating engaging short-form video content, providing structured data feeds, and establishing end-to-end lead attribution tracking.

By implementing the strategies outlined in this guide, you’ll not only adapt to Google’s rapid evolution but potentially lead conversations in your local market.

Did this guide help? Explore our complete “How Search Engines Work” series starting with Crawling, Indexing and Ranking.