This week’s episode is shorter and packed with value. Darren highlights some key insights from Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report, and Claire tells you about some fantastic SEO and digital marketing content you don’t want to miss.

⭐ Whitespark's Official 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors

⭐ Whitespark's Official 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors Video

Here are the rest of the sources mentioned in this episode:

📝 Agentic capabilities in AI Mode (Rose Yao)

📝 The Ultimate Digital Marketing Training for 2026 (Exposure Ninja)

📝 Big Update to Google Posts (Claudia Tomina)

In this episode of The Whitespark Local Update, Claire Carlile chats with the brilliant Dana DiTomaso about how AI and LLMs are transforming search and what that means for local businesses. They share practical insights on staying visible, adapting to new platforms, and connecting with today’s consumers.

Follow Dana DiTomaso ❤️
LinkedIn | YouTube

Resources mentioned in this episode:

📝 How to Track and Report on Traffic from AI Tools in GA4 (Dana DiTomaso)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlL5ZV8z3H4

🔥 Leadferno

Оur first-ever in-person Local Update, recorded live at BrightonSEO 🎉 We asked four speakers to share one key takeaway from their talks, and here's what happened.

Here are the talks our guests shared their takeaways from:

🎤 Local SEO in the Age of AI Search: Don’t Get Left Behind (Michel van Luijtelaar)
🎤 How to Turn Your Locations' Presence into Performance (Sara Vordermeier)
🎤 Mindset for SEO: Future Career Progression (Greg Gifford)
🎤 Trust & Traffic: How Community Fuels Organic Growth (Erin Simmons)

Another week, another Local Update. But before we dive into today’s show notes, a quick announcement: next week’s episode will be recorded in person at BrightonSEO!

Claire and Darren have a busy few weeks ahead. Here are the upcoming events they’ll be speaking at and answering your local search questions:

⭐ Claire Carlile

• Women in Tech SEO – All Things Local SEO AMA
  📅 October 29th | ⏰ 11 AM EST | 💬 WTS Slack
• Sterling Sky Reddit AMA
  🔗 r/localsearch — coming soon!

⭐ Darren Shaw

• Sterling Sky Reddit AMA
  📅 November 3rd | 🔗 r/localsearch
• Emcee at LocalU Global 2026
  🎤 January 28, 2026 | 🌐 All-day virtual event
  💸 Tickets only $99 until the agenda drops
  🔗 Get tickets here: https://localu.org/virtual-2026

Alright, now let’s get into this week’s episode. Here’s what we cover 👇

📝 Google Local Results Without Call Button - Web Guide Or Bug? (Search Engine Roundtable)

📝 Can Your Business Be on Google? A Guide to GBP Eligibility by Business Type (Miriam Ellis)

📝 How To: Build A Content Audit Assistant With ScreamingFrog and AI (Ian Lurie)

📝 New: Google Business Profile Report Negative Review Extortion Scams (Search Engine Roundtable)

📝 A sudden spike in organic search traffic in GA4, but Search Console shows nothing (Dana DiTomaso)

📝 AI Citations, User Locations, & Query Context (Yext)

On this week’s episode of The Whitespark Local Update, Darren and Claire dive into what’s new, what’s weird, and what actually matters in local SEO.

Here’s what we cover:

📝 Why Local SEO is thriving in the AI-first search era (Rob Tindula on SEL)

📝 Ranking in Local SEO: The One Signal Google Trusts Most (Claudia Tomina)

📝 Citation consistency for LLMs (Matthew Forzan, and thanks to David Iwanow for the heads up)

📝 NEW Bing Places for Business

📝What Google’s num=100 Change Means for SEO Data (Noah Learner)

📝 Advancing your SEO Strategy for AIOs and the AI-era of search (Seer Interactive)

This week on The Whitespark Local Update, Darren and Claire break down the latest in local search:

📝 The Future of AI Search (Britney Muller)

📝 Business Loses 800 Reviews for “Asking for Reviews at the Register” (Claudia Tomina)

📝 Report Business Conduct Form

📝 Places Insights in BigQuery is now Generally Available (Google)

📝 Suspensions Are on the Rise (Barry Schwartz)

📝 How Hospitality & Travel Brands Can Win in AI-Driven Search (Koozai)

📝 Template for Self-Auditing Your AI Local Search Visibility (Phil Rozek)

📝 Spin-off Pages: a Bazooka for Your Local SEO (Phil Rozek)

Another week, another local SEO drop from Claire and Darren. This week we’re talking:

📝 AI mode and Gemini are being integrated into Chrome (Chris Long)

📝 Citation Mining Tool for AI SEO (Dan Petrovic)

📝 The Writing is on the Wall for Q&A (Local Search Forum)

📝 AI Comes to GBP: 'Ask Maps About This Place' (NearMedia)

📝 From SEO to AIO: Why Your Content Needs to Exist in AI Training Data (Stephen Burns)

📝 The AI Search Lab Glossary by Wix Studio (Crystal Carter)

📝 SearchPulse AI Reports (Reflectdigital)

Claire and Darren bring you a hand-picked wrap-up of the biggest local SEO stories and fresh insights from last week. On this episode, we dig into:

📝 Local packs in AI Overviews (Anthony Higman)

📝 No more map results in ChatGPT (Matt McGee)

📝 9 Google Business Profile Verification Tips That Will Save Your Sanity (Sterling Sky)

📝 ChatGPT Doesn't Stand a Chance in Local (Claudia Tomina)

📝 Will AI Overviews always be at the top of the SERP? (Tom Capper)

📝 Custom GPT can analyze a negative review and tell you which content policy it violates (Steve Toth)

📝 The 4 types of AI Marketers - AI Minimalists to AI Builders (Wil Reynolds)