Expert Predictions for Local Marketing in 2025

2025 is here, and with it comes the inevitable swatch of reflection and predictions. But who else has gathered 25 of the top names in local SEO to share their thoughts for the year ahead?! Hear from experts from the likes of RicketyRoo, Sterling Sky, Steady Demand, Croud and much, much more.

Read on as our contributors dive into AI, LLMs, visual search, and much, much more. First, we’ll start with a summary of the predictions, for those short on time, then move on to the predictions in full, in alphabetical order by surname.

Expert Predictions: The TL;DR

1. Google Business Profile (GBP) Optimization

Overview: GBP will continue to be a cornerstone for local SEO, with businesses needing to fully optimize profiles and leverage new AI-driven features.

• AI features like automated descriptions, sentiment analysis, and holiday hours suggestions will grow.
• Integration with social media content (posts and UGC) is likely to enhance GBP relevance.
• Businesses must ensure consistency across GBP and other listings.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “Big changes are brewing in Google Business Profile (GBP) … pulling social posts and other content into GBP … feels like the natural next step.” (Elizabeth Rule) – see the full prediction
• “AI features will continue to grow both in the main Google SERPs as well as the Google Business Profile product.” (Colan Nielsen) – see the full prediction
• “Optimizing profiles entirely and backing up the information by keeping it consistent across listings … will be important.” (Dayna Lucio) – see the full prediction

2. Visual Content

Overview: Visual assets like photos, videos, and AR will dominate local search visibility and user engagement.

• Search engines like Google will reward high-quality, regularly updated visual content.
• AR and other visual enhancements in Google Maps will transform user interaction with local businesses.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “Photos, videos, and even augmented reality … are stepping into the spotlight, making them essential tools for standing out and connecting with customers.” (Rachel Ellen) – see the full prediction
• “Being able to browse local businesses through AI-sorted photo galleries … will fundamentally change how users discover and choose businesses.” (Claudia Tomina) – see the full prediction
• “Google especially rewards businesses with fresh, high-quality visuals by boosting their visibility.” (Rachel Ellen) – see the full prediction

3. AI and Machine Learning

Overview: AI is reshaping how businesses optimize for local search, from automating content creation to understanding user behavior.

• AI Overviews and multimodal searches (e.g. voice + video, text + image) will redefine search intent understanding.
• Businesses will need structured, AI-readable content to remain competitive.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “Multimodal search is more aligned with the natural, intuitive ways people search for stuff … search engines can understand user intent more deeply.” (Myriam Jessier) – see the full prediction
• “AI-powered descriptions, review sentiment analysis … will expand features available on [GBP] profiles.” (Jenny Bernarde) – see the full prediction
• “Google’s use of AI in search results also warrants close attention … making it vital to track how these changes impact … customers.” (Steve Wiideman) – see the full prediction

4. User-Generated Content (UGC)

Overview: UGC like reviews, photos, and videos will increasingly shape local SEO outcomes.

• Google Maps and search results will feature more UGC as trust signals.
• Businesses should actively encourage and curate UGC to build credibility.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “We are already seeing more images, reviews, and videos created by users being featured in Google Business Profiles.” (Clarissa Filius) – see the full prediction
• “User-generated content will continue to thrive … Businesses will need to embrace authentic interactions on social forums.” (Elizabeth Rule) – see the full prediction
• “Encouraging clicks and engagement … makes these features highly impactful for businesses optimizing their profiles.” (Claudia Tomina) – see the full prediction

5. Diversification of Channels

Overview: Businesses need to expand beyond Google for visibility, leveraging platforms like social media, Bing, and AI search tools.

• Hyperlocal targeting (neighborhood-specific strategies) will become more effective.
• Social media platforms and AI-driven search engines (e.g. ChatGPT) will grow as starting points for consumer journeys.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “It should be about matching user intent and delivering real value to your community … blending solid SEO with authentic community engagement.” (Celeste Gonzalez) – see the full prediction
• “Hyperlocal optimization … means diving deep into individual neighborhoods.” (Vera Shafiq) – see the full prediction
• “SearchGPT and other LLM tools … are becoming increasingly significant as starting points for customer journeys.” (Claire Carlile) – see the full prediction

6. Content Quality and Authenticity

Overview: High-quality, human-driven, and authentic content will stand out in an increasingly competitive and AI-saturated market.

• Businesses must avoid generic AI content and focus on storytelling and user-centric narratives.
• Unique, locally relevant content will dominate.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “Users and search engines alike are demanding more … focus on storytelling that builds trust and drives action.” (Melissa Popp) – see the full prediction
• “Google is rewarding information gain, so authentic site experiences with content written by real humans are going to start winning.” (Greg Gifford) – see the full prediction
• “The more unique and specific your content is … the better you’ll look in local SERPs.” (Elizabeth Linder) – see the full prediction

7. Emerging Technologies

Overview: Wearables, AR, and AI tools will expand search capabilities and local business engagement.

• AI-driven features like Immersive View and voice search will further enhance user experience.
• Wearables will create new opportunities for local SEO in real-time interactions.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “The transition from the phone to wearables is just beginning … augmented reality and wearables can benefit local SEO.” (Ben Fisher) – see the full prediction
• “Google Maps’ evolving UI … will make visual content far more engaging and searchable.” (Claudia Tomina) – see the full prediction

8. Back to Basics

Overview: Foundational practices like consistent NAP data, regular updates, and responsiveness will remain essential.

• Businesses must revisit and refine old content to align with current offerings.
• Improving communication channels and user experience will be a focus.

What the Experts Are Saying:

• “Foundational SEO tasks will be more important since so many are using AI to optimize page elements.” (Greg Gifford) – see the full prediction
• “If you have a lot of old content, make 2025 the year to revisit it … and re-publish it as new.” (Tim Capper) – see the full prediction

The Expert Predictions In Full

"AI search engines will begin to display content from social platforms to create richer local search results."

Jenny Bernarde, Social & Community Manager at BrightLocal

I predict that AI search engines will begin to display content from social platforms to create richer local search results. For example, social proof in the form of TikTok videos, or tagged Instagram posts could be added to the AI-generated results pulled from organic web sources. This would definitely better inform the searcher!

Social media has always been an excellent place for local businesses to establish their presence, but this presence may become increasingly vital in the coming year due to AI advancements.

"Expect to see many more businesses in competitive verticals flaunting the guidelines to their advantage."

Tim Capper, Owner at Online Ownership

I think we will have to work hard in 2025 to be local.

Google Business Profile is on its support knees, with reducing staff in favor of automation, which is not going so well— with manual actions from redressal submissions not being acted on. So expect to see many more businesses in competitive verticals flaunting the guidelines to their advantage. Dust off those local guide accounts for suggested edits, which is the only thing working in the wake of GBP suspending manual actions from redressal reports.

Successive HCU updates have removed old content that performed well for years. If you have a lot of old content, make 2025 the year to revisit it, update it to current offerings, prices, and brand messaging, and re-publish it as new. This will also help you find gaps in your current content that you can fill in.

Looking back at my opening sentence, “I think we will have to work hard in 2025 at being local”: this is going to separate you from the businesses jumping on the LLM (I refuse to call it AI when it just isn’t) train and churning out sub-standard stuff. People want to see the businesses as local and support local.

A great example of this was with an optometrist I recently worked with. They tried the TikTok bandwagon and spent a lot on professional video, which did not work out as expected. We repurposed the videos into an introduction to the business, including the front and back of the business staff, reworked their About page, and added the video. They then created a nice little “Thank You for your Business” card with a QR code that takes you directly to the video—this is included in every pair of glasses shipped out to online customers, showing who they supported “in real life”.

Repeat orders and prescriptions have nearly doubled, so put a face to your businesses if you don’t always see your customers in person.

Get Creative, Go Back to Being Local in 2025!

"Measurement using meaningful metrics must be central."

Claire Carlile, Local Search Advocate at Jepto

Oooh, it’s that time of year again! 🔮 So, what does 2025 have in store for us?

I believe businesses will need to take AI more seriously. Large Language Models (LLMs) like Chat/SearchGPT are likely to become increasingly significant as starting points for customer journeys. Monitoring how searches related to your brand and queries relevant to your products or services evolve will be critical. Staying updated on the methods needed to optimize for visibility—whether it’s Bing Places, Tripadvisor, or other sources these models use to populate their answers—will be important.

Google’s use of AI in search results also warrants close attention. AI-generated overviews could become more prevalent in bottom-of-the-funnel local searches, making it vital to track how these changes impact the ways that your potential customers find (or fail to find) your business. Regularly monitoring the search engine results page (SERP) for your brand and key queries across relevant locations will remain an important aspect of any local SEO strategy.

Understanding how AI can benefit your business—whether by saving time, providing valuable insights, or optimizing the systems we use to serve our clients—is, in my view, essential. While current AI technologies have their limitations and are far from being a silver bullet, they are undeniably useful and can deliver meaningful outcomes for users.

As businesses, it’s crucial that we learn to harness these tools effectively, integrating them into our processes and aligning them with how we choose to build relationships with our customers and communities.

Perhaps 2025 will be the year many businesses finally adopt a more customer-centric approach. Truly understanding how your target market seeks to solve their problems requires stepping into their shoes—exploring their motivations, drivers, search behaviors, and the myriad touchpoints that can capture and maintain their attention along the journey.

Of course, Google will continue to play a dominant role, as it will still drive the lion’s share of leads for most businesses. If businesses haven’t yet fully optimized their Google Business Profiles or created locally relevant, highly optimized, and CTA-driven content for their websites, now is the time to do so.

Finally, with marketing budgets shrinking in many organizations—both internally and externally—demonstrating ROI will be more important than ever. Measurement using meaningful metrics must be central to everything we do, enabling us to justify spending and retain clients.

"Take action by carrying out queries about your brand to ensure that the content LLMs provide is accurate."

Crystal Carter, Head of SEO Communications at WIX STUDIO

Local SEO teams should be looking at how they can utilize ChatGPT and other LLMs as channels for traffic and conversions. Start by monitoring traffic in GA4 then take action by carrying out queries about your brand to ensure that the content they provide is accurate. Provide feedback on factually incorrect responses directly in the LLMs and take steps to increase your brand visibility in LLMs by getting links from websites that form part of LLM training data.

"2025 is the year to elevate your local visual strategy."

Rachel Ellen, Local Search Strategist at Croud

An area I am excited to prioritize in 2025 is visual content. This is no longer just a nice-to-have—it’s the lifeblood of your online presence, as photos, videos, and even augmented reality are stepping into the spotlight, making them essential tools for standing out and connecting with customers.

It’s a no-brainer concept that people love to see what they’re getting before they commit. A stunning photo of your café’s latte art, a before-and-after comparison of an impactful home renovation, or a quick video showing off your boutique’s cozy vibe isn’t just eye candy—it’s trust-building gold.

Advancements in AI and image recognition mean search platforms can understand and leverage visual content better than ever. We’ve seen Google especially reward businesses with fresh, high-quality visuals by boosting their visibility and pulling back the golden rope to let them into the red-carpeted area of new and emerging visual SERP features.

If you’re not keeping your gallery updated or experimenting with short-form video, you’re leaving opportunities on the table.

2025 is the year to elevate your local visual strategy. Be consistent, be creative, and most importantly, be real. The more effort you put into making your business look and feel approachable online, the more likely you are to attract and delight customers.

"Getting the basics right will remain the biggest challenge for most companies."

Clarissa Filius, Teamlead SEO at iO

In 2025, user-generated content (UGC) is expected to continue growing. We are already seeing more images, reviews, and videos created by users being featured in Google Business Profiles, and this trend is likely to expand. Google appears to be focusing on making Google Maps more centered around UGC and user engagement.

Local search will remain important, as people frequently rely on navigation apps to find nearby locations. More businesses are likely to realize the importance of optimizing for local search, especially in Europe, where there is still much room for improvement. Despite ongoing changes, getting the basics right will remain the biggest challenge for most companies.

While we may not see dramatic changes, some innovations are on the horizon. AI will likely become more integrated into navigation apps, though AI-powered search engines are not expected to replace core navigation functions anytime soon from my perspective. There is a possibility that Gemini will be integrated into Google Maps in 2025 or we may see local results return within AI Overviews. Additionally, features like Immersive View are expected to become more common—which I am really looking forward to.

"Citations will rise in importance."

Ben Fisher, Owner at Steady Demand

1. More GBP features will be AI augmented.

We started to see this already with the generative description inside GBP and the editorial snippet now being created by Generative AI. It only makes sense that we will see many more changes to GBP, allowing generative AI to make things “easier” for merchants.

My predictions: reviews, posts, and services all may get a generative AI upgrade.

2. Voice Search and the Rise of Conversational Queries

People are increasingly using voice-powered answer engines to search, like Perplexity and SearchGPT. This alters behavior from “type it in and look through results” to a more natural conversation with an AI agent or tool that will deliver high-quality results in a faster fashion.

My prediction: SearchGPT will continue to erode market share from Google. I would not be surprised to see a +10% drop off in 2025. Businesses will need to provide highly structured, AI-readable content, including FAQs, schema markup, and conversational language that aligns with voice search. Implementing natural language in content and focusing on long-tail keywords will become crucial.

3. Growth of Zero-Click Searches

Google will emphasize zero-click searches, where users find answers directly in search results through features like Local Packs, Knowledge Panels, and FAQs. Businesses must optimize their Google Business Profiles (GBP) and ensure their information (NAP, hours, reviews) is accurate and appealing.

My prediction: Marketers will need to make a more concentrated effort to ensure that a consistent narrative is feeding AI and zero-click results. Local citations will rise in importance. Negative SEO will emerge in a way that capitalizes on the use of misinformation, and on the flip side marketers will learn how to “train” answer engines.

4. Wearables

Local search is a perfect fit for wearables. The transition from the phone to wearables is just beginning and I think we will see our first example of how augmented reality and wearables can benefit local SEO.

My prediction: We will see more competition in the wearable space. Meta started with the RayBan glasses and integration of AI, this will be followed closely by Samsung, Google, and others. Marketers will need to understand what can be “trained” to augment the data that is fed back to users. The race for your face is here!

"Google Business Profile reviews and website location pages … will continue to play a key role in Local SEO."

Bambi Frazier, Snr Product Manager of Local SEO at Amsive

I think Google Business Profile reviews and website location pages (for multi-location businesses) will continue to play a key role in Local SEO in 2025. Search engines are consistently trying to “get it right” by prioritizing user trust signals through reviews and utilizing truly helpful, relevant local content on location pages (hello, schema!).

Because reviews directly influence consumer decisions, and well-optimized location pages can enhance discoverability and user experience, we’ll continue to see their need and significant impact.

"People are going to have to do real marketing again."

Greg Gifford, Chief Operating Officer at SearchLab Digital

I think 2025 will be the year of getting back to basics. Everyone has become distracted by AI and new tools and “SEO hustle bros” offering quick wins that don’t really work.

Now, with the proliferation of AI-generated content, there’s more crap than ever on websites. Google is rewarding information gain, so authentic site experiences with content written by real humans are going to start winning in search results.

People are going to have to do real marketing again—it will be all about building the brand and helping that brand stand out in the sea of noise. The basic foundational SEO tasks will be more important since so many are using AI to optimize page elements. Humans still outperform AI in sounding human and making human decisions. Plus, doing all of the basic “marketing” stuff will also play nicely with the up-and-coming AI search options, so it’s going to be a win-win all around.

"Success will come from blending solid SEO with authentic community engagement."

Celeste Gonzalez, Director of RooLabs at RicketyRoo

I hope that, in 2025, local SEO will be all about smarter diversification. Local businesses are starting to realize you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. It should be about matching user intent and delivering real value to your community.

I think we’ll see businesses focus on building trust and visibility through multiple channels: optimizing for user behavior and creating a brand that resonates both online and offline. Success will come from blending solid SEO with authentic community engagement and taking a data-driven approach to testing what really works. It’s about showing up for your users everywhere they are, not just in a traditional search way.

"Businesses need to ensure their digital presence can be easily interpreted across different search modalities."

Myriam Jessier, Fractional SEO + Trainer at PRAGM

Multimodal search makes it easier. Multimodal search is more aligned with the natural, intuitive ways people search for stuff. Using various input methods, such as text combined with images or voice with video opens new doors for businesses.

For local businesses, this means optimizing content not just for keywords but for the broader context and intent behind queries. This is thanks to vector embeddings, which capture the semantic meaning and context of concepts, allowing search engines to understand user intent more deeply. On the local SEO end of things, this is something local businesses know well, otherwise, they would not be able to meet their customers’ needs.

Things will get easier for some as a result: for instance, a user might take a photo of a leaky pipe and receive recommendations for local plumbers based on reviews and expertise along with other deciding factors such as responsiveness and affordable rates.

Businesses need to ensure their digital presence can be easily interpreted across different search modalities.

This table illustrates multimodal search patterns I think about in the shower.

"It’ll be necessary in 2025 to understand where your audience is searching and be visible in these places."

Elizabeth Linder, Director Of SEO at Kick Point & KP Playbook

Previously my predictions on local search for 2024 revolved around the importance of continuing to provide high-quality, unique content that is beneficial to your target audience—this I believe will continue to be true in 2025.

There’s so much more opportunity to build better local content with the support of AI, including uncovering helpful topics from your own search console data and building strong outlines to work from.

We’ve also seen a shift towards building brand recognition and not just focusing on optimizing your website, but taking time to find out where else your local audience searches for your goods or services—like social media or community forums! It’ll be necessary in 2025 to understand where your audience is searching and be visible in these places. You’ll want to diversify and tailor your content for these different formats.

Local businesses can also benefit from communicating across different channels. We unfortunately still live in a world where we will contact a local business, like our dentist, and not hear back after either filling out a form or calling! In 2025 I would love to see more local businesses improve their communication with customers.

Your reputation is also still extremely relevant. It’s more difficult than ever to rank in competitive local spaces, and the more people talk about you (in a positive way) the more proof you’ll provide to both users and search engines that you’re the best at what you do. But please don’t buy reviews. 🙄

Lastly, the more unique and specific your content is to your local business, the better you’ll look in local SERPs. It’s a world of AI and online scams, the more real you appear, the better. Don’t use stock or AI images, have real images and videos of your business, team members, products, and/or services.

"More SERP features will be introduced in 2025."

Dayna Lucio, Sr. Strategist, SEO at Amsive

1. One of my predictions is that there will be more AI-generated features within GBP. We’ve seen some “experimental features” on profiles, such as the feature where restaurants can generate menus from photos or PDFs, as well as the option to create AI-powered descriptions. I think Google will continue to test different profile features using generative AI. I also think that Google will continue expanding features available on the profiles to share more information about businesses; with the emphasis on reviews that we’ve seen in the past, I could see some type of feature that serves as a review sentiment analysis summary to add something beyond the star rating and topic clusters we currently see in that section.

2. When it comes to GBP, I think it will be necessary for businesses to ensure they are optimizing their profiles entirely and backing up the information by keeping it consistent across listings (Yelp, Bing, ABC, etc.), along with having that content available on their website. This will be important because I can also see Google leveraging profile and location page content to help with AI Overviews for businesses and other AI-generated SERP features. We saw testing of local packs when they first experimented with the SGE Lab Results, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that type of testing continued in 2025.

3. Looking beyond Local SEO, I think more SERP features will be introduced in 2025, resulting in more zero-click searches. Brands will need to start thinking beyond Google when it comes to search, focusing on social media, YouTube, etc., and finding ways that different channels can work together so marketing efforts aren’t siloed.

"AI Slop will be widely used and widely effective."

David Mihm, Co-founder at Near Media

1. Regulatory risk will lead Google to make substantial SERP changes in Europe and possibly the UK

Google’s obligation to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) continues to be the most underreported story in local search.

Thus far, aside from a bad-faith reversion to ten blue links in the Hotels vertical in Germany, Belgium, and Estonia, the impact of the changes Google has introduced to the Local SERP in response to the DMA has been infinitesimally small. Across restaurants, home services, and hotels, we’ve found Google clearly continues to self-preference its own Business Profiles in terms of ranking, and the Places Sites comparison module has been designed in such a way that it receives almost no user engagement. (Disclosure: Near Media presented our restaurant data to members of the European Commission in March 2024.)

In 2025, there will be enough zeroes on the end of the penalty number that the cost-benefit analysis of noncompliance will start to tip in the direction of significant SERP layout changes, even if those changes yield a lower revenue-per-query than Google’s historically achieved.

2. Google will aggressively push users to adopt Gemini as their primary search engine

Much as Meta’s original flagship social product is now a shell of its former self, supplanted by Instagram and WhatsApp for all but the oldest, least-savvy users, Gemini could become Google’s primary go-to-market search brand.

I think we’ll see Alphabet pushing Gemini every way it possibly can in an effort to keep users inside its ecosystem, but using a completely different (better) product. We’ll see television ads (check), modal windows, Gmail calls to action, Chrome notifications—the kitchen sink.

AI Overviews will continue to infiltrate an increasing percentage of SERPs and we’ll see other AI experiments from the Google search product team. Google’s market share will remain above 90% for most of the Western world, driving the lion’s share of brand awareness and website traffic for most companies.

But we might very well look back on 2024 as Peak Google (though by no means Peak Alphabet).

3. AI Slop will be widely used and widely effective (and maybe that’s OK?)

We’ll continue to see manual penalties and whipsawing Core Updates in 2025 as engineers continue to play Edge Case Whack-a-mole on the altar of Brand as a cesspool-sorting mechanism. But AI-produced content will proliferate and continue to deliver value to publishers and readers.

LLMs have gotten incredibly good at generating content themselves (to wit: the podcast feature of Google’s own Notebook LM which went viral last year). At a minimum, a well-structured prompt to ChatGPT or NotebookLM that draws on an editorially-curated list of sources is relatively unlikely to hallucinate and can synthesize almost any input into a cohesive narrative with astonishing “skill.”

In many cases, humans consuming AI-produced content prefer it to human-created stuff anyway!

So I think we’ll see more businesses of all sizes continue to deploy AI content in this manner at scale: a strategy which will be validated by its ranking and conversion performance.

"Q1 will bring some massive, game-changing shifts to the local algorithm."

Colan Nielsen, VP of Local Search at Sterling Sky

1. AI features will continue to grow both in the main Google SERP’s as well as the Google Business Profile product. I think Q1 will bring some massive, game-changing shifts to the local algorithm.

2. This annual prediction of mine hasn’t come true since I started making the prediction pre-covid: service areas in GBP will start to influence ranking. 2025 is the year!

"We might start to see more businesses leveraging subscription models as a new stream of income."

Sammy Paget, Research Lead at BrightLocal

1. I think we’ll see a rise in written blogger review content, whether from personal interest bloggers or experts contributing reviews to larger publications. Whilst the last few years has seen many bloggers shifting away from writing content on their own websites, and instead focusing on just creating Reels or TikToks, there is evidence to show that ‘business mentions’ within various publications are appearing prominently in SERPs and AI Search result source lists for plenty of different industries (see Business Listings Visibility Study and Uncovering ChatGPT Search Sources).

I kind of see this happening as a bit of a ‘hyper authentic’ backlash to AI, where people may feel a sense of nostalgia towards the innocent years of microinfluencers.

2. As a follow-on from this, I think reinforcing expertise and authority authentically (à la E-E-A-T) will prove to be a big focus for local marketers in 2025. So, considering ways to tap into the above types of content should be on the agenda—whether that’s leveraging influencers in your business to contribute expert content to external publications, focusing on the surprise and delight factors that will get others writing about your business organically, or even building your own blog.

3. Subscriptions and tiers. As consumers, we’re well past just having subscriptions to video and audio streaming platforms. Creator platforms like Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee allow brands and individuals to monetize their content. Some of these platforms also provide an exclusive sense of community with direct access to creators. I think we might start to see more businesses leveraging subscription models as a new stream of income.

"Local businesses must focus on storytelling that builds trust and drives action."

Melissa Popp, Content Strategy Director at RicketyRoo

In 2025, local SEOs must shift from simply ticking off optimization boxes to crafting engaging, hyper-relevant content that speaks directly to their audience’s needs. The days of throwing together generic location pages and hoping for rankings are gone. Users and search engines alike are demanding more. With increased competition, local businesses must focus on storytelling that builds trust and drives action. This means using deep local insights, user-generated content, and expertise-driven narratives to create content that doesn’t just rank but converts.

"We’ll see Google streamline GBP by phasing out less popular, proprietary features like posts and Q&A."

Elizabeth Rule, SEO Analyst + Account Manager at Sterling Sky

Looking ahead to 2025, I see big wins for businesses that double down on building their brand both online and offline. Why? Because Google loves brands that people love. The more people talk about, engage with, and share your brand, the more Google is inclined to trust your content—and reward it with prime search visibility. Brand SEO is becoming wildly important, to help business owners control what users see about a brand no matter where they are searching – especially off Google. Plus, user-generated content will continue to thrive. Businesses will need to embrace authentic interactions on social forums and social media to stay topically relevant, authoritative, and trusted.

2025 isn’t just about improving search rankings—it’s about making your brand stand out where it matters and leading/contributing to the conversations your customers care about most.

Big changes are brewing in Google Business Profile (GBP), too. I suspect we’ll see Google streamline GBP by phasing out less popular, proprietary features like posts and Q&A. Instead, they’ll likely lean into connecting GBP with social media platforms. Why? Because businesses and customers are already engaging so much on social media, pulling social posts and other content into GBP (a trend we’re already seeing) feels like the natural next step.

"Video content is evolving from a nice-to-have into a local SEO powerhouse."

Vera Shafiq, Marketing Strategy Consultant at Vera Shafiq

Looking ahead to 2025, three powerful trends are poised to revolutionize the local SEO landscape. As someone who’s spent years helping businesses thrive in their local markets, I’m particularly excited about these game-changing developments.

First, video content is evolving from a nice-to-have into a local SEO powerhouse. We’re seeing remarkable results when businesses create authentic, snappy videos that showcase their unique local flavor. Whether it’s a behind-the-scenes peek at a family-owned restaurant or a quick tutorial from a neighborhood hardware store, these videos are gold when optimized with local keywords and shared across platforms. What makes this especially powerful is Google’s increasing preference for rich media in local search results, particularly through Google Business Profile integration.

The second wave is the strategic application of AI in local SEO. We’re moving beyond basic keyword research into sophisticated local market analysis. Smart businesses are using AI tools to decode their local competitive landscape and understand community conversations in real time. This lets them craft content that truly resonates with their neighborhood audience—it’s like having a constant pulse on your local market.

Perhaps most intriguingly, we’re witnessing the rise of hyperlocal optimization. Gone are the days of targeting just “Chicago” or “Los Angeles.” Success in 2025 means diving deep into individual neighborhoods. Think Wicker Park in Chicago or Silver Lake in LA. By creating neighborhood-specific landing pages and getting listed in local community directories, businesses are connecting with customers literally around the corner.

These trends aren’t just changing the game—they’re rewriting the rules of local search entirely. Businesses that embrace these shifts early will find themselves with a significant advantage in their local markets.

"It’s time to take a long, hard look at who and what is being featured in the AI Overviews."

Andy Simpson, Senior SEO at Digital Law Marketing

In the words of Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’. Sundar Pichai has already said that Google search will “change profoundly” in 2025! We’re going to see an increase in AI Overviews, there’s even been mention of a dedicated “AI Mode” which users will be able to switch to from the top of the SERPs. I think we’re also going to see featured snippets slowly get filtered out and replaced more with AI Overviews, so if you’re currently seeing an AI Overview and a featured snippet, I don’t think we’ll be seeing this for much longer. So, if you haven’t already, it’s time to take a long, hard look at who and what is being featured in the AI Overviews. These can change sometimes on a weekly basis, but with the right content, you can also shoehorn yourself into them as well.

I’m honestly “currently” not concerned about losing traffic to Perplexity or SearchGPT, as the percentage of traffic we get from these is tiny, even less than what we get from Bing, and who’s worried about Bing?

But we should not be ignoring it, as again, it’s not going away and is only going to grow over time. So be aware of it, use SearchGPT, search for your brand, and see what results are returned. Customer comments and reviews don’t always come from Google, SearchGPT does currently reference Google and Google Maps but who knows when they’ll change this and it’ll be local results from Bing and Bing Local? So what’s your Bing Local presence looking like at the moment? You do know that SearchGPT uses Bing, much of the search functionality “appears” to be powered by Bing’s index. Bing index tip, use “IndexNow” to have your content indexed almost immediately by Bing, which surely means it’s then known by SearchGPT

Here’s a 2025 must-have report on traffic from AI Tools in GA4 from Dana DiTomaso, this is a great way to see what content on your site is getting interest/traffic from Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.

2025 is a year of not being left behind with what’s happening not just on Google but with the other LLM platforms. Keep checking, don’t ignore them, your clients will be asking about them, so be aware and understand them.

"The moonshot: More policies shaped by local laws."

Stefan Somberac, Local SEO Analyst at Sterling Sky

My niche is Google Business Profiles, so that’s where all my predictions are focused. And I’ve got three: the obvious, the less obvious, and the moonshot.

1. The obvious: More AI. In 2024 Google gave us AI tools to write the GBP description and to convert a photo or PDF of your restaurant’s menu into an editable text menu on your profile. They started using AI to put a business overview on the Knowledge Panel in the SERPs, and now Gemini can answer questions about a business in the Maps app.

I believe Google will continue to add more AI tools to help business owners manage their profiles. By scraping the business website and social media profiles AI could recommend additional categories or services, suggest updates to business hours during the holidays and write posts. With some training to learn the voice of the business, AI could respond to reviews. There are lots of possibilities!

2. The less obvious: More transparency. The relatively new Appeals tool tells us (albeit vaguely) why a profile was suspended. In 2023, Google gave us a tool to give us insights into account suspensions. In 2024, Google started sharing with business owners reasons why their video verification failed. We’re miles away from total transparency but every little bit helps business owners create and maintain a verified Business Profile. I expect to see more of it in 2025.

3. The moonshot: More policies shaped by local laws. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Economic Area (EEA) imposes significant new regulations on the biggest internet companies. We’re seeing Google make changes to remain compliant, from changes to the SERPs to giving businesses options to request information that is not already available in existing help documents. At the end of 2024, Google added a new rule to the Business Profile Guidelines that requires businesses associated with age-restricted products (e.g. alcohol, cannabis) to have a storefront. This requirement eliminates unlicensed delivery services that can easily get away with weak age verification practices. Is Google concerned about listing businesses that may be breaking local laws? Historically, Google has largely been concerned with users following the Google TOS. I’m curious to see if they introduce more policies that align with local laws (or at least, insulate Google from law-breaking businesses using Google Business Profiles.)

"More marketers will diversify away from Google."

Greg Sterling, Local Marketing Expert + Co-founder at Near Media

Obviously AI is going to continue to have a major impact on the market. Google will remain far and away the dominant search engine—and there will be many more changes to SERPs, as Big G introduces new AI features and elements (and tries to preserve ad clicks)—but some number of consumer searches will migrate to AI tools like ChatGPT. These tools may wind up complementing search or they could erode informational query volumes on Google. But consumer behavior is definitely changing. This is part of a larger “fragmentation of search” that’s been going on for some time: think TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, Apple Maps, and so on.

We don’t know yet what’s going to happen to Google following its antitrust defeat in 2024 and its second antitrust trial, which has yet to deliver a final judgment. More likely than not, there won’t be any major changes, but potential “structural” remedies (e.g. sale of Chrome or Android), if they were to happen, could significantly impact both users and marketers.

Apple is a wild card. Improvements to Siri via Apple Intelligence, along with Apple’s OpenAI partnership, will peel away search queries from Google on the iPhone. If it continues to improve, Apple Maps could also take some local search queries away from Google. Apple Maps (Apple Business Connect) is often neglected by local marketers. It drives considerable traffic and should be a higher priority.

Speaking of which, more marketers will diversify away from Google. Google will remain central, but the antitrust trial exhibits and various search-related leaks in 2024 have revealed the importance of developing a brand on other channels so that people search more directly for your company or client vs. battling it out for category search or generic keyword rankings. In addition, people discover companies very often in a lot of places other than on Google. Marketers can and should invest more time in those places depending on their audience(s). Google, however, will remain the focus for local SEOs.

As a final note, I believe that ChatGPT will start to become competitive with Google for local information in 2025, including local business information. It may develop something akin to Google Business Profiles at some point this year.

"We will continue to see the rise of social media features and carousels."

Krystal Taing, VP of Solutions at Uberall

In 2025, I think we will continue to see the rise of social media features and carousels, as well as more focus on photos and videos. These types of mediums help provide more business context to searchers, and search engines are highlighting these more prevalently, both alongside your business profiles and in search results.

"Photos and videos … will be the focus for Google Maps in 2025."

Claudia Tomina, Founder at ReputationArm

One of the biggest shifts I anticipate in local SEO for 2025 is Google Maps’ evolving UI and its deeper integration of AI-powered photos and videos. We’ve already seen the beginnings of this transformation in 2024, with photo galleries being categorized under headings next to “latest,” “by owner,” and “street view.”

Google is now creating more specific labels in photos for food items and other categories. No doubt we will see a lot more of these photo categorizations across all categories and as the AI models evolve. The labeling and organization of photos are going to make visual content far more engaging and searchable in the coming year.

We see the “Discover Through Photos” feature for search queries, allowing users to visually explore options based on images. I predict we’ll see this functionality expand in 2025. Photos are also starting to appear alongside review sentiments. For example, if a med spa has 25 reviews mentioning “lips,” clicking that sentiment may show related photos, not just from reviews but also uploaded by the business itself. Being able to browse local businesses through AI-sorted photo galleries that showcase key offerings or services will fundamentally change how users discover and choose businesses.

Of course, it’s not always perfect—AI occasionally pulls unrelated photos or labels them wrong—but the focus here is user interaction. Even when the content isn’t flawless, the ability to encourage clicks and engagement makes these features highly impactful for businesses optimizing their profiles.

Photos and videos, paired with a new user interface, better labeling, categorization, and discoverability through AI, will be the focus for Google Maps in 2025.

"This is the year consumers really begin to explore different ways of finding places."

Steve Wiideman, Owner at Wiideman Consulting Group

Change in the local SEO space in 2025 is inevitable as consumers continue to adopt AI technologies, such as using their voice with ChatGPT Search, exploring Google’s Gemini, and wearing wearables such as Ray-Ban Meta and Humane. Younger searchers spend their time in social search, but where they search is uncertain, as demonstrated by the TikTok ban.

Google Web Search is a product, and as long as there is demand for a product, it’s unlikely going to go anywhere anytime soon. This is the year consumers really begin to explore different ways of finding places. It’s the local business community that should be investing resources into understanding where else consumers are searching, how they are searching, and what factors might ultimately play into decision-making.

2025 might be a Listen and Watch Year at its core. Forward-thinking organizations might be thinking about allocating resources towards a “no website traffic” search ecosystem where they help their customers get what they need even in an environment where the customer never actually reaches the website. A hands-free AI-assisted experience that will eventually include users taking action, the way they might make a purchase with Amazon Alexa.

We should be excited about the prospect of action schema tied to services that enable future search engines to interact with our business in ways that never require a page on our website to be visited by a human.

Exciting times await us, but for now, listening and watching should be our priority for the new year.

What’s Next for 2025?

We don’t know, but whatever it is, we’ll be letting you know the skinny via our newsletter. A huge thanks to the 25 experts who shared their expert predictions with us this year!

About the author

Jamie Banks

Jamie heads up BrightLocal's content team, ensuring we produce insightful articles, research and resources that enable businesses and SEOs to get even better results in local search.

See all of Jamie's articles (98)