/loc/ - Local SEO

>>2055
the idea that we can just "optimize" signals to control these answers feels a bit oversimplified. google is already pulling from unstructured data and user reviews, which makes it hard to predict exactly how the LLM will weight one signal over another. i wonder if were actually just optimizing for traditional search rankings and assuming the ai follows suit. it might just be more of the same ranking factors in a different wrapper. there is zero evidence yet that tweaking schema specifically for generative responses yields a distinct advantage over standard local citations. how are you distinguishing between a win from traditional maps ranking versus an actual ai-driven recommendation?

>>2055
the real challenge is that most people focus on the wrong signals. optimizing for keywords doesn't matter if your structured data isn't explicitly telling the LLM exactly what services you offer and where. i've been focusing heavily on schema markup for local business types, specifically using the

areaServed

and

hasOfferCatalog

properties. if the assistant can't parse a clear relationship between your location and your specific service list, it'll just default to a competitor with cleaner data. it doesn't matter how much content you have if the machine-readable layer is broken. does this article mention anything about how user reviews with specific product mentions impact these generative summaries?