This article is from our Agency Growth Handbook—a collection of guides created to help local SEO agencies grow and succeed. It is chapter five of ‘Part 3: Retention & Growth’. 

What’s that? Google has put out another algorithm update. It’s OK, you’ve not been doing anything dodgy with any of your clients. You know the local search algorithm inside out. Nothing bad will have ha… wait, what’s that? Your best-performing client’s visibility has suddenly tanked? That can’t be right. Why is your phone ringing incessantly? Why is that email in all caps? What are you going to do?

Ok, that may be a bit of an extreme example, as things like this shouldn’t come as a surprise. But the truth is there’s no guarantee that an algorithm update won’t affect one of your clients. On some occasions, they may have done absolutely nothing wrong, but Google has decided that someone else has done something better, and this update has surfaced their content in place of yours.

Another example is when they add something to the algorithm, like changing how opening hours affect local rankings.

So having a process in place to respond to one of these situations is important. We’ve talked to a number of experts from across the local search industry to find out how they react when one of their clients has potentially been affected by an algorithm update.

Algorithm Response Plans from the Experts

We asked each local search expert “Google has launched (yet another) algorithm update. Your client’s been affected. What do you do?”. You’ll find their answers below.

"It should not be a surprise, but the first step is understanding what’s been hit and how it affects the business."

Tim Capper, Owner at Online Ownership

First off, this shouldn’t be a surprise. You should have seen the signs if you’re doing local SEO properly. Algorithm shifts rarely come out of nowhere, and clients should already have been prepped for possible turbulence.

Now, let me drop an old-school truth bomb: overreliance on automated “pretty” reporting instead of manual reporting here is what’s happening. And what I see happening probably landed you here in the first place. That’s why I prioritise manual, insight and “gut” driven reporting, focusing on what matters and what’s next rather than just painting a rosy (or panic-inducing) picture.

If you’re paying attention, you should already have seen early indicators, small but telling fluctuations in site performance, sections behaving oddly, or ranking inconsistencies. These “niggles” may not have a clear cause at the time, but they’re worth flagging. That’s why reporting should be proactive, not reactive. 

But now, here we are: algorithm update, impact, damage assessment.

The first step is understanding what’s been hit and how it affects the business. Sometimes, when you step back from the numbers and analyse the business’s core strengths and market positioning, the reality isn’t as dire as it first seems. Is it just this client’s business or all businesses within the same vertical mirroring this impact? 

Next, look at the type of update and what the SEO community is uncovering. Is there a clear recovery path? Can we adjust and bounce back, or is a fundamental rethink needed? 

And finally—be honest. If you don’t know exactly why the algorithm hit a particular site, don’t bluff. Say it straight: “This is new; I need to dig deeper, form a theory, test small, refine, and either roll back or roll out.” That’s how SEO should be done—not knee-jerk reactions, but thoughtful, calculated responses.

Algorithm updates will keep coming. The difference is whether you’re waiting to react or already anticipating the shift.

"As soon as you have that early context, the key is communication."

Rachel Ellen, Local Search Strategist at Croud

Firstly, don’t panic! Before rushing to react, calmly assess the situation by gathering insight from Google Search Console, Google Business Profile (GBP) insights, or other analytics. Data should give you a better idea of the scope of the problem if it’s affecting your client, and if so, how severely. Consider and observe how competitors and the wider industry have been impacted, too, as this helps paint the bigger picture. Look to the wider SEO community. Usually, there’s lots of early chatter that gives an idea of how big an update it’s been and who the early winners and losers might be.

As soon as you have that early context, the key is early communication. In an ideal world, you’ll get to your clients before they come to you. If they open up their email to find early comms or a call invite offering an update, this shows proactivity and instant reassurance that whatever has happened, they are in good hands. If they do come to you first, acknowledge their concerns, but reassure them that volatility is completely normal and that updates can take time to settle. Explain that you’re on the case and will come back promptly with clarity and a plan of action if needed.

From here, it’s good practice to spend some time validating the accuracy and optimization status of your client’s GBPs (including your reviews), their on-site EEAT signals, and their technical health, such as indexing or site-speed issues.

As said, updates can often take a good few weeks to settle, so it’s wise to closely track rankings and traffic patterns during this time. It may well be that things recover quickly, in which case—hurrah! You can update your client accordingly, and concentrate on reinforcing what’s working.  If it’s not so good news, prioritize time for deeper investigation, focusing on identifying content gaps, technical issues, or shifts in user intent.

In a nutshell, when an algo update hits, establishing context is key. Keep clients informed, stick to best practices, and avoid any reactionary moves. If you’ve prioritized quality and trust, you are far more likely to stay ahead.

"Our strategy to troubleshoot rankings post-algorithm update begins with a simple look at the current search results and weighing the top-ranking pages against our own."

Steve Wiideman, Owner at Wiideman Consulting Group

Too often, agencies and clients alike immediately jump to the conclusion that an algorithm update was the cause of any sudden drop in organic traffic or visibility. I think it’s important in any SEO effort that we start by following the same action plan as we would had there not been an algorithm update, but seen a drop in organic traffic. 

Before we dive in, we always want to reassure our clients that in general search engines are very forgiving if we break and need to restore content or attributes that have supported growth. We also want to remind our clients that user signals, and being the final destination users prefer to go to, are more important than content and links alone. Therefore, if fresh search results yield lower click-through rates, our listings will naturally rise back to the top over a few weeks as the search engine figures out that these new results weren’t very helpful. 

Our initial plan includes:

1. Running a full crawl of the website using whatever industry tools are at your disposal. We prefer Ryte due to its robust feature set and detailed insights. However, Screaming Frog, SEMRush, or SiteBulb would be a good runner-up. We’re looking for crawling and indexing issues. You wouldn’t believe how often we see development servers deploy to production with a Disallow: / in the robots.txt file.

2. Look for content changes at the site level, such as the replacement of heading tags with span tags, and the removal or programmatic replacement of titles, descriptions, and other metadata. Modifications of structured markup, XML sitemaps, and internal links. All of these can raise an eyebrow with Google and other search engines, which when made during an algorithm update have been known to emulate the “shaking of the Etch A Sketch,” almost like starting over with page-scoring. Best not to make updates during algorithm updates.

3. Navigate to Google Search Console and run a before and after comparison from the date of the drop-off, sorting by Click Difference first, then by Impression Difference. What types of pages lost clicks and impressions? Transactional, commercial, or perhaps both?

4. Lastly, we’ll look at spam and negative SEO, starting with new incoming links available in AHREFS and other link analysis tools. I’ll analyze the anchor text of recent links to see if competitors decided to fool Google into thinking our client was attempting to manipulate search results. If I don’t see a pattern, I’ll filter redirecting links to see if a competitor is attempting to force Google into thinking our pages are temporary using a 302 redirect, which often sends our listings into the dreaded Omitted Results. If I see a high spike in Google Search Console, despite conversion and traffic being down, it’s possible that a competitor is attempting to fool Google into thinking our client is manipulating search behaviors.

Once we have the all-clear from these four areas, only THEN do we look at the change in traffic being potentially caused by an algorithm update.

Our strategy to troubleshoot rankings post-algorithm update begins with a simple look at the current search results and weighing the top-ranking pages against our own. Here is a breakdown of these steps:

1. Based on the most affected pages, choose the top 3 to start with.
2. Run a search for the keywords for which the pages lost the most clicks and isolate the top 3 competitors.
3. Using a Google Sheet (or other workbook software), create a row for each SEO focal point to compare and columns for our client’s site and the top three competitors.
4. Fields might include File Name (pizza.html), Title, Meta Description, H1, Incoming Links, Internal Links, AI score, web vitals scores, image names and alt attributes, use of video, maps, reviews, etc.
5. Run a survey and ask participants which of two pages (your client’s vs one competitor at a time) is the most helpful and why.

Once completed, it’s a great idea to pow-wow with the team and break down the differences in your client’s page versus the competition. Sometimes, we learn right away what likely caused the drop in rankings. For example, after the “Medic Update,” we noticed Healthline’s survival and found a small Fact-Checked badge our client didn’t offer. Less than a month after testing and adding the badge ourselves, we saw nearly instant recovery.

If this becomes the case, no further testing should be required. However, if the team is still scratching their heads, run the other two competitors through this sequence until the problem becomes obvious. 

Reverse-engineering new search results after an update is by far the easiest and fastest way to identify what we believe Google suddenly cares about, and often enough, what they don’t. If, after all the testing and reverse-engineering, the problem still isn’t resolved, return to this page and find an expert (or experts) you would like to reach out to for their personal opinion or, if necessary, an audit. In most cases, traffic and visibility returns on it’s own within a few weeks, so if it’s possible, get buy-in to hold off on any immediate changes until the dust settles.

" I assess whether our clients are actually affected by the update."

Elizabeth Rule, SEO Analyst + Account Manager at Sterling Sky

First and foremost, I assess whether our clients are actually affected by the update, which can take several weeks, sometimes even a month or two, to determine.

For example, the Diversity Update that began rolling out in August 2024 didn’t show its full impact on our clients’ organic traffic until November and December. Because of this delay, we didn’t communicate any major findings to clients until we had concrete data, which was about two months post-update.

Once we’ve confirmed whether a client has been affected, and to what extent, we move into action planning. This includes developing strategies to recover lost rankings or traffic if necessary, or identifying opportunities if performance has improved (since not all updates are negative).

Communication is tailored based on the client’s level of SEO awareness and involvement. For clients who are highly engaged in SEO and likely to follow industry news, I’ll often reach out proactively when an update is announced, knowing they’ll want to discuss it. For others who are less SEO-savvy or are busy running their business day-to-day, we typically wait until we have meaningful insights and a clear plan before reaching out.

When a client raises concerns directly, we’re always transparent. We share where we are in the analysis process, what early signals we’re seeing, and what actions (if any) we’re taking on their website or Google Business Profile (GBP).

"Analyze competitor movements to understand if this is an industry-wide shift or specific to your client."

Myriam Jessier, Fractional SEO + Trainer at PRAGM

When a client’s local SEO performance takes a hit after a Google algorithm update, here’s my actionable framework for agencies to effectively manage the situation:

Immediate Response Plan

1. Assess, Don’t Panic

Don’t rush into making changes during the update rollout. Algorithm updates take time to settle, and what looks like a disaster on day two might stabilize by week three. Document the current rankings and performance metrics to establish a clear baseline for comparison.

2. Research the Specific Update

Each algorithm update targets different aspects. Identify what this particular update focuses on—whether it’s content quality, local engagement metrics, review management, or technical factors. Cross-reference the timing of ranking drops with the update rollout to confirm causation.

Sometimes, it’s not algorithmic but a problem client or agency side that caused the issue and you waste time searching for a needle in a Google update haystack. 

3. Strategic Client Communication

Contact the client proactively before they come to you in panic mode. Be transparent but reassuring – explain that fluctuations are normal, you’re monitoring the situation, and have a structured process for assessment and action.

Detailed Analysis Phase

1. Targeted Performance Audit

Use geo-grid rank tracking to identify precisely where and how rankings have shifted across neighborhoods or service areas.

• Are the ranking variations within the same city as expected?
• This helps you review things such as content, listings, etc. for specific neighborhoods—for example, Le Plateau in Montreal is famous for having many recent French immigrants, so keywords and content can’t be the same as for the rest of the town. 
• Find areas where your client has low visibility but could expand. 
• When an algorithm update hits, geo-grid tracking helps agencies to see if the effects are uniform across the entire service area, or if they’re localized to specific regions. This makes things more actionable for you as an agency. 

Analyze competitor movements to understand if this is an industry-wide shift or specific to your client. Check Google Trends to see if whatever you are ranking for is no longer trending.

Some industries like plumbing may have seasonal peaks, while others may simply be evolving (such as fitness coaches specialized in specific training programs). 

2. Identify Pattern-Based Impacts

Look for patterns in affected keywords, content types, or business categories. This helps pinpoint which aspects of the algorithm update are most relevant to your client’s situation. If you can’t find the red thread, chances are, it’s a bigger problem than a local SEO issue.

3. Local Listing Integrity Check

Verify all local listings for accuracy, consistency, and compliance with Google’s latest guidelines. Listing quality and verification standards have become increasingly stringent and your client may not be aware of that.

Recovery Strategy Implementation

1. Prioritize Google Business Profile Optimization

Update categories, attributes, and service offerings to align with current search intent patterns.

2. Enhance Local Content Relevance

Create or optimize hyperlocal content that demonstrates genuine community engagement. 

3. Review Management Recalibration

Implement a systematic approach to review generation and management if you haven’t already. Focus on genuine customer engagement rather than volume. If possible, try to establish a review scheme that matches other ones in the area.

4. Technical Local SEO Refinements

Review that structured data to make sure you avoid nightmares like this one. 

Client Retention Best Practices

1. Education Over Reassurance

Position your agency as a strategic partner by educating clients about the nature of algorithm updates. You could have a short newsletter that goes out or a phone call to help them understand that updates are here for a reason: to reward businesses that do things right… but sometimes, they do temporarily miss the mark and correct the course later. 

2. Implement Regular Algorithm Resilience Checks

Don’t wait for the next update. Establish quarterly reviews of local SEO fundamentals to ensure ongoing compliance with Google’s evolution.

3. Set Realistic Recovery Timelines

Be honest about recovery expectations. Major shifts can take two to three months to fully stabilize, if not more. Outline specific milestones to track progress and keep clients engaged in the process.

Successful local SEO agencies don’t just react to algorithm updates–they anticipate them by consistently aligning with Google’s fundamental goal: connecting users with the most relevant local businesses that genuinely meet their needs.

Communicate, don’t panic, and do your research

So there we have it. A thorough run down of how you can respond when the chips are down. The key to retaining your clients is through strong communication. This communication starts before the problem arises. A strong relationship that’s based on trust and education can do a lot to help when things get trickier.

Then, don’t panic. Remember that algorithm updates often take weeks to actually finish rolling out. Do some proper research of your own. Check whether traffic is actually down alongside rankings. See what the industry is saying. Work out whether the client has even been affected by an algorithm update. It could be something seasonal.

Then, once you’ve done all that research you can get a plan together. All the while, communicating what you’re doing to your client.

Is it just you? What about your local competitors? What about your industry?! Welcome to hours of digging through forums and ranking tools to get the answers you need for your bosses and clients.

Wish you had a way to quickly determine which ranking changes are being felt throughout your industry?

Introducing Local RankFlux, the world’s only ‘weather report’ for Google’s local ranking algorithm.

The wider SEO industry has been lucky to have multiple tools dedicated to tracking seismic changes in organic SERPs for years. Local SEO? Not so much!

That ends today, with the (re)launch of Local RankFlux: a completely free tracking tool and early-warning system from BrightLocal, designed to give local marketers the edge in understanding what’s happening with Google’s local algorithm.

How Does It Work?

BrightLocal’s local rank tracking software has been monitoring the local SERPs of our customers for years. With Local RankFlux, we apply the same technology to a set group of:

28 keywords x 26 industries x 20 cities = 14,560 keywords (560 per industry)

This means we’re tracking nearly 15k SERPs every day to determine a statistical point of variation (the Local RankFlux score) and to understand if similarities are seen in specific industries.

Local RankFlux simply looks at all these SERPs, calculates how much the rankings for these keywords have changed since yesterday, and gives the level of variation a score, from 0 (no change at all) to 10 (complete upheaval, volcanoes erupting, cities falling into the sea).

• 0 – 3 indicates ‘low’, expected fluctuation (i.e. nothing significant has happened)
• 3.1 – 6 indicates ‘medium’ fluctuation (i.e. something minor has happened)
• 6.1 – 10 indicates ‘high’ fluctuation (i.e. something major has happened – likely a local algorithm update)

That’s the simple version, though! I’d encourage you to take a look at our detailed methodology so you can better understand how the Local RankFlux Score is calculated… The more you know!

How Do I Use It?

Easy! Just bookmark the URL www.brightlocal.com/local-rankflux today, and when you think there’s been a rumble in your rankings, head there, check the score, and filter the data to your own industry to see if there’s anything more to learn.

Want to be ahead of the game? Sign up for one or more of our email alerts:

Daily: Simple. Get a daily email telling you today’s Local RankFlux score.
Weekly: Sign up, and every seven days you’ll get an email with the previous week’s Local RankFlux scores.
Urgent: Sign up to ‘Urgent’ to only receive an email when the score is above 4, which we determine to mean that a Google local algorithm update is likely.

Happy Rankings!

We hope you find Local RankFlux useful and can get a bit more sleep next time you feel that ol’ tremble in the rankings.

Want to know more about Local RankFlux, or need to report a bug? Get in touch with us at content@brightlocal.com.

This article is from our Agency Growth Handbook—a collection of guides created to help local SEO agencies grow and succeed. It is chapter five of ‘Part Two: Processes and Workflows’.

A busy agency can thrive or merely survive on its choice of project management tools. Old-fashioned spreadsheets and clunky time-tracking apps can seriously hinder your team’s creativity. Too many tools can lead to duplication of effort, cause confusion, and potentially lead to completely inaccurate billing.

Keeping your projects organized and accurately tracking your billable hours is key to working effectively and efficiently. Having the right tools in place also means you can confidently manage your resources and consistently deliver client work on time.

There are two distinct categories of tools you want to look out for: project management tools (to help you keep track of your overall project and enable effective communications) and time-tracking software. Many project management tools include time-tracking, but for many, you’ll need something extra.

So which marketing project management software tools will make your life easier and help you scale your agency business? With so many tools on the market, identifying the best fit is easier said than done.

Why do you need marketing project management tools?

Juggling multiple client projects, incoming briefs, various deadlines, and a team can be a recipe for disaster. Unless that is, you have logical processes for everything from content creation to client reports and actually useful tools in place to do some of the heavy lifting for you.

Project management and time-tracking tools aren’t just nice to have. They can make a noticeable difference to how seamlessly your agency operates:

Organize client briefs

Different clients have different priorities, service agreements, and briefs. A dedicated project management tool makes it easy to keep track of each specific client and their associated briefs, no matter how many projects you currently have on the go. This is especially useful if you often receive ad-hoc or last-minute requests and need a better way to stay on top of them.

Streamline resource planning

A good tool will give you a clear view of each project and its upcoming deadlines so you can allocate resources accordingly. This isn’t just a way to make managing your team easier. It can also go a long way toward controlling costs and optimizing how your agency business operates.

Efficient task management

Assigning specific tasks to individual team members is another way to manage your team’s productivity. It also encourages accountability by making it easier for each person to manage their workload and maintain a clear view of what they need to deliver.

If your chosen tool has status tracking, you can quickly see who’s on track and who’s in the weeds. From there you can intervene, if needed, or assign additional resources to keep client deliverables flowing.

Enhanced communication

The right project management software will enhance collaboration and communication. This isn’t restricted to internal comms, either. Many tools will allow you to control permissions at an individual user level, so you can also grant limited access to your clients. That access could speed up project approval or open up productive new lines of communication between your agency and your clients.

Features to Look Out For in a Project Management Tool

The specific features your agency business needs will depend on the size of your team, the nature of your client projects, and your style of working. That said, some features are pretty much essential:

• Automations: Automations make it easier to scale workflows and quickly complete recurring tasks by pre-populating certain fields.
• Calendar: An essential for managing upcoming to-dos, a built-in calendar can help you stay on top of annual leave and client meetings for easier diary management.
• Task management: The ability to set up a task, schedule a start and end date, and assign someone from your team to complete that task is non-negotiable.
• Document management: You should also be able to upload documents like keyword research reports and client briefs to support your team.
• Status tracking: Is a task in progress? Ready for review? Or, with the client for approval? Status tracking allows you to answer those questions and keep your project momentum moving in the right direction at a glance.
• Messaging: Whether internally or with your client, messaging improves collaboration and speeds up the delivery and approval process.
• Client view: Having a dedicated client view means you can grant controlled access to your clients. This view provides them with direct access to their account team while ensuring internal communications remain private.
• Time tracking: Accurate time tracking is essential for client billing. It can also be helpful if you routinely work with subcontractors and need to keep track of their working hours for payment purposes.
• Integrations: Plugging in other apps can be a serious time saver and add additional functionality that makes it easier to get the most out of your team.
• Customizable dashboard: A customizable dashboard gives you complete control over what you see, so you can create an optimal view based on how you (and your team) work.

Top Project Management Tools

Time Tracking Software for Marketing Teams

Time tracking is one of those agency staples that’s easy to take for granted. But it’s also easy to get wrong. Real-time tracking and reporting can seriously bolster your transparency credentials with clients. If you’re managing a team, intuitive tracking also helps you to stay on budget and easily handle contractor payments.

So, what should you look for when shortlisting time-tracking tools for your agency?

• Real-time tracking: Tracking billable hours in real-time can nurture client confidence in your agency and help with retention. It’s also invaluable when it comes to getting the most out of your team and pinpointing productivity drains.
• Reporting: Any decent time-tracking tool will have extensive reporting capability. You need this feature to manage client invoices and see how your team is spending its time.
• Integrations: Integrations just make life easier. Look for tools that can connect with other platforms you use daily to manage your agency workflows. 

Top Time Tracking Tools

Choose Wisely and Choose Early

Embedding this sort of tool into a growing business can be easier said than done, especially if you’re trying to do it retrospectively. Adding a project management tool and defining clear processes early can be really beneficial and save a lot of time down the road.

As with any tool, whether that’s a local SEO tool or a project management tool, the key is to find the one that works best for your agency’s needs. Make sure it benefits your work rather than adding more steps for the sake of it.

This article is from our Agency Growth Handbook—a collection of guides created to help local SEO agencies grow and succeed. It is chapter three of ‘Part Two: Processes and Workflows’.

Building a successful SEO agency requires a laundry list of moving parts to come together. You need a skilled, knowledgeable, and engaged team with a variety of skillsets. For starters, you need negotiation and networking skills to bring on new clients and then ensure they stick around. Then you need teams who are capable of actually doing the work, whether that’s local SEO, digital PR, paid media, or whatever other service you’re offering. A clear USP is non-negotiable to stand out from the crowd.

Before any of that, you need to choose the right structure to knit it all together.

How you organize and run your agency is fundamental. This alone determines how efficiently and effectively you execute client projects. It directly impacts your ability to scale your business, how your team members operate, and how they collaborate. It goes without saying that it will also have a huge impact on your SEO agency’s profitability.

The challenge is that there are multiple potential agency structures you could choose. Deciding which is right for you will be influenced by factors such as your own experiences as an employee, the clients you have, the existing skillset at your agency, your company culture, and your longer-term business goals.

Do you want your agency to have multiple offices in other states, for example? If so, you need a structure that can easily replicate in secondary locations. Or do you want to become the go-to choice for local businesses in your city? Do you have a strong content offering but only one person doing PR? How does each of these affect your setup?

If you’ve previously worked at agencies with little accountability or felt stressed and burnt out by competing responsibilities, you might crave a more traditional structure. On the flip side, a pod setup could give you what you need if you thrive in highly collaborative, client-focused environments.

There’s a lot to think about, so let’s dive in.

4 Marketing Agency Structures

Before we go much further, it’s worth defining the structures we’ll refer to throughout this article. For the sake of this article, we are referring to four different structures: traditional/hierarchical, pods/squads, matrix, and freelance.

Getting your marketing agency structure right sets the best possible foundation for your future growth. Deciding precisely how your teams will be organized and how your chain of command will operate can be daunting because so much rides on getting it right.

Other structures are available, but they often overlap with the ones mentioned above or at least heavily rely on them.

Why it’s Important to Structure Your Agency the Right Way

There are tens of thousands of SEO agencies across the United States specializing in traditional SEO, local SEO, or a blend of the two. No matter where you’re based, you’re unlikely to be the only option in town. That means you’ll be competing to secure a limited pool of clients. Whether you’ve developed a super-efficient content process or have identified an untapped niche, every edge you can get over others matters.

Your SEO team structure allows you to leverage those opportunities for maximum impact. It determines how optimized your organization is and influences every action that takes place within your agency every day. Get it right, and you’re set up for success. If you get it wrong, you will likely find scaling your agency an uphill battle.

Team Morale

Because your agency structure defines how your teams work, its impact on morale can’t be overstated. An optimal team structure gives everyone a clear idea of their responsibilities and who they report to. The right organizational structure will nurture individual creativity, encourage accountability, and enhance collaboration. Each of these factors helps to keep employees engaged, motivated, and committed to delivering successful client projects.

Employee Retention

Team morale is a critical factor in employee retention—a vital consideration for any local SEO agency. Maintaining the same team ensures consistency within your client relationships. Perhaps most importantly, it also keeps the knowledge you’ve developed through training and mentorship within your business rather than walking out the door to benefit a rival agency.

Current estimates place the cost of recruiting a new staff member at $4,000 – $20,000 (excluding salary and benefits). So, keeping your existing team happy is much easier on your bottom line than trying to find new people to fit into a structure that simply isn’t working.

Optimal Resource Management

The right team structure enables you to optimize how your resources are managed and deployed. Regardless of headcount, the correct structure will empower you to easily assign tasks and organize workflows in a way that makes the best use of each person and their unique skill sets.

Collaboration and Communication

When hierarchies and relationships between individual roles are well established, collaboration and communication can thrive. Establishing those channels benefits every aspect of agency operations, from creativity and productivity to efficiency and effectiveness.

Faster Decision-making

Things happen quickly in the local SEO space, so you can’t afford for your agency’s decision-making process to be slow and cumbersome. A clear, well-defined SEO team structure allows the right people to make fast decisions when called for. This can positively impact how your agency responds to client needs or changing market conditions.

The Ability to Scale

Think about some of the tasks you routinely conduct during a typical local SEO project. Perhaps that’s performing keyword research or sending out ranking reports to clients. You can complete those tasks quickly and for any number of clients because you have a workflow that you can scale.

Having the right marketing agency structure follows the same principle. If it’s designed and implemented correctly, you can duplicate that structure to bolt on additional teams or offices as your business grows.

Is there such a thing as a perfect agency structure?

Working in SEO, you know the answer to this already… “it depends.”

As an SEO professional, you’re programmed to sniff out the best and most efficient way to do something. That’s what drives improved search visibility for your clients. So, when thinking about how to structure a digital marketing agency, you’re most likely looking for the optimal way to position and connect departments, teams, and roles.

If this puzzle is already giving you sleepless nights, you can rest easy. While some setups will be more suited to how you prefer to work than others, there’s no one perfect answer.

The optimal pathway for you depends on your company culture, the work you do, your clients, the size of your business, its specialisms, and your growth ambitions. Every organizational model will come with pros and cons.

If you’re a larger, multi-disciplinary agency, you may naturally have defined teams like SEO, content, and paid search already in place and grouped according to area of expertise. In this scenario, a traditional or functional set-up may suit you best, with teams defined by their function and more experienced or senior people taking on additional responsibility by assuming management roles.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re building a remote agency that operates as leanly as possible and doesn’t have full-time direct hires, a freelance model could give you the cost savings and agility your business model needs.

It may seem inconsequential, but even your client reporting and communication style can influence which agency structure is better suited to your business. Are your clients handled by a dedicated client services team, or is it the case that each person deals with specific clients? Do team members provide reports and progress updates as they perform keyword research, optimize Google Business profiles, or build citations?

There’s no universally correct answer. You’ll undoubtedly have to compromise in some areas to benefit in others. The secret to success lies in choosing the structure that gives you, specifically, more pluses in the ‘pro’ column than negatives in the ‘con’ list.

Where does local SEO sit?

For the last 10 years, Google data has suggested that four in five searches have a local intent. Ask any marketing professional, and that translates to one thing—an enormous opportunity to tap into a growing and lucrative market: local search optimization.

Where local SEO sits within your wider agency business is a crucial consideration when deciding how best to structure for scalability and growth.

Some agencies may have a dedicated local SEO team, but others may divide the tasks into different roles. Perhaps a social media executive picks up GBP management, a PR reaches out to local publications or businesses about collaborations and links, and an SEO manager oversees the project, and so on.

Questions to ask yourself include: 

Is local SEO your core focus, or is it one service offering within a larger agency?

If you only offer a few local SEO services, a pod set-up is ideal for running results-focused campaigns, while a freelance structure provides agility. If you have other divisions for services, such as paid search and content marketing, there are more people and more moving parts to consider. In that scenario, the traditional hierarchical structure is a popular choice.

Do you have groups of experts (copywriting, social media, technical SEO) who work across all client projects?

A flat or matrix structure allows for a higher degree of collaboration, which could bring enhanced creativity and innovation to your client projects.

Do you have smaller multi-disciplinary groups who tend to handle specific client accounts autonomously?   

Organizing teams into pods means your crew can develop a deep understanding of their specific client accounts. This tends to lead to strong client relationships, high retention rates, and excellent case studies.

Would the account management process need to change if you were to take on new clients?

If your local agency suddenly receives an influx of new clients, it’s vital that your existing clients don’t notice an abrupt decline in service levels. You’ll need to be able to replicate the same processes at scale. That’s achievable if you can create new pods or hire new SEO experts to join an existing team.

How to Fit Local SEO into Your SEO Offering

Learn More

How Each Structure Works in Practice

Traditional or Hierarchical

It’s common to see the traditional or hierarchical agency structure in place in large businesses with multiple departments.  

How the Traditional Model Works

Your agency is organized into individual divisions or departments, typically by function. Everyone reports to a higher-up, with team leaders, department heads, vice presidents, the CEO, and the board of directors filling out the chain of command.

This type of structure is found in pretty much every industry. Some of your clients may operate in this way, especially the larger multi-location businesses that retain your local SEO services.

Pros

You will likely feel very familiar with this traditional marketing agency structure. Given its continued popularity across every sector of the economy, this organizational model has well-established advantages.

• Easy to scale: Scalability is the number one reason that you might be tempted to go with this traditional marketing agency structure. Because there’s a clear chain of command and clearly defined divisions, it’s easy to scale up as your business grows. If your sales team reaches its target and brings in a large volume of new business, you can easily hire more people into your existing departments. If you want to expand your service offering, you can slot in a new division.
• Accountability: Another significant advantage, especially if you expect to have a large headcount, is that everyone knows exactly what their role is, what their responsibilities are, and who they report to. There’s no ambiguity about who does what, so everyone can be held accountable.
• Scope for career progression: The traditional model usually provides a defined pathway for anyone wishing to work their way up the career ladder. For example, someone joining your team as a junior local SEO exec could progress to a senior specialist, team leader, department head, or VP as they grow their skills and experience.  
• Development of expertise: As your team members will sit within a specific division, there’s plenty of potential to develop expertise in that niche. This depth of knowledge could elevate your client results, giving you an edge in your local area.
• Efficient resource management: The structure and definition of this agency model removes any ambiguity and uncertainty. There’s no question as to who does what. This means you can plan projects efficiently and effectively and optimize resource management.

Cons

There are a few potential downsides with this model, too:

• Bureaucracy: Because of the layers of management, there’s a danger of bureaucracy setting in. This slows down the decision-making process. Having to push change through the chain of command hampers your ability to respond quickly to changing client needs and industry developments.
• A danger of silos: Having distinct divisions can encourage a siloed mentality to creep in, with each division then focusing inwards rather than taking a big-picture approach to agency success. It also means there’s less impetus to collaborate cross-team to get the best solution.
• Conflicting priorities: Leaving each team to manage its resources could affect how well certain projects or clients are prioritized. Rather than client-focused, in some situations your teams may end up focusing on their own budgets and KPIs.
• Communication and ownership confusion: A traditional structure often makes it unclear who works on what accounts or who owns what, especially as there is often not a set group for specific clients. 

Pods or Squads

Dividing your agency into pods or squads is another organizational structure to consider as you prime your local SEO agency for growth.

How the Pod Model Works

This organizational chart may look like the traditional structure, but it works differently. You’ll still have a clear chain of command, with a CEO and director at the most senior two levels. Instead of VPs, you’ll have pod leads, and instead of divisions, you’ll have pods.

Each pod is a small, multidisciplinary team comprising a handful of specialists—for example, a Google Business Profile expert, a copywriter, and a PR specialist. Each pod is assigned to a specific client or project, so the makeup of the talent within the pod may differ from one project to another, depending on the project’s requirements. 

Pros

• Development of expertise: This type of organizational structure takes a client-first approach. It’s helpful for building sector and client-specific expertise, as each pod will focus on a minimal number of projects. That knowledge can translate into better results for the client.
• Greater client satisfaction: Having a dedicated team focused on their success leads to greater client satisfaction and lower client churn.
• Collaborative and creative: A small group of people dedicated to a project should ensure high levels of collaboration, as everyone is working towards the same objectives. Bringing different skills together also introduces a range of perspectives, which can lead to innovative and creative strategies and problem-solving.
• Greater efficiency: Each pod is a self-contained unit, so it operates more efficiently with fewer roadblocks. This can make your agency more productive, giving you a competitive edge.
• Clear ownership: With each pod having a defined set of clients, it’s very easy to know who to talk to about what for each one.

Cons

• It’s not as easy to scale: Scaling with squads is more challenging than you might think. New hires will need to be onboarded into what could be a close-knit team, which can be a difficult balancing act to juggle. If your client numbers spike, it can be hard to create new pods from existing resources without diluting their focus. 
• Lack of agency-wide cohesion: Having independent teams is great for productivity, but it might not be such good news for your overall agency cohesion. With team members working in tight-knit groups on their own projects, it’s easy for siloes to develop, with little unity outside of pods.
• Lack of oversight: Management and decision-making take place within the pod, which makes traditional oversight more challenging. It may be harder to keep abreast of progress and you might be slower to learn of any problems within the squad or emerging trends.  

Matrix 

Still not sure how to structure your teams? The Matrix model could work if you often have multiple projects requiring input from different departments within the business.

How the Matrix Model Works

The matrix model incorporates aspects of traditional and agency pod structures. Your agency has distinct divisions and a clear management hierarchy, with pods to execute client projects. Each pod is made up of specialists cherry-picked from different divisions in accordance with project requirements.

Pros

• Increased agility: The matrix model gives you the best of both worlds in theory. While there’s the command structure typical of the traditional model, there’s also the flexibility of a squad setup. You can quickly create bespoke multi-disciplinary teams to fit exact project briefs as they come in. The pod can be adjusted by swapping out division specialists as needs change.
• Greater collaboration: There’s a high degree of collaboration between the different divisions involved in each pod. Diverse voices and perspectives can also boost creativity.
• Suited to complex projects: If your client projects are large or complex, the ability to design a custom team of experts to fit the brief is highly beneficial. This also leads to optimal resource use.
• Clear ownership: As with the pod system, you have clear overviews of who to talk to about a specific client and their specialism.

Cons

The matrix model isn’t without its challenges.

• It can introduce complexity: Managing a matrix business can be challenging. That’s because it’s inherently complex, with divisions and pods to oversee. With team members working across both layers—and sometimes reporting to multiple people—measuring productivity and maintaining efficiency becomes more difficult.
• A lack of clarity: One of the main issues with a matrix system is a lack of clarity around who’s responsible for what. There’s a real danger of division heads and pod leaders stepping on each other’s toes, as it won’t always be clear where decision-making responsibility lies.
• Team morale: With team members reporting to more than one boss, they may feel like they’re constantly being pulled in two different directions, especially if you offer more than local SEO services. This can lead to paralysis as they struggle to understand what takes priority and impact morale. 

Freelance

Using freelancers and sub-contractors is another way to create a local SEO agency primed for growth.

How the Freelance Model Works

While traditional, squad, and matrix structures are popular, they’re often not practical for smaller agencies. Freelance agency models are increasingly popular because they release you from the financial obligations associated with an in-house team but still allow you to complete client projects.

If you win a new local SEO client, you can tap into the freelancer marketplace or sub-contract to independent specialists and then move on when the project ends.

Pros

• Lower overheads: The biggest lure of the freelancer model is lower overheads. You won’t have the financial burden of a full-time team and will only pay for extra pairs of hands when you need them.
• Agility: Provided you already have a vetted pool of talent, the ability to bring on specialists as needed means your business can be very agile. You won’t have to deal with lengthy and expensive recruitment campaigns, nor will you face financial penalties if you no longer need a particular employee.
• A greater pool of talent: A very positive mark in favor of the freelance model is you can access a much wider pool of talent. You aren’t limited to hiring people within traveling distance of your office. Because you aren’t paying a full-time salary, this model may also mean that you can afford to hire more experienced specialists for a shorter period for enhanced client outcomes.

Cons

• A lack of continuity: It’s not a given that you’ll be able to hire the same freelancer or contractor every time, especially if they’re already working with other clients. Continuity could be a problem. It can be time-consuming to have to brief new freelancers on your clients and processes, and the quality of work will vary. This lack of continuity means that your clients might not have the same experience or receive the same level of service each month.
• Varying levels of accountability: Because your freelancer knows they’re only a short-term hire, you might find they aren’t as committed to your project as you may like. Missed deadlines or a sub-standard quality of work aren’t just frustrating; they could also place your client contracts in jeopardy and impact your reputation. 

How can tools and services help?

Dedicated services or local SEO tools for agencies can be leveraged to help fill any gaps, regardless of your structure.

Many of the tasks associated with local SEO are time-consuming and repetitive. You can free up your human assets to focus on other client needs by giving them a helping hand with the right tool. Or, potentially, use them to deliver services that you currently don’t have in-house without using freelancers.

BrightLocal’s Citation Builder automates the process of building and managing local citations, for instance, saving hours of time that would otherwise be wasted on tedious tasks such as manually submitting listings or checking for duplication.

Similarly, tools like Google Business Profile Audit save time on tasks such as competitor research and quickly arm your local SEO team with the insights they need to build a winning local search strategy.

Having tools to assist with recurring tasks such as keyword research, rank tracking, and client reporting is a smart way to optimize your workflows and make smarter use of your in-house experts. These beneficial resources contribute to the smooth operation of your business, making it much easier to scale. 

Today’s consumers scour multiple platforms and resources for local business information. They use those platforms to find local businesses that align with their needs. They are more than a discovery medium, however. They’re also used to compare suitable companies like-for-like and tell consumers how they can reach you.

Each listing you create is a conduit to local consumers in your area. It ensures you’re a part of their discovery and assessment process and connects you with a broader pool of prospects than might otherwise be the case.

Keeping your listing information up to date is critical. Handling this task manually can be overwhelming and time-consuming—so much so that it could leave you with little time left to do the other 20 things on your list.

Listings management solutions simplify the process. They save you time and eliminate the headache of manual updates and checking for errors. To help you choose the best local listings management software for your needs, we’re comparing the top players in the market right now.

For each service, we’ll evaluate the features that matter most to you as someone working with local businesses. We’ll look at what each listings management service offers, what it lacks, and how much it costs.

What is a listings management service?

From Google Business Profile (GBP) to Yelp, Facebook to Instagram, Bing Places to Apple Maps, there are multiple places where your business information may appear online. Each listing provides a convenient way for a local consumer to find and connect with you, boosting your lead pipeline, web traffic, and visitor numbers. But it’s only useful when that information is accurate.

While a basic listing will include your business name, address, phone number, and website URL, most listings will also have space for other helpful details.

Depending on the platform, that could mean images and videos showing your premises or your products and services. You may be able to post your opening hours, list accepted payment types, and indicate whether your premises offer on-site parking facilities.

Listings management is a way to keep all this information up to date across all the platforms, maps, and directories where your business information is shared.

According to the Local Business Discovery & Trust Report, 62% of consumers would avoid using a business if they found incorrect information online, so being proactive about managing your listing is essential.

It’s a way to build trust and protect your reputation. Keep things timely, and you’ll lead local search users to your website or your bricks-and-mortar location. However, if you let your information lapse, those same people will probably end up at your competitor’s door.

In practice, listings management is hard to handle manually. It’s time-consuming to log in and out of multiple platforms and frustrating to check the same information dozens of times across numerous listings. If you have multiple locations, each with multiple listings, this becomes a real resource drain.

Information fatigue means it can be hard to spot discrepancies yourself. Even just one digit wrong on your zip code or one address formatted differently from the rest can undermine your listing accuracy and create uncertainty for search engines and local consumers.

This is where the right tools step in. The best local listings management software will automate the process of checking and updating your listing information wherever your business appears online. Changes can be made and rolled out simultaneously rather than individually across all listings for all locations.

Some tools have additional functionality. BrightLocal’s suite of tools includes a GBP Post Scheduler, for example, so you can easily create and share updates to your Google Business Profile listing. Some tools will include review management functionality, while others might also help detect duplicate listings.

Keep in mind listings management isn’t always text-based. Research shows that Business photos taken by customers are particularly important decision-making factors, especially in the hospitality and wellbeing spaces. 

How does managing listings differ from building citations?

Citation building is the step before listings management. It’s the act of creating (rather than managing) a business listing. In its most basic form, a local citation is your business NAP (name, address, and phone number), published online.

Some of the same principles of listings management apply to citations. If your core business information changes, you’ll need to take action to update that information in every citation. This often isn’t as easy as it sounds. If your business relocates, you’ll need to update your citations. That could mean changing hundreds of directory listings. Similarly, you’ll need to build new listings if you open a new location.

You can use a local citation builder to build new citations on directories and other sites and fix any inaccuracies in the NAP information. Our comparison of local citation services outlines the pros and cons of each service to help you choose a tool suitable for your needs.

The Best Listings Management Solutions Compared

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BrightLocal

BrightLocal’s listings management solution takes a comprehensive three-stage approach, covering everything from initial citation creation to ongoing listings management. The trio of tools includes Citation Builder, Active Sync, and GBP Post Scheduler.

Citation Builder makes it easy to build and subsequently manage local citations. It can submit listings to hundreds of local and industry sites, correct inaccurate information at scale to avoid confusion and clean up duplicate listings.

Active Sync allows you to manage your most important business listings from one central dashboard. It covers sites like Google, Facebook, and Apple Maps and syncs any information changes across all listings.

GBP Post Scheduler manages Google Posts. It helps with content creation, offers Post scheduling, and allows Posts to be published to multiple GBP locations simultaneously.

BrightLocal will soon add a GBP photo sync tool to its listings management offering, making it easier to manage those vital images at scale.

How much does BrightLocal cost?

• Citation Builder: No recurring fees. $3.20/site or $2/site for bulk orders.
• Active Sync: From $8/month, per location with GBP Post Scheduler.
• GBP Post Scheduler: From $49/month with the Manage and Grow plans for $8/month, per location with Active Sync.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. You can get a 14-day free trial for Active Sync and GBP Post Scheduler.

Features

• Easily build new citations: Submit to hundreds of sites in one go to build new citations quickly.
• Control where your information appears: Choose the local business and industry sites that matter most to you.
• Own your listings: Unlike some services, BrightLocal doesn’t ‘lease’ your citation to you. You own the listing, and there are no recurring fees.
• Cost control: A one-off fee to build citations makes for easy budgeting.
• Existing citation cleanup: Update NAP for older listings to eliminate inaccuracies and misinformation.
• Duplicate listing suppression: Citation Builder can find and remove duplicate listings that may damage your local search presence.
• Fast updates at scale: Update information once from your central dashboard, and BrightLocal will then sync those changes across your business listings.
• Protect your listings: Active Sync protects against unauthorized changes by sending an alert when external edits are suggested for your listing.
• Streamline Google Post management: With GBP Post Scheduler, you can use AI to speed up Post creation and schedule updates across multiple locations. 

The Smarter Way to Manage Listings

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Yext

Yext’s automated listing management platform allows you to build citations and keep your business information current across multiple online directories and platforms. Because of how its payment model works, you choose which listings you connect and manage via its interface.

Its network includes more than 200 publishers, including Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. A central interface facilitates easy management regardless of the number of listings.

One of Yext’s hallmarks is its ‘Listings Recommendations’ feature. This AI-powered analytical tool provides clear insights into each listing’s performance. It tracks engagement and presents that information in a report format so you can see which listings are driving traffic to your site or generating the most phone calls.

How much does Yext cost?

You’ll pay a fee for each listing platform you connect to Yext. Prices run on a sliding scale. Basic platform management costs start from around $16/month, per platform. Major platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp are approximately $36/month, per platform.

Is there a free trial?

No. Yext currently does not offer a free trial but you can request a demo to see the system in action.

Features

• Sync listing information to major sites: With Yext, you can sync your business information to more than 200 platforms, including maps and search engines.
• AI insights: AI-driven insights provide helpful listing recommendations to optimize your local search performance.
• Monitor engagement: Track the number of people who called you from a specific listing or clicked a link to your website.
• Customizable reports: You can create custom reports from the central dashboard and share them with other stakeholders as needed.
• AI-search: Yext is compatible with new AI search tools such as Google Gemini. It enables those AI-search experiences to find your listing information, boosting visibility.

Things to Consider

• It can get expensive: Sliding monthly fees per platform can be costly, especially if you have multiple listings and/or locations. You may find that other options offer better value for money.
• You can’t try before you buy: There is no free trial, so you can’t test Yext out before committing. You’ll have to rely on the demo to decide if this is the best listings management tool for your needs. 
• You rent your listings: If you cancel your Yext subscription, any changes you have made will roll back. This model means you’re effectively renting your listings.
• One-size-fits-all: You can’t choose where your listings are built with Yext. As a result, you’ll get the same citations as everyone else using their service.
• Fully automated: Yext’s service relies fully on automation. Without that human intervention, you could be missing out on valuable niche listings that are very relevant to your business.
• Limited network: Yext has a limited network compared with other tools.

Semrush

Semrush will need no introduction to anyone with prior experience running a traditional SEO campaign. It’s a comprehensive suite of more than 50 tools covering everything from keyword research to content marketing.

Listing Management is one of six local SEO tools on offer. You can use it to build citations and manage your business listings. Once you enter a business’s NAP, Semrush will add to a range of citation sites and directories, including Google, Facebook, and Apple Maps. It covers a range of site types, including apps, maps, and aggregators across more than 60 countries.

You can use Listing Management to edit and update your business information in real-time once your listing has been built. There’s also an option to upload multimedia content, including your business logo and images, to sync across your business listings.

Review management is included, but you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium package if you want help creating review responses.

How much does Semrush cost?

You’ll first need to choose a monthly plan. Prices range from $139.95/month to $499.95/month. Listing Management is an additional fee on top of your selected subscription.

The Basic plan, which includes Listing Management and Review Management, costs an additional $20 per month. To unlock additional features such as the ability to track Google Maps rankings, you would need the Premium add-on which is currently priced at $40 per month.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. There’s a seven-day free trial, which includes all Semrush tools. 

Features

• Information sync: Like most tools you only need to add your NAP once. Semrush will then push that information out to citation sites and other platforms automatically.
• Manage dozens of platforms: Manage your business listings on 72 platforms, including Google and Apple Maps, from your central dashboard.
• SEO tips: The tool will suggest actions to improve your search visibility.
• Manage dupes: Identify and manage duplicate listings to protect your listing accuracy.
• Data accuracy: Update your information once, and the changes will be synced across all listings.
• Multiple locations: Semrush supports multiple listings across multiple countries, giving you full control over your online presence.
• Review monitoring: You can manage consumer reviews from the same dashboard with one-click access to respond to each new review posted.

Things to Consider

• You can’t access everything: For advanced features, including detailed analytics and automated review responses, you’ll need the more expensive Premium subscription.
• It can be pricey: Semrush is a more expensive option than some of the other tools on this list. You’ll first need to have a monthly subscription and then top up with an add-on to activate Listing Management.
• No customization: Semrush will automatically distribute your business information to its network of 70+ directories. You can’t select where your information appears.
• You may miss out on certain opportunities: Because there’s a default list for each country, you may be missing out on more specialist listings that fall under niche categories. 

Moz Local

Moz Local is another option for managing local business listings. It can be used to create and manage local business listings in the USA, Canada, and the UK.

As with the other tools we’re comparing, all management activity is handled from a central dashboard.

Business information is updated once and then is synced across the web to search engines, social networks, apps, and directories.

There’s a helpful automated duplication tool that finds and deletes duplicate listings, and profile optimization suggestions indicate where additional data or photos would be beneficial.

Moz Local also offers review management functionality. You can monitor and respond to reviews directly from the Moz dashboard and receive an alert when a new review is published.

Finally, you can publish new updates and offers to Google Business and Facebook as well as share updates, offers, and question-and-answer features to other sites.

How much does Moz Local cost?

Moz Local is priced from $14/month per location for the Lite package up to $33/month per location for the Elite option. The Lite package offers basic listings management and review monitoring. The $20/month per location Preferred package gives the option to respond to reviews and post to social media, while the Elite option unlocks additional directory listings.

Is there a free trial?

No.

Features

• Central data management: All business information is managed from a central dashboard.
• Duplicate listings: An automated scan identifies and deletes duplicate listings.
• Monitor Visibility: Moz Local’s Search Visibility Score helps you to understand how visible your business listings are in search results.
• Profile completeness: See what additional data and images are required to complete your business listings.
• Reputation management: Receive an alert when a new review is published to manage your online reputation.
• Local Listings Score: Moz Local allows you to quickly check the accuracy of your business information across all online listings.

Things to Consider

• It’s limited: If you’re a multinational company, Moz Local may not be the right fit as it only supports listings management in the USA, UK, and Canada.
• It isn’t as comprehensive as others: In comparison with some of the other best local business listing management tools, Moz Local lacks functionality. You need to upgrade your subscription to access additional local SEO tools, such as the ability to respond to reviews or track your local search rankings.
• Recurring billing: You must maintain your subscription to renew your listings, which means you’re tied into the billing cycle.
• Small network: Moz Local submits to a limited number of sites, which can stunt your citation building progress. Limited coverage means you’ll miss out on a range of location- and industry-specific sites.

Birdeye

Birdeye is an AI-powered social media and reputation management tool for local businesses. A single dashboard powers listings management, review management, and social media post creation and scheduling.

Listings management is heavily automated, with helpful support from AI for those who want to share the workload.

You can build and maintain listings across major platforms, including Google, Facebook, and Apple Business Connect, plus industry-specific directories.

Birdeye also facilitates image uploads and appointment request links to enhance your listings and grow consumer engagement.

If you want to go deeper, a scan tool compares your listings to industry benchmarks. That insight can then be used to spot performance gaps and opportunities for improvement. Analytics track listing performance, with metrics like site traffic, inbound calls, and keyword rankings monitored in real time.

How much does Birdeye cost?

There are three pricing tiers, ranging from $299/month per location to $449/month per location. Each option includes listing management, but you’ll need one of the bigger packages for features like webchat and social media scheduling. The bigger packages often come with custom prices for listings, or you need to request a quote.

Is there a free trial?

No. There’s a free 30-day trial of the social media tool, but this doesn’t include listings management.

Things to Consider

• Auto-verify: Get your Google listing live within a few days with Birdeye’s auto-verification.
• Error reports: Automated error reports flag up inaccuracies across your business listings and directory inserts.
• Benchmarking: Compare your listings with the competition to identify performance gaps and areas for improvement.
• AI assistance: An AI writing tool generates optimized business descriptions that can be used across your listings.
• Listing scan: Scan your listings with just one click to see how your business appears across the web.
• Automatic updates: Any changes you make to your business information in the Birdeye dashboard are automatically rolled out across the web, making light work of keeping your listings up to date.
• Limited network: Birdeye’s network is smaller than some of the other tools on this list. That means your business could miss out on lots of valuable niche and location-specific listings that could benefit your local presence.
• No free trial: No free trial means you can’t get a feel for the platform before you commit to using it. You’ll have to rely on the video demo to decide if it suits your style of working.
• It’s pricey: The Birdeye subscription costs are some of the most expensive of all the listings management tools we’ve reviewed.
• Set-up fee: There’s a fairly hefty set-up fee on top of the monthly subscription cost if you opt for any of their other services, so you need to be 100% certain Birdeye is the tool for you before you get started.
• Other limitations: a lack of white-label support and basic auditing.

Uberall

Uberall’s AI-powered listings management software connects with more than 125 directories to manage your online presence. Its niche is multi-location businesses, and its network includes major sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp, along with Apple Maps and other listing sites. It also connects with Alexa and similar voice assistants.

There are a range of Google Business Profile features, including profile protection to defend your listing against ‘suggested edits’ from the search results page and recommended actions to update your listings.

A content collection feature makes adding rich media content, including images and videos, quick, easy, and convenient. Simply upload once and push out across all locations.

How much does Uberall cost?

Uberall will provide a quote after a consultation about your goals. However, their listings generally start from about $8.95 per month per location.

Is there a free trial?

No free trial is currently available.

Things to Consider

• Multi-location friendly: Uberall is designed for multi-location businesses.
• Centralized data: You can manage all your listing information for multiple locations from one centralized dashboard.
• Google Business Profile management: This syncs up with GBP and offers a range of tools to make managing your local pack listings easier.
• Protect your listings: Profile protection helps protect your listing from edits and other unauthorized changes. It also helps to keep your business information consistent and accurate across your listings.
• Duplication checks: Uberall checks for duplicates and ensures you have just one verified listing per location.
• Recommended actions: Get suggestions to improve your multi-location listings for greater accuracy and effectiveness.  
• Performance insights: See how your listings are performing versus others in your area.
• Claim profiles in bulk: Managing franchise or multi-location business listings can be time-consuming. Uberall allows you to claim listings in bulk to save time.
• Lack of flexibility: While AI can speed up some tasks, it can also be limiting in other areas as there is very little flexibility.
• Limited network: Uberall’s network lacks the industry- and location-specific sites that could benefit your multi-location business.
• No free trial: With no free trial, you’ll need to make a financial commitment before you can explore the platform.
• Limited functionality: Not all packages include all the functionality you need to truly take control of your local business listings. The starter package, for example, doesn’t include reputation management tools.

Localo

Localo was previously Surfer Local. It’s best known as a Google Business Profile management tool. It uses AI to power its functionality, so you can expect a high degree of automation.

Unlike the other top business listing management tools we’ve included in this guide, Localo focuses exclusively on GBP, so it isn’t a good choice if you want to build citations and manage your listings across other platforms from one centralized dashboard.  

How much does Localo cost?

Plans start from around $70/month per location.

Is there a free trial?

There’s a free version of the tool which offers limited functionality.

Things to Consider

• Comprehensive Google Business Profile tools: Uberall is primarily a GBP management tool, so it has extensive functionality in this area. 
• Some free functionality: There’s a free option if you aren’t looking to take out a subscription.
• Check listing visibility: You can monitor your business’s visibility and track keyword rankings. You can also keep tabs on rivals with competitor visibility checks and get suggested keywords to boost your visibility.
• Profile audits: The higher-priced plans include a Google Business Profile audit to identify missed opportunities to rank higher in the local pack (paid plans only).
• Post scheduling: Google Business Posts allow you to share updates, events, and offers with search users. You can use Localo to schedule your Posts to keep your listing active and your audience engaged (paid plans only).
• Business description support: If you find inspiration hard to come by, an AI writing assistant can craft an optimized business description for you. You can use this on your Google Business Profile and across business listings managed elsewhere (paid plans only).
• Measure impact: Localo analytics can help you measure the impact of your Google Business profile. You can also monitor metrics such as calls and messages, profile views, and website visitors (paid plans only).
• Photo planner: Schedule photo updates to automate new image uploads to your GBP listing (paid plans only).
• Limited reach: Localo is dedicated to Google Business Profile management, so it doesn’t offer the same reach and functionality as the other tools on this list.
• No citation building: You can’t use Localo to build new citations or update existing citations en masse. You’ll need to use another tool alongside Localo to complete those tasks.
• Other major sites aren’t supported: While most tools will include Facebook, Yelp, Bing, and Apple Maps, Localo doesn’t support these. You’ll need another tool to manage listings outside of Google, including on the other big three platforms.  
• No centralized dashboard: As mentioned, Localo specializes in Google Business Profile. Changes you make to your Google Business Profile won’t be synced to your other business listings across the web. You’ll need to update them manually to ensure consistency or pay for another tool to sit alongside Localo.
• Missed opportunities: You can’t use Localo to create listings on the location-specific, or industry-specific directories that could drive more traffic to your business. This could be a missed opportunity and leave the door open for your competitors.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to consider when choosing the right listings management solution. The reality is that your choice may well depend on your situation. If you’re managing listings for hundreds of locations, for instance, some of these services could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Similarly, some of the tools require you to sign up for other services you may already be managing elsewhere.

We’ve tried to remain unbiased, as we represent one of the tools mentioned above. We want to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information possible to help you make a decision.

So, if you spot anything out of order in the information, or are aware of anything that needs updating, please do send us an email and we’ll look to get it updated as soon as possible.

This article is from our Agency Growth Handbook—a collection of guides created to help local SEO agencies grow and succeed. It is chapter two of ‘Part One: Pitching and Onboarding‘.

Believe it or not, you’re not the sole agency providing local marketing, SEO, or digital marketing services. Surprising, right?

The reality is that you aren’t just competing against a couple of other agencies; you could be competing against hundreds. According to IBISWorld, in 2023, there were 187,705 SEO and Internet Marketing Consultants in the USA. That makes for a very busy space.

It also means that setting your agency apart is imperative. You can’t just set up shop, offer the exact same services as others around you, and hope that’s enough.

We touched on this briefly in the first part of the Agency Growth Handbook, where we helped you define your positioning. In some cases, it could be as simple as being the only agency specializing in local SEO in your town. In others, it could be the niche you choose to target. Sometimes it isn’t that simple, though.

So today, we will hear from agency experts on how they help their agencies stand out from the crowd. We asked each of these experts the same three questions, and here’s what they had to say about getting noticed, creating a unique selling point (USP), and hindsight.

Amanda Jordan

Director of Digital Strategy at RicketyRoo

Amanda states that the key for RicketyRoo has been being a positive part of the local SEO community, offering true transparency to its clients, and looking ahead.

1. Getting Noticed

Honestly, what we do to get noticed is what we tell our clients to do to rank and grow their businesses. We just work on being a positive and impactful part of our community.

2. Developing a USP

Blake Denman is the man behind our USP. We are refreshingly transparent and upfront. This isn’t just with our clients but also applies to how we work within our team and present to the industry.

3. Hindsight

Focus on the horizon, not the rearview mirror; hindsight is not a guide. We’re focusing on seeing where this road takes us.

Joy Hawkins

Owner/President at Sterling Sky

For Joy, the key has been tapping into their in-house expertise and properly showcasing it to the world. It’s about being knowledgeable in a noisy way to help bring a strong inbound funnel for their sales.

1. Getting Noticed

I think the best sales approach is to have a strong inbound funnel so that you have people contacting you who have already researched you.

At Sterling Sky, we don’t do any outbound sales. When leads reach out to us, we usually don’t have to “brag” too much about our accomplishments because the businesses have already seen it on our website.

We have a very strong social media presence and newsletter and are well-represented at conferences, podcasts, and webinars.

2. Developing a USP

Our USP is that we are trend leaders in the local SEO space and understand the local algorithms very well. We are often the first to put out case studies about new concepts and ranking factors. We have also discovered and named almost every local algorithm update Google has done in the last decade. The most recent one was the Openness algorithm update, which we shared and got Google to confirm shortly afterward.

Our other advantage is that we have a team of well-known experts in the local SEO space. There are nine employees at Sterling Sky that contribute to the Local Search Ranking Factors Study every year.

Study: Business Opening Hours and Local Rankings

Get the Insights

3. Hindsight

I’d probably change nothing. We share a ton of information about SEO tactics we have succeeded with. Some people think this idea of “giving away your secrets” is nuts, but I would argue that it helps identify us as experts and is also the main reason why businesses want to work with us.

Emily Wassell

Head of SEO at tmwi

Emily says that tmwi focuses a lot on educating its clients. In addition to sharing their knowledge with the wider community, they double down on keeping their clients up-to-date and in the know. For tmwi, it’s all about using this education to help uncover things that many other agencies simply don’t look at and make new processes around it.

1. Getting Noticed

SEO still has a reputation as a ‘dark art,’ meaning many brands and marketers have limited trust in SEO services. We do everything agencies should be doing – smart work for clients, entering awards, SEO training and workshops, and creating insights and content to share with the industry.

But our most effective strategy is focusing on referrals from happy clients – SEO is a channel where having someone to vouch for your work can be a game-changer. Our team is focused on building really strong client relationships and quantifying the results of our work to make sure our clients always think of us with friends and colleagues and if they move to new roles.

2. Developing a USP

We didn’t want to get boxed in by having a USP for specific sectors, projects, websites, etc. But we do have a unique process for content–our audience-led content strategy offering, Audience and Search Intent Modelling.

It developed from frustration that so many SEO strategies just targeted the same high-volume keywords–it’s obvious and increasingly ineffective. The ASIM strategy takes a step back from the keywords to start with the audience interests and affinities, then overlay the keywords back over the top. In short, it helps brands dominate their category with content across multiple pillars. This means the content is built around the audience first and with SEO at the heart, so it works better across all channels.

3. Hindsight

We’re definitely more focused on connecting search optimizations to paid activity now–how can we improve the website and UX, using SEO insights, to get more conversions from the traffic we’re driving? It means we can demonstrate the value of SEO outside of just organic metrics and encourage clients to consider SEO alongside paid media rather than an either/or debate on budgets.

Greg Gifford

Chief Operating Officer at SearchLab

Greg wrote about people being more important than money in a BrightLocal Spotlight in 2023. A few of the tidbits from that piece on how SearchLab sets itself apart highlight how mindset is key:

“He [Mark Bealin] talked about true work-life balance.

About how money wasn’t as important as having happy employees who truly enjoyed their jobs.

About how he wanted to be the one to change people’s lives, help them get houses, and help send their kids to school.

Managers and team leads can talk about culture and inclusion all day long, but if it’s not part of the lifeblood of your agency, it doesn’t make much difference. Everyone from the top down has to be a part of making that change.

At SearchLab, we have several core values that we live by daily:

Continuous drive for learning and self-improvement

• Have integrity in all that we do
• Relentless pursuit of exceptional results
• Demonstrate accountability and responsibility
• Contribute to a positive, supportive, and collaborative environment.”

For more on this, you can read Greg’s Spotlight: ‘People are More Important Than Money’

Be Loud and Plan for the Future

It may not feel like rocket science, but a common theme from these agency experts is transparency and expertise. You don’t have to be reinventing the wheel or doing anything completely earth-shattering.

It can go a long way if your clients and prospective clients can see you by openly sharing your knowledge and expertise. Whether through social media, on a one-on-one basis with clients, at conferences, or simply on your own website, it can go a long way to help set you apart.

Look hard at how you can use the experts you have in-house to help tell your unique stories on SEO. Do this, and you’ll not only show you know what you’re doing, but your happy clients will tell others, too. Being true subject-area experts can even stop you from having to work so hard at outbound sales.

That being said, looking ahead is important. Put together a robust plan, look at investing in the right people, and then nurture them to be the best they can be.

Over the years, our pool of sites has evolved, and so has where we offer the service. Until now, we’ve offered these services in ten different countries. And now we’re doubling this. From today, September 5th, we can happily say we’re offering Citation Builder in ten more countries, bringing the total to 20.

Listings are still an important foundational step for businesses across the globe. Google uses listings to help create an accurate perception of a business. Not only that, but our Local Business Discovery and Trust Report 2023 found that 62% of consumers would be turned away from a business if they found incorrect information online.

Citation Builder is your key to correct and reliable accuracy across all your listings. Build with confidence.

How will this work?

It will work like any other Citation Builder purchase. You just need to follow the same steps as normal. Simply add the location information for the business in one of these new countries, select what you want to build, and we’ll get going.

We’ll build citations on an existing network of selected international citation sites. There will also be a number of country variant listing sites available in each of these countries.

Get Citations Done Fast... and Own Your Listings Forever

No recurring fees. Complete Control. Super-low cost.

Get Started with Citation Builder _{Start Your Free Account}

The cost of building citations in these countries is exactly the same as it is in all our other countries. This means it will still cost the low price of $3.20 per citation. If you use credits, the cost remains the same as before.

What about aggregators?

You can submit to two of our popular local data aggregators, too. Each country can use the Foursquare and GPS Network to build citations through those aggregators.

As always, some of the sites we build citations on require verification, and all the information you need to help with can be found on our Help Center.

Is this changing anything else about the Citation Building service?

Adding these countries is just that, an addition. There’s no change to any of our other Citation Builder services because of this update. So don’t worry. We’ll keep offering the best possible local listing services at affordable prices.

Let’s Get Building

We can’t wait to start building citations in this new set of countries and carry on listing your businesses in the ones we already do. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact customer support.

Citation Builder is here to help you build the listings you need, now in more places than ever before.

This article is from our Agency Growth Handbook—a collection of guides created to help local SEO agencies grow and succeed. It is chapter one of ‘Part One: Pitching and Onboarding‘.

The guide takes inspiration from Claire Carlile’s Academy course ‘How to Win Your First Local SEO Client’.

Setting up a new local SEO agency is exciting. Being your own boss, working on your terms, and doing things your way is a hard gig to beat. It’s professionally and personally rewarding. One thing it isn’t, though, is easy.

Whether you already run an agency but feel it’s time for a reset, want to add local SEO to your other digital offerings, or are a consultant ready to scale up to agency owner, getting started requires considerable upfront planning.

The sheer volume of tasks you’ll need to complete before launch day can feel daunting. Many of the decisions you need to make come with a huge side order of pressure. That’s because each decision directly impacts the direction of your new business and its chances of success (or failure).

That’s where we come in. Our Agency Growth Handbook is your blueprint for starting your new local SEO agency.

Defining Your Services

Before you can successfully launch your business, you need a clear idea of what you’re going to sell. You might think that’s the easy bit. After all, it’s a local SEO agency, so the clue will be in the name, right? Not exactly.

In today’s search landscape, local SEO is a broad umbrella term for a rapidly growing range of tactics and specialisms. That means you could opt to focus on just one or two niche areas of expertise, such as:

• Google Business Profile Optimization
• Reputation Management
• Local Link Building
• Copywriting
• Citation Building
• Data and Analytics
• Social Marketing 
• Technical Optimization 

If you read that list and answer, “Check. Check. Check,” you may feel you’re sufficiently experienced and knowledgeable to offer a full-service local SEO solution. When you’re building a new business, it can be tempting to try and do it all. However, it’s essential to consider your strengths and weaknesses and whether you have the budget to fill any skills gaps with freelancers, subcontractors, or full-term hires.

That means your options are:

Whether you’re more inclined to be a niche expert or launch a full-service local search marketing agency, there’s another critical question that you’ll need to consider. Do you want to fly solo, or are you interested in building a bigger business with a team of experts working for your agency? 

Determining what scale you want to achieve is a very personal decision. There’s no right or wrong answer; it comes down to what you want from life.  

Some people are drawn to the solopreneur lifestyle because they can stay in complete control. Being a solopreneur means you’re only responsible for yourself. You don’t have the pressure of making payroll each month, nor do you have to take on a manager role. It can be the more flexible path, at least initially, and affords a greater amount of personal freedom. 

That said, if you’re serious about building an agency, bringing in other local SEO experts can help you develop your service portfolio and offer a more comprehensive solution to clients. It also gives you more man-hours and resources, which means you can take on more clients, generate more turnover, deliver better results, and not have to do everything yourself.  

What kind of local businesses will you target? 

With your business’s organizational structure decided, you can now start to think about who you will sell your services to. This is your client niche, and it can be a whole lot trickier to settle on than it may first appear. Your client niche could be determined by a specific industry, a certain size of business, or a local area. 

There are a couple of clear advantages to saying that you’re only going to work with this kind of client.

Advantage 1: You have the chance to become a big fish in a small pond

If 100% of your efforts and results come from a single sector, you can expect to become an established authority within that vertical. That depth of expertise means your services should become highly prized within that target niche.

Let’s say you decide to work only with dentists. With a few happy clients and excellent results, word should soon spread through the dental community. Any dentist looking to grow their local search visibility will know that you can get the job done. There could even be an increased desire to work with you to gain the upper hand over local rivals.

Local SEO for Dentists

by Ian de Jongh from Pain-Free Dental Marketing

Find out more

Advantage 2: You’ll have a unique insight into search trends

Choosing to work with just one type of client allows you to immerse yourself fully in that sector’s search landscape. You’ll instinctively learn what works and what doesn’t because you’ll work with the same kinds of businesses and keywords daily.

Essentially, you’re developing your own substantial back catalog of search algorithm intelligence. 

This unique insight cuts down on the guesswork associated with running new local SEO campaigns. It allows you to deploy tactics you’ve tried and tested and feel confident they will move the needle in the right direction from day one. And it means you’ll deliver consistently strong results for your clients.

Advantage 3: As a specialist, you can focus on what you do well

Having a particular niche—whether that’s an industry you have a particular affinity for or a certain size of client business you prefer to work with—can help you avoid a common trap associated with running a business: spreading yourself too thin. You can focus on what you enjoy and know you do well because you aren’t trying to be all things to all clients.  

Advantage 4: Day-to-day operations can be streamlined

There are plenty of practical advantages to having a well-defined niche. Many service providers define their client niche by geographical area. Service businesses like plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians define their niche by radius.

Staying within your geographical area can also make day-to-day operations smoother. It makes it much easier to host client meetings, travel to networking events, and pitch to new businesses.

Advantage 5: Your marketing and messaging can be tightly focused

Knowing your audience is one of the golden rules of successful marketing. For your sales and marketing efforts to resonate, you need to understand who you’re talking to and what their challenges are. You should be able to clearly articulate how you can help them specifically.

If you don’t have a niche:

• Your sales messaging could be too generic to generate a connection.
• Your pitch decks could leave your prospects cold.
• Your advertising could fall flat.

A real estate agent, for example, will have different priorities than a mom-and-pop convenience store. A veterinarian won’t be looking to solve the same search problems as a locksmith. A restaurant will expect different results from a lawyer. Only by having a clear idea of your audience will your marketing and sales messaging hit their mark. 

Despite these clear advantages, there are some pitfalls to deciding on a client niche. 

Pitfall 1: Your niche is too narrow 

While there are genuine benefits to having an area of expertise, your niche must be able to sustain your new agency. There must be enough of those kinds of businesses to keep your business in business. You could quickly run out of clients if your focus is too specific. 

Opting to only work with surf shops in Nevada, for instance.

Pitfall 2: Industry downturns will impact your business too

If your agency focuses on a particular industry or a specific type of business, any downturn in that vertical will also hit your business hard. A change in that market could render your services no longer required, jeopardizing your entire agency business. While that may seem like an extreme scenario, you only have to cast your mind back to the industries entirely shut down by the pandemic or made obsolete by the surge in online services to understand how quickly things can change. 

Pitfall 3: Too many clients request non-competition clauses 

Being super successful in your niche is a beautiful thing—your clients know they can trust you to deliver results. But what happens when they don’t want you delivering those same results for their main rival across town? Having a client with a non-competition clause could put dozens of other businesses out of bounds in one fell swoop.

You can’t afford for your niche to be too narrow that you run out of new clients you’re permitted to work with.

Taking on the Pricing Conundrum 

If there’s one thing guaranteed to keep any business owner awake at night, it’s cash. Setting your agency pricing model is no small feat, and it’s also far from straightforward. 

As a new business, you may be tempted to price your services lower to attract clients. That could mean you need to charge more to cover your overheads and make a profit. You could be toying with charging more to value your skillset. But set the bar too high, and you could price yourself out of the game before you begin.

The key to creating a sustainable pricing model that reflects the value you bring to your clients, keeps the lights on, and doesn’t send prospects running for the hills is to work systematically and impartially through the process. 

Step 1: Decide on Your Pricing Model 

There are many different pricing models for SEO and digital marketing agencies. You need to decide what yours will be. Will you charge per hour or go for a fixed monthly or quarterly retainer? An hourly rate can initially seem more affordable for clients, but it’s also less transparent and makes budgeting much harder. You may also find it harder to make financial forecasts and plan as the hours you bill (and therefore how much you make) will likely fluctuate monthly. 

A fixed fee can initially be off-putting for some businesses, especially smaller enterprises. It may feel like a big commitment, but it should be a much more precise cost to manage each month. A monthly or quarterly retainer also gives you some security and certainty, so you can accurately forecast turnover or confidently take on a new staff member. 

Some service providers operate a pay-on-results model. This is perhaps the most difficult model to understand as a client and local SEO agency. It requires a lot of forward planning because you’ll need to have an ironclad agreement in place that clearly defines the result being targeted, what that success looks like in practice, and how long it will take. You’ll also need to clearly understand how long the desired outcome will likely take and ensure that the input costs don’t outweigh the reward. 

Step 2: Work Backwards From There 

Once you know how you will charge, you can start to think about what you will charge. 

• Do your research: You don’t want to under or overprice your services. As a first port of call, try to understand what other local SEO providers are charging in your area. Some agencies may have pricing guidelines on their site to give you a ballpark figure. Friends, family members, and acquaintances may have their own experiences working with other agencies. Ask them how much they paid. If you’re a member of a local Chamber of Commerce or attend networking events, feel free to ask local business representatives what they have or would expect to pay for local SEO support. 
• Be creative: If those avenues leave you drawing a blank, go online. Many smaller agencies and solo service providers use freelance and on-demand platforms to find work. Many of those platforms allow providers to post fixed-price jobs. Review standard costs to build up an idea of average pricing. Some sites will also show you past reviews and the number of clients worked with, helping you understand if that service provider has got it right and is winning new business. 
• Calculate your outgoings: One of the most important defining factors in your pricing model is the amount of cash you need to cover your outgoings. Create a list and tally it up. Include any business expenses such as rent, Wi-Fi, staff costs, equipment costs, and software subscriptions. Remember things like taxes and healthcare insurance. Next, think about your personal circumstances and how much money you need to make each month to live comfortably. 

What Should My Agency Be Charging for Local SEO?

Find out more

Carving out Your Place in the Market 

Local SEO is a competitive space. You must be clear on your market position to ensure you stand out. This goes beyond your niche. It isn’t just about what you do and who you serve. It’s more nuanced. It’s about storytelling and weaving a compelling narrative that helps your target market understand your value and what makes you different.  

Your Positioning Statement 

Writing a positioning statement is an excellent way to focus your thinking and clarify your mission. It is a very short piece of text (around three sentences or so), but don’t be fooled. Less can be surprisingly more difficult. 

To create yours: 

• State who you’re targeting and what their problems or opportunities are.
• Outline what your service is and the main benefit you bring to the table. 
• Identify your competitive differentiator. 

Once you have formulated this statement, you’ll be able to clearly convey what you bring to the table, how you can help your clients succeed, and how your solution differs from competitors. 

You can refer to this document anytime you need to center yourself and check whether you’re continuing on the right path. 

Generating Leads 

Lead generation is one of those jobs that you can never tick off your to-do list as an agency owner. But, as a local SEO practitioner, the good news is that you’ll already be well-qualified to market your agency’s offerings. 

It should go without saying that many of the tactics and methods you use to boost your client’s search visibility should be applied to your own business: 

• Create, optimize, and manage your Google Business Profile.
• Build a website and regularly add helpful, original, optimized content.
• Start local link building.
• Build citations.
• Be proactive about asking clients for reviews.
• Be active on social media. 
• Participate in local and industry events.
• Share valuable tips with your network.
• Seek media coverage and other forms of local exposure, such as volunteering to speak at a Chamber of Commerce event or participating in a podcast. 

Generating leads is often about sharing your expertise and offering your insight. There’s an educational aspect that not only provides useful information to your prospects but also allows you to showcase your expertise. This doesn’t just build trust in your agency; it can also build goodwill. 

Aside from the local SEO tactics you already know and are proficient in, there are many other ways to generate leads. Raising your local visibility can make a huge impact. Why not host a free seminar for local businesses within your client niche? You could also donate your time to a local non-profit in return for a testimonial or reference on their website. If you’re confident in front of the camera or happy to appear online, another great tactic is to approach local media about guest author spots.  

You could also consider creating a presence on one of the many on-demand platforms. These platforms already have a volume of traffic you can benefit from, and you can instantly connect with local businesses actively looking for local SEO solutions. This is also a great way to quickly build up a store of reviews, which you can then use as social proof to generate additional leads for your new local SEO agency business.

But, you did, and here at BrightLocal we certainly all did. As we’re winding down for the end-of-year festivities, we’ve found it’s a good time to reflect on 2023 as a whole… maybe even take the time to wrap it all up neatly, into a box with a bow.

So that’s what we’re going to do. It’s time to grab some paper, scissors, tape, and ribbon and see what comes out on top in BrightLocal’s 2023 Wrapped.

The Biggest Google Updates for Local

Did you blink? Because Google probably rolled out another update. For a few months, it felt like when everyone was just calming down from one, they’d announce another. Oh, and then another.

It appears that Google execs were booby-trapping their house, making sure it got harder and harder for people to game their system, which you have to respect… to an extent. We can almost see them rolling another update out and saying, (in the words of Kevin McCallister): “Do you guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?”

While the dust is still settling on these, it feels like some of the biggest changes for local were:

1. A new ranking factor… well, maybe. Opening hours or, in Google’s words ‘openness’.

Since the news broke, the situation has evolved. It’s been confirmed by Google that openness has been a factor for a while, but that the strength of the signal has dialed up considerably recently. However, they also say that may change.

The team tells me we've long used "openness" as part of our local ranking systems, and it recently became a stronger signal for non-navigational queries. This might change in various ways, as we continue to evaluate the usefulness of it, however.

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) December 15, 2023

We’ve done a study to see how it’s currently affecting rankings. You can find that here.

Study: Business Opening Hours and Local Rankings

Using Local Search Grid to conduct a measured study and analyze the relationship between "openness" and local rankings for 50 business locations.

Read more

2. They’re introducing an updated reinstatement process for suspended profiles.

There’s a whole new process! Both for getting suspended and being reinstated. This has been a long time coming—and you can hear all about it in our webinar with Ben Fisher and Sherry Bonelli.

3. GA4 finally arrived, and it made everything really, really hard for everyone.

It’s been a difficult year for many a marketer, with the switch from universal analytics echoing the famous plot of It’s a Wonderful Life; imagine if the dependable person you knew, just never existed at all.

Fortunately, we have a guardian angel here to help you get your GA4 sorted.

Getting Started with Google Analytics 4 for Local SEO

Read more

4. SGE was teased and, for some people, rolled out.

Generative AI was the buzzphrase of the year. Google, ever the trend leader, launched its search generative experience (SGE) and released it for testing in the USA. They’ve been running various tests and, honestly, the situation keeps changing… there goes Google keeping us on our toes again.

Currently, there’s no confirmed date for it rolling out for everyone, but when it does, it could shake up search (including local search) forever.

5. They (finally) added social media link management to GBP! It pretty much made our own social media manager’s year…

It may not feel huge, but it’s been a pain for years and is a real game-changer for GBP managers.

Bloopers from our Local Search Expert, Claire Carlile

Our hostess-with-the-mostest, Claire Carlile, is nothing but professional… that being said, she does spend quite a few hours in front of a camera, and that leads to some absolute gold.

So here are our favorite Claire Carlile bloopers of 2023:

1. The time Claire got so distracted by Biscuit’s cuteness “behind the scenes” of a webinar that she had to apologize to the viewers when she went live.

WOAH that was awesome @ownyourserp – thanks for the KNOWLEDGE NUGGETS you just gave us all – what a fab @brightlocal webinar. If you joined us sorry about the funny start, this is why we were only thinking about CUTE DOGS! Watch the recording on Youtube https://t.co/UmLkccuyHC pic.twitter.com/G0nFfHKyZv

— Claire Carlile (@clairecarlile) March 30, 2023

I mean… can you blame her? 

2. The time when Claire’s daughter Betsi bought about her professional downfall live on air.

Thanks for joining me on an AWESOME Local Search Clinic @StefanSomborac – so many excellent questions and so many excellent answers!
Watch again here, and at the end enjoy my professional downfall as my child decides to make an entrance…
https://t.co/mhfq5tqufS pic.twitter.com/7ahUZ9q1jA

— Claire Carlile (@clairecarlile) June 22, 2023

3. The time Claire’s internet completely dropped out immediately before she was supposed to host Local SEO for Good. Which caused just a little bit of panic.

4. The time Claire and Crystal Carter had so much fun during a podcast recording that their laughs messed with the sound levels and made it nearly impossible to edit.

5. Finally, this last one is a curveball. Our wonderful Sammy, the expert behind our fantastic research (and mother to the aforementioned Biscuit), managed to get herself locked in her bedroom while the team was busy putting the finishing touches on this piece.

So, we’re awarding her an honorary place in this list. From eyewitness reports, the door just closed behind her and the handle refused to turn, leaving her stuck with none other than Biscuit himself. 

Worry not, she managed to escape through a window and get someone to come over with a spare pair of keys for her front door.

BrightLocal Product Releases and Updates

We’ve had quite the year here at BrightLocal, and we’re incredibly proud of the advances we’ve made to our local SEO tools and services. Not only have we gone beyond the Horizon with the launch of our new multi-location command center, but we’ve also created our own GBP post scheduler and changed the listings game with Active Sync.

1. BrightLocal Horizon
Just this month we launched our brand new multi-location command center. This powerful tool uses Local Search Grid to give you a country-wide view of the rankings for all your locations. 

2. Active Sync
We changed the listings game with Active Sync, an API solution for listings management, offered at a fraction of the cost of other services.

3. GBP Post Scheduler
With this useful tool, you can now you can publish to all your Google Business Profiles from one convenient location.

4. Local Rank Tracker 2.0
We upgraded our already fantastic Local Rank Tracker to add a host of new features and insights.

5. Local Search Grid Flexible Grid Points

Now, you can place your Local Search Grid grid points where you want, making our tracking even more accurate.

And that’s just scratching the surface of what we’ve managed to achieve at BrightLocal this year. We’ve also added all kinds of sites to our local citation builder service’s network, grown the team behind the product across the globe, and so much more!

The Content We Loved, by You

There’s a lot of content on local SEO published every single day. With AI flooding an already cluttered space, we wanted to highlight the hard work of people across the internet who are creating excellent content on SEO and local marketing—no AI-Grinch stealing everyone’s hard work on our watch.

1. Miriam Ellis, Moz: The Local Business Content Marketing Guide

It’s a wondrous collection of guides, and just another example of Miriam’s excellent work. We’re always a fan of Miriam’s content here, like this guide on GBP photos and this piece for Wix on being COVID-conscious.

2. Greg Sterling, Near Media: Google SGE: Meet the New Pack

Near Media’s content is always excellent and their newsletter is essential for anyone working in local. Go subscribe. Seriously.

3. Kick Point Playbook: Grow Your Agency with Google Analytics Training & Templates

The whole Playbook is well worth your time to help you with your analytics—plus it comes with a ringing endorsement from Claire Carlile (and Biscuit!).

4. Marie Haynes, Marie Haynes Consulting: Search News You Can Use Newsletter

A wonderful resource for anyone looking for SEO news or insights, with a real focus on AI… all in one helpful feed.

5. Ann Smarty, Smarty Marketing: The State of the Link Building Industry 2023

Ann surveyed 300 SEO professionals from across the industry (all with years of experience) to find out what they’re doing to build links in 2023, and whether it’s working. It’s an incredibly thorough study and worth checking if you’re planning on doing link-building in 2024.

Our Favourite Insights

At BrightLocal, our mission is to help every business be successful at local SEO—whether that’s through our tools or our content. We’ve performed insightful research, given people a platform to talk about the industry, and helped thousands navigate local SEO with BrightLocal Academy. Plus, we re-launched our podcast, and our webinars have gone up a level too.

Here are a few that we’re particularly proud of:

1. Local business discovery and trust report

Our research speaks for itself, from the Generative AI Study to the first-ever Big Brand Review Showdown, but we’re particularly proud of this year’s trust report, which highlights the discovery platforms local consumers trust the most and least.

2. How to Do Insightful Competitor Analysis for Local SEO on BrightLocal Academy

A question we get asked all the time! Well now you can do an excellent course in BrightLocal Academy… and it’s completely free! Plus, it’s with Greg Gifford, so you know it’ll be a blast.

3. Adventures in Local Marketing with Crystal Carter: Powerful Applications of Schema Markup

Our podcast came back with a bang this year, and Claire’s chat with Crystal on schema is well worth your time.

4. Live GBP Audit with Colan Nielson

In the first of our new live audits, Colan looked at auditing and optimizing the GBP for a dental practice. It’s not to be missed.

5. George Nguyen, Wix: Diversifying Your Publication

We launched BrightLocal Spotlight this year, a column where industry professionals were given a platform to talk about issues important to them. George’s encapsulated everything Spotlight stands for and is an important, insightful read.

The Most Essential Guides

We’ve published some absolutely essential guides this year, continuing our mission to help educate local marketers, whatever level they may be. A lot of our guides come directly from questions we get asked in The Local Pack or our webinars, so never hesitate to ask!

1. Abigail Leow, BrightLocal: How to Rank Outside Your Area.

A question we seem to get asked more than any other. Abigail busts myths and collates all the advice you may need on the subject of ranking beyond your physical location.

2. Andy Simpson, Digital Law Marketing: How to Choose the Next Location for Your Business Using Local SEO

Local SEO may not be the first thing you consider when deciding where to open your next branch, but Andy Simpson makes a very convincing argument on why you should.

3. Emily Brady, Podium: How to Craft Unique and Helpful Location Pages

Location pages are a key part of local SEO for multi-location brands, and this guide goes into everything you need to know.

4. Dani Owens, Pigzilla: Local SEO Schema: Types and Templates

Schema doesn’t need to be as mystifying as it appears. Dani’s templates are simple to understand and easy to implement.

5. Gyi Tsakalakis, AttorneySync: Local SEO for Lawyers

Gyi does a deep dive into everything a law marketer could ever need to know about local SEO. 

The Times Barry Schwartz Told People it’s “Not New”!

It happens to the best of us. It feels like not a day goes by without an expert being absolutely certain they’ve spotted something new and game-changing in the SERPs. They tweet it to Barry Schwartz, only for the one-man-search-encyclopdia to reply with two withering words; “not new”.

Here are some of our favorites from just the last 12 months.

1. The time he trademarked it.

Hey @okaylizzi "not new" has a https://t.co/QAZRV9WF1r pic.twitter.com/ZdW8IjKw7W

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) August 2, 2023

2. Google charging for phone support.

Not new https://t.co/RmAEF8KzSQ

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) December 14, 2023

3. Places of interest.

yea, rare to see but not new

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) December 1, 2023

4. Special SERPs for cities.

that is not new, it is pretty old, i need to find when i covered it

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) April 26, 2023

5. The time he got not newed himself, by Mike Blumenthal.

Image of notifications from Sept of last year pic.twitter.com/2SZra8ZiFi

— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) June 22, 2023

The Best Conference Talks of 2023

2023 was another huge year for the conference circuit. While we helped make brightonSEO special with our Pin It to Win It game, we also enjoyed a number of talks here and elsewhere. Plus, we hosted a virtual conference of our own to raise money for charity.

Here are our favorite talks from around the SEO world:

1. Claire Carlile, BrightLocal at brightonSEO: Google’s Local Knowledge Panel—The CMS You Never Knew You Had

2. Harmony Huskinson, Victorious at Local SEO for Good: Developing Your E-E-A-T Strategy for Local SEO

3. Syphaïwong Bay, Assonance Agency at Women in Tech SEO: Creating Meaningful Content

4. Dana DiTomaso, Kick Point at LocalU: Customizing GA4 for Local Business Reporting

5. Amanda Jordan, RicketyRoo at MozCon: Build Better Backlinks for Local Brands

Oh wow, it’s been a big year for every part of the business. Whether that’s the Philippines team’s annual basketball tournament, the hackathons with our Ukraine and Poland teams, or the big refresh of our brand, there’s something for each team to celebrate.

A few big moments from across the year include:

1. BrightLocal at brightonSEO

Not once, but twice our stand stole the show, surprising and delighting visitors with the absolute best swag and the most engaging game: Pin It To Win It. We hope you enjoyed coming to see us, and we can’t wait to see you next year.

2. The Phillippines Christmas Party

It was hard to pick just one moment from this team, who consistently show up the rest of the business when it comes to having fun! Their Christmas party really stood out this year, though.

3. Local SEO for Good

We put on a two-day virtual conference of our very own and raised $78,401.47 for a host of charities, all while connecting marketers with experts to help them learn something new.

4. The Big Rebrand

You may have noticed, but the website looks just a little different than it did at the start of the year. Our design team did an amazing job completely revamping the site and our illustrative style.

5. Our Hackathon in Poland

Our product and development teams got together to come up with a host of new ideas. In fact, this is where BrightLocal Horizon was cooked up. It was a great few days of fun and, evidently, awesome ideas.

This just scratches the surface! There was so much going on at BrightLocal this year that it was hard to really narrow it down.

See You in 2024

We can’t wait for what 2024 will hold for BrightLocal and local search marketing. We’re sure there’ll be a whole host of surprises from Google, at the very least. In the meantime, happy holidays from the entire BrightLocal team, and we’ll see you in January.

At last count, more than 80 million people head to the site each month in search of somewhere to eat, someone to fix an issue at home, or someone to get them on the road. With dozens of categories and a vast directory of local business information, it’s an indispensable tool for local consumers.

It’s also a great way to grow your online presence, generate leads, and boost your sales figures. From takeout joints to locksmiths and home cleaners to body shops, Yelp is a great way to put your business in front of local consumers.

While you may not see it as such, Yelp is kind of like a search engine. As with any other search engine, the more time and effort you pour into search engine optimization (SEO), the better your results will be. So we’re going to talk to you about Yelp SEO.

The good news is that there are plenty of steps you can take to increase the prominence of your Yelp listing, no matter how competitive or overcrowded your particular category may be.

Why does Yelp SEO matter?  

Yelp isn’t just a key review platform or a place to claim a free business listing. It’s also a business discovery tool in its own right. It ties these three elements together, and that makes it particularly useful for local business owners.

What makes SEO for Yelp especially important is the proactive nature of the directory’s user base. According to its own figures, 83% of Yelp users hire or buy from a business they find on the platform.

What’s more, 57% of users contact the business directly within 24 hours. Those are powerful incentives to make your business as visible as possible. Get that right and you can realistically expect your foot traffic, reservations, and bookings to increase by a notable margin.

Claiming your Yelp listing is also free. As with any other business directory, it’s a useful way to boost your local citation count. Plus it provides a wealth of useful information to consumers. Information such as opening hours, street address, and services offered along with reviews and images are all contained within your Yelp listing. This information makes it that much easier for consumers to match your local business with their immediate needs.

How to Claim a Yelp Business Listing

Learn More

You also won’t be charged for any user interaction with your business. That means calls, emails, and website visitors are all free. You just have to make sure your listing is visible and receiving traffic. That’s where knowing how to optimize Yelp business listing information comes in.

Not only this, but users themselves go to Yelp to perform searches. And, as with other platforms, Yelp has its own algorithm for ranking the businesses it returns.

7 Ways to Optimize Your Yelp Listing

The internet is full of information and tips, but much of it is outdated, confusing, and time-consuming to wade through. Yelp doesn’t tend to share as much insight or best practice advice as Google or Bing, which can make it even harder to know where to start.

The tips below will guide you through optimizing your Yelp business listing. These essentials include category selection, review responses, and the importance of regular updates.

Ready to tap into the enormous potential that Yelp offers? Read on.  

1. Choose a Relevant Business Category

If you’ve been responsible for your business’s local listing management for a while now, you may be familiar with the importance of business categories. It’s a vital part of Google Business Profile optimization and similarly important when it comes to acing SEO for Yelp.

Yelp allows you to select up to three categories when claiming or updating your business listing (more on that later). But that’s not to say you should select three if only one or two are actually a good fit.

How to Choose the Right Google Business Profile Categories

Read more

One of the easiest ways to optimize a Yelp listing is to only select the most relevant business category or categories. There are 1500 categories available in total, so you’ll need to be as specific as possible to ensure you’re getting seen by the right kinds of consumers. 

If you’re a home automation expert, for example, you may be tempted to also select electrician as a secondary category. But, unless you’re also an electrical contractor offering services such as appliance repair or rewiring, you could be undermining your listing’s effectiveness. 

2. Add Relevant Services 

While a category is a broad definition of your business offerings, services allow you to be much more specific. Here, you can select as many services as you offer. And, you can do so for each category you select.

This gives both Yelp and local consumers a much clearer idea of what you can offer. It provides both Yelp and local consumers with a much clearer idea of what your business does, helping to boost your listing’s relevance within search results. 

Make sure you select every service that your business offers. Again, don’t add irrelevant services in the hope of attracting more traffic. Focus instead on what you do offer so that your efforts to optimize Yelp listing information deliver meaningful traffic which could boost your sales figures. 

3. Carefully Craft Your ‘From This Business’ Text

Yelp research suggests that as many as 90% of Yelp users use the platform to compare local businesses. Your ‘From This Business’ text is your opportunity to connect with Yelp users and introduce some keyword-rich content to your listing at the same time.

The ‘From This Business’ area of your listing is split into three sections:

• An introduction
• Business history
• Specialties

Each of these components provides a space to connect with local consumers, highlight how your business can meet their needs, and feed the Yelp algorithm with more intel about your local business.

Try and include keywords, such as products or service names, within the text. The specialties section in particular will naturally be keyword-rich, but you can also add other useful information in the intro and history sections.

4. Ensure Your Opening Hours Are Correct

Getting your opening hours right is a basic but necessary Yelp optimization task to tick off. Having incorrect hours can be frustrating at best and at worst, could actively cost you custom. BrightLocal’s Local Business Discovery & Trust Report found that 53% of consumers saw opening hours as the most important information for a business to get right on their listings.

A consumer who sees that you’re open on Yelp and travels to your location isn’t likely to have a great impression of your business if they arrive to find you closed. Chances are, they won’t risk it a second time and will go to a competitor instead.

One of the nice things about Yelp—and key to managing your Yelp business listing effectively—is the option to add special hours. If you’re closed on Thanksgiving for example but open 24 hours on Black Friday, you can add special hours to your listing. You can add as many special hours or extended closure details as needed, so be sure to keep this area updated.

How to Get Your Google Business Profile Holiday-ready

Read more

To add special hours, just navigate to the business information section of your listing and hit edit.

5. Take a Proactive Approach to Photos and Videos

Visual content is a very powerful asset for any local business. Images and videos allow consumers to build a detailed picture of your business without ever having visited or tried your services.

They help in decision-making and allow you to showcase the quality of your offering, the ambiance of your venue, and the professionalism of your staff. What’s more, when you head to the Yelp home page, it’s impossible not to notice that the top spots are invariably occupied by listings that have plentiful visual assets.

Images and videos are also an easy way to build trust. This is especially true if your Yelp SEO activity leads to more consumers uploading images alongside their reviews.

Yelp’s official advice states ‘Upload multiple photos to look your best’. That’s frustratingly ambiguous, so as a good rule of thumb, we’d suggest mirroring Google Business Profile photos best practice and uploading a well-rounded selection of images.

How to Upload and Manage Google Business Profile Photos

Read more

Aim to include shots of the interior and exterior of any location open to consumers, team photos, and product and service offerings. For bars, restaurants, and other hospitality venues, you’ll also want to include shots of your best dishes and most striking spaces.

It’s very simple to upload images.

1. Log into your Yelp business listing.
2. Select ‘Photos and videos’ from the left-hand menu.
3. Then upload from your device.

6. Respond to Reviews (Good and Bad)

Review management is a critical part of any local SEO activity. Yelp users are known to be very engaged, are prolific reviewers, and often call, message, and visit local businesses. We already know that reviews are a primary Google Business Profile ranking factor. They’re also vitally important to consumers, with 88% citing business owner responses as a top influencing factor when deciding which local business to choose.

Responding to reviews doesn’t only show Yelp users that your business is active, engaged, and values customer feedback; it also sends those same messages to Yelp, which could help you stand out from less responsive, less active competitors. 

It’s worth noting that how you respond to reviews matters too. We’ve shared lots of tips here to help you navigate responses to feedback both good and bad.

Responding to Online Reviews

Read more

7. Encourage a Regular Influx of New Reviews

A regular influx of good reviews is also important. Many consumers will only browse the most recent reviews. New reviews also help Yelp to understand more about your business, its popularity, and its relevance for consumers searching for specific products and services.

Yelp discourages local businesses from soliciting reviews. Suspected requested reviews are tagged as ‘not recommended’, with Yelp saying they can be more biased. However, there are ways that you can nurture a steady stream of incoming reviews to keep your business listing current.

One easy way is to link to your Yelp listing on your site. The platform also suggests using a ‘Find us on Yelp’ sticker at your physical location. You can take this a stage further by adding a link to your Yelp listing within your email signature, adding a Yelp logo to your business card, or including it within your physical marketing material.

Remember, you’ll need a plan to respond to your incoming reviews as quickly as possible. 

It’s Time to Work on Your Yelp Listing

Knowing how to optimize a Yelp business listing is easier than you may think. With many similarities to Google Business Profile optimization, it shouldn’t take too long to get to grips with.

Even better, growing your visibility on Yelp can directly impact the success of your business. With an engaged user base and the ability to share useful business information, it’s well worth adding Yelp SEO to your local SEO to-do list.

Not only will it help you be easier to find within Yelp itself, but optimizing your business listings is beneficial for your local SEO too. Making sure that each of your listings is accurate and working harder for you, rather than just building and forgetting, is a good move for any business.