In this episode of Local Marketing Secrets, Dan Leibrandt interviews Darren Shaw, founder of Whitespark and the current steward of the annual Local Search Ranking Factors Survey. Darren is one of the most respected names in local SEO, with his survey becoming the industry standard for understanding what drives local business rankings.

Dan and Darren break down the brand new 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors Survey released in November, covering major shifts that local businesses and SEOs need to know. They discuss the surprising emergence of business hours as the #5 ranking factor for local pack results, revealing how being open at the time of search directly impacts rankings. Google now prefers ranking businesses that are currently open, with practical strategies including extending hours or implementing 24/7 call answering services for service area businesses.

The conversation explores the resurgence of citations in the AI search era, where mentions across authoritative sites like BBB, Yelp, and industry-specific directories have regained importance for visibility in ChatGPT and Gemini results. Darren explains how review strategy has shifted from a numbers game to a recency and frequency game, with businesses receiving consistent weekly reviews often outranking competitors with thousands of stale reviews.

Dan and Darren cover critical updates around service area businesses and address visibility, plus the newly added AI search ranking factors including content freshness, review diversification, and getting featured on expert-curated "best of" lists. They discuss the massive jump in importance for Google Business Profile services, which went from being considered a "local SEO myth" in 2023 to a confirmed ranking factor in 2026.

The episode emphasizes behavioral signals and user engagement as critical ranking factors, with Google tracking profile dwell time, photo views, video watches, and whether users return to search results. Darren provides forward-looking insights on AI-driven search while reassuring listeners that local search remains more insulated from AI disruption than other SEO verticals, with Google Business Profiles remaining the foundation for local visibility.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

See the full survey: https://whitespark.ca/local-search-ranking-factors/

Whitespark Local Ranking Grid software: https://whitespark.ca

The Whitespark Local Update Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@WhitesparkCa/podcasts

Darren Shaw, Founder of WhiteSpark:

LinkedIn: Darren Shaw: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenshawwhitespark/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darrenshawseo/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenshawseo/

Dan Leibrandt, Host of Local Marketing Secrets:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/DanLeibrandtOfficial  

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/danleibrandt/   

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanLeibrandt   

Website: https://danleibrandt.com 

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction to Local Search Ranking Factors

04:09 Understanding the Local Search Ranking Factors Survey

07:19 The Impact of AI Search on Local SEO

10:15 The Resurgence of Citations in Local SEO

13:16 The Importance of Business Hours for Rankings

16:11 Review Recency and Frequency as Ranking Signals

19:03 Address Visibility for Service Area Businesses

22:03 User Engagement and Behavioral Signals in SEO

27:30 The Power of Reviews and Visual Content

32:26 The Impact of Keywords in Google Business Profile

36:12 Understanding Suspension Factors in Local SEO

40:10 The Future of Local Search and AI Integration

#localseo #localsearch #localseotips #localseoexpert #localmarketing