Local SEO
Google Business Profile remains the single most important lever for local search visibility in 2026, but the landscape has shifted dramatically. GBP now serves dual duty: it powers traditional local pack rankings (accounting for 32% of local pack influence according to the Whitespark 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey) and acts as the primary structured data feed for Google's AI Overviews and Gemini.
How to optimise your GBP for the local pack, AI Overviews, and the new regulatory landscape — based on the Whitespark 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report and UK-specific compliance requirements.
For UK businesses, regulatory pressure from the CMA and the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act add another layer of complexity. This guide synthesises every major GBP development from the past 18 months — drawing on the Whitespark report (47 experts, 187 factors), BrightLocal research, Google's official documentation, and leading UK agency insights.
Whether you're managing a single location or a multi-site portfolio, this is your definitive roadmap to local visibility in 2026. At Whitehat SEO, we've helped UK businesses navigate these changes since 2011 — here's what you need to know.
The period from mid-2024 through early 2026 brought sweeping changes to Google Business Profile. Several legacy features were removed entirely and replaced with AI-powered alternatives, while new publishing and engagement tools were introduced.
Google discontinued Business Messages on 31 July 2024, blocking new chat conversations from 15 July. In its place, Google introduced WhatsApp integration in 2025, allowing businesses to add their WhatsApp number so customers can message directly from Search and Maps.
The public Q&A section followed, with the API deprecated on 3 November 2025 and the consumer-facing Q&A section beginning removal on 3 December 2025. Google replaced Q&A with "Ask Maps" — an AI-powered feature where Gemini generates real-time answers from GBP data, reviews, photos, and web content rather than relying on static community-posted threads.
Businesses can now draft posts within the GBP dashboard, set a publication date and time, and have Google publish automatically. A parallel feature enables publishing a single post across multiple locations simultaneously — a significant time-saver for franchises and agencies managing client portfolios.
Google also introduced a centralised "Posts Hub" for managing all posts in one view, and a "What's Happening" section for bars and restaurants to promote events and specials (available in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand).
Since 19 November 2025, Google Maps allows pseudonymous reviews — users can post under custom display names and profile pictures instead of real names. According to Whitespark, these reviews carry the same algorithmic weight as named reviews and remain attached to Google accounts for spam-detection purposes.
Google also introduced official review request links and QR codes (formally documented 31 December 2025), emoji reactions to reviews on mobile, story-format review displays for reviews with photos, and now moderates business owner responses before publication — with delays typically under 10 minutes but occasionally up to 30 days.
Google AI Overviews launched in the UK in August 2024 for a small slice of logged-in users, with AI Mode arriving in July 2025 (powered by Gemini 2.5) and confirmed broadly available in December 2025. The impact on local search is nuanced: AI is transforming how users discover businesses but hasn't displaced the local pack for high-intent queries.
Former Google Director Brad Wetherall tested this directly — he optimised a profile and prompted the AI, which repeated exact phrases from the listing. GBP is described as "the most structured, highest-trust grounding source Google owns for local intent." AI Overviews pull from business categories, service attributes, review sentiment, photo content, website structured data, and third-party directory listings.
The data tells a split story. Across all queries, roughly 16% trigger AI Overviews (Semrush, 10M+ keyword study), but only about 7% of local queries specifically trigger them (WordStream, 2025). Short, high-intent queries like "plumber near me" still predominantly show the traditional local pack, while longer, conversational queries are far more likely to trigger AI responses — queries with 8+ words are 7x more likely to generate an AI Overview.
34.5%
CTR decrease for top-ranking pages when AI Overviews appear (Ahrefs)
35%
More organic clicks for brands cited within AI Overviews
For UK local businesses, the practical implication is clear: optimise to be the business that AI cites, not just the one that ranks. BrightLocal practitioners report 10–15% more calls coming through GBP as AI Overviews capture informational queries while bottom-funnel local queries continue driving prospects to the local pack. This is where answer engine optimisation (AEO) becomes essential.
The Whitespark 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report, published November 2025, represents the most authoritative industry consensus. Surveying 47 top local SEO experts across 187 factors, it reveals both continuity and significant shifts.
GBP signals remain dominant at approximately 32% of local pack influence, with the primary business category confirmed as the single most important individual factor. Proximity to the searcher and keywords in the business name round out the top three.
The most striking development is the rise of "business is open at time of search" to a top-five factor. Rankings visibly degrade in the final hour before closing and drop sharply once closed. This creates a tactical opportunity: extending hours, hiring answering services, or simply being open when competitors close can deliver measurable ranking gains.
Review signals have increased from 16% to approximately 20% of local pack influence. Whitespark's Darren Shaw calls review recency "the most underrated local ranking factor." A steady flow of recent reviews now outweighs sheer volume. Joy Hawkins documented direct correlation: new reviews improved rankings; pauses of six to eight weeks without new reviews caused declines.
| Signal Category | Local Pack Weight | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| GBP Signals | ~32% | Steady (remains #1) |
| Review Signals | ~20% | ↑ Up from 16% in 2023 |
| On-Page Signals | ~17–19% | ↓ Slight decrease |
| Behavioural Signals | ~9–10% | ↑ Rising |
| Link Signals | ~8–9% | ↓ Continued decline |
| Citation Signals | ~7% | Steady, but rising for AI |
| Social/Personalisation | ~4–5% | New entrant |
Perhaps most significantly for forward-looking strategy, the report introduced an AI Search Visibility category for the first time. Citations dominate AI visibility, with three of the top five AI visibility factors relating to mentions on "best of" lists, unstructured citations in news and blogs, and volume of third-party mentions.
The rise of AI answer engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini, and Apple Siri — means GBP optimisation alone is no longer sufficient. Each platform draws from distinct data sources, requiring a multi-platform presence strategy.
LLM-referred visitors convert at 4.4x the rate of organic search visitors (Semrush), making AI citation share an increasingly valuable metric. Gartner predicts traditional search volume will drop 25% by 2026 as AI answer engines grow. BrightLocal's Myles Anderson advises: "Your local marketing strategy for 2026 and beyond should prioritise Google first and LLMs second" — but that second priority is no longer optional.
Review management in 2026 operates under significantly tighter enforcement from both Google and UK regulators. According to GMBapi.com data monitoring 60,000+ profiles across 79 countries, review deletions surged over 600% between January and July 2025. At peak enforcement, nearly 2% of monitored locations experienced at least one deletion weekly, and 38% of deleted reviews were five-star reviews — indicating aggressive targeting of purchased positive reviews.
Google's "review jail" — where businesses caught with fake reviews are blocked from receiving any new reviews for six to eight months — remains one of the harshest penalties. Warning banners appear on affected profiles, and repeated offenders can have all reviews deleted.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA), effective 6 April 2025, makes it automatically unlawful for businesses to submit, commission, or fail to prevent fake reviews, with fines of up to 10% of global turnover.
Separately, the CMA secured undertakings from Google in January 2025 requiring enhanced fake-review detection, consumer warning labels on profiles where fraud is detected, and regular compliance reporting over three years. A CMA websweep of 100+ businesses found over half (54) could be failing to comply with the new requirements.
For businesses managing multiple GBP listings, Google's Location Groups (formerly "Business Accounts") provide the organisational backbone. Groups support bulk CSV uploads for 10+ locations, bulk verification, and the new multi-location post publishing feature.
The recommended permission model gives corporate/head office "Owner" access (controlling core data like name, address, category, and branding) while granting local managers "Manager" access for day-to-day engagement — reviews, photos, posts, and local content.
Each location demands a dedicated landing page on the business website (not the homepage), with unique LocalBusiness schema, location-specific photos, and localised content. Leading third-party platforms for UK multi-location businesses include BrightLocal (comprehensive reporting and citation tracking), Yext (broad directory network for 100+ locations), SOCi (enterprise-scale social + listings + reviews), and Birdeye (automated review campaigns with unified inbox).
Critical watchpoints for multi-location operations include monitoring for unauthorised Google-initiated changes (Google or users may modify information based on web data), maintaining NAP consistency across every location and directory, and ensuring each location complies independently with DMCCA review regulations — fines apply per violation, and a single non-compliant location can expose the entire organisation.
LocalBusiness schema markup does not directly affect local pack rankings — Google's John Mueller has confirmed this. However, the indirect benefits are substantial: pages with rich results achieve 20–30% higher click-through rates, and schema provides the semantic structure that AI systems prefer when selecting sources. Research suggests LLMs grounded in knowledge graphs achieve 300% higher accuracy than those using unstructured data alone.
The critical principle is alignment: schema on your website and GBP data must say exactly the same thing. When Google sees matching NAP, hours, services, and categories across both, it strengthens entity trust in the Knowledge Graph. The sameAs property is particularly important — link to your GBP/Maps URL, social profiles, and key directory listings to create entity connections.
<head>department or subOrganization properties showing hierarchyValidate regularly using Google's Rich Results Test and audit quarterly against GBP data. For a comprehensive assessment of your current setup, consider a professional website audit.
The UK local search landscape differs from the US in several important ways. UK searchers use more specific, longer-tail queries and include location modifiers more frequently. Competition density is higher on a smaller geographic scale. Google commands 93%+ of UK search queries, with 97.8% of internet users mobile-connected. And UK consumers are notably more reserved about leaving reviews, requiring different acquisition strategies.
Essential platforms include Yell.com, Thomson Local, 192.com, Trustpilot (far more influential in the UK than the US), and BT Phonebook. Industry-specific directories carry particular weight: Checkatrade for trades, TripAdvisor and OpenTable for hospitality, The Law Society for solicitors, and NHS Choices for healthcare. Local council business directories provide authoritative UK citations that many businesses overlook.
The CMA's designation of Google with Strategic Market Status in October 2025 is the most significant UK regulatory development. In January 2026, the CMA proposed conduct requirements including publisher controls over how content appears in AI Overviews, fair and transparent ranking requirements, and choice screens for alternative search providers. The consultation closes 25 February 2026, with implementation expected in the first half of 2026.
If enacted, these rules could fundamentally change how Google surfaces local businesses in the UK — potentially giving businesses formal channels to challenge ranking decisions and requiring Google to provide greater transparency about its local algorithm.
Treat GBP as a live data feed, not a set-and-forget profile. Weekly updates to posts, photos, and services maintain the engagement signals that both the traditional algorithm and AI systems reward. The rise of "open at time of search" as a top-five ranking factor exemplifies how real-time accuracy now directly impacts visibility.
Yes. With ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Siri each drawing from different data sources, UK businesses need active presences on Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Yelp, Trustpilot, and industry-specific directories. Citations — once considered a declining factor — have surged in importance specifically for AI visibility.
Under the DMCCA (effective April 2025), businesses that submit, commission, or fail to prevent fake reviews face fines of up to 10% of global turnover. Fines apply per violation, so multi-location businesses face compounded risk if any single location is non-compliant.
While LocalBusiness schema doesn't directly affect local pack rankings, it provides significant indirect benefits. Pages with rich results achieve 20–30% higher click-through rates, and schema provides the semantic structure AI systems prefer when selecting sources. The critical principle is alignment — your schema and GBP data must match exactly.
The primary business category remains the single most important individual factor, followed by proximity to the searcher and keywords in the business name. However, the emergence of "business is open at time of search" as a top-five factor and the surge in review signal importance (now 20% of local pack influence) represent the most significant shifts from previous years.
The most important shift in GBP strategy for 2026 is conceptual. GBP is no longer simply a listing to be optimised — it is mission-critical data infrastructure that feeds Google's AI, influences answer engines, and serves as the verified foundation for an increasingly automated local search ecosystem.
Three strategic imperatives emerge from this research:
The businesses that thrive will be those whose real-world quality is so well-documented and widely verified that every AI system — current and future — can confidently recommend them.
Whitehat SEO has been helping UK businesses dominate local search since 2011. Get a comprehensive audit of your GBP, website, and multi-platform presence.
Get Your Free SEO AuditAbout Whitehat SEO
Whitehat is a London-based HubSpot Diamond Solutions Partner and full-service inbound marketing agency. We run the world's largest HubSpot User Group and have been delivering ethical SEO services since 2011. Our founder, Clwyd Probert, is a guest lecturer at UCL and recognised authority on digital marketing strategy.