The New Rules of Local Search: Reviews, Community Signals, and Brand Prominence | Darren Shaw advancedwebranking.com

It’s time for a new episode of The Search Session.
Gianluca Fiorelli and Advanced Web Ranking’s guest today is one of the brightest minds in Local Search: Darren Shaw of Whitespark.
Together, Gianluca and Darren talk of:

– How AI is reshaping local search.
– Why local prominence matters more.
– How local SEO has expanded into a multi-source data game.
– How to prepare for agentic local search.
– Why local content needs real experience.
– Why Merchant Center is a missed opportunity.
– How to attract multilingual customers via Google Business Profile.
– When schema still matters for local SEO.
– How Google is tightening review trust signals.
– Why AI search demands a broader reputation strategy.