Darren Shaw on How To Make Your GMB Rank, Top Lessons From Other Local SEOs, and Citations 101.

The Evolution of Local SEO

Darren’s journey into local SEO started back in the late 90s when he was building websites. He created his first site for his sister’s teaching supply store and quickly became interested in how to get it ranking on search engines. "I started making websites in the late 90s, and I was like, how do I get this ranking in AltaVista, which was the hot search engine at the time?" he shared. By 2005, Darren had launched WhiteSpark, initially as a web development business for local companies.

In 2010, Darren introduced WhiteSpark’s local citation finder, a tool that automated the process of building citations, which were a huge ranking factor at the time. However, as Darren noted, things have changed: "Citations used to be a competitive difference maker. You could build 200 citations and shoot to the top of the rankings. These days, it doesn’t work like that. Citations don’t have the same ranking power they once did, but they’re still important for consistency across the web."

Optimizing Your Google Business Profile (GBP)

One of the highlights of our discussion was about optimizing Google Business Profiles—an essential piece for any local business looking to rank higher on search engines. Darren stressed that maintaining your GBP is not a one-time task. It requires ongoing attention and updates.

"Weekly Google posts, please, please, please," Darren emphasized. But he pointed out a crucial difference: "Do not treat your Google posts like social media posts. It’s a very different thing. Your posts should be focused on selling and convincing new prospects why they should hire you." He explained that unlike social media platforms, where followers already know your brand, people visiting your GBP are often first-time visitors, so posts need to act like ads to convert them into customers.

Darren also shared some great tips about photos and Q&A sections. "Drip feed photos every week," he advised. "Photos impact not only rankings but also conversions. And when it comes to the Q&A section, this is where you can add frequently asked questions to further build trust and encourage conversions."

Scaling Local SEO for Multiple Locations

As a business grows and expands into multiple locations, Darren highlighted how local SEO needs to adapt. "When you’ve got multiple locations, you get the benefit of scale. If the brand is consistent across locations, you can duplicate content like services, Q&A, and Google posts. But you’ll want to adjust some of the details to reflect each specific location for better optimization."

The Future of Local SEO

We also discussed what’s on the horizon for local SEO, especially with AI tools becoming more prominent. Darren explained, "Google still has a stronghold on local search, but I see an evolution where search will happen everywhere—on TikTok, YouTube, ChatGPT, and more. SEO will get more complicated because we’ll be optimizing for multiple platforms instead of just one." He called this shift "generative SEO," a new layer that businesses and SEO experts need to consider in the future.

Final Thoughts

Darren Shaw is one of the most knowledgeable experts in the local SEO space, and our conversation was full of takeaways for anyone looking to optimize their business online. His advice on regularly updating Google Business Profiles, understanding the changing role of citations, and preparing for the future of search is invaluable for businesses like mine.

If you want to dive deeper into local SEO, Darren offers a free local SEO email course through WhiteSpark, which he describes as "a labor of love" packed with his knowledge. He’s also gearing up to release the 2025 Local Search Ranking Factors survey in early January, which is sure to offer even more insights.

Stay consistent, stay competitive, and keep optimizing!

Full podcast episode here: