Welcome to The Click Report, my daily brain dump of real, actionable marketing insights. No fluff, no recycled advice, just what’s working right now, what’s not, and what you should be implementing today.
Did you come here just for the answer to the title? Well here it is…
YES! Local SEO can still work incredibly well in 2025, but has it got harder to get results? Absolutely!! Position 1 in the organic search results is now a true position 12… 3-4 Local service ad spots, 3-4 Google ads spots, then 3 Google maps spots. So with this being said, is local SEO dead?! Not quite, but the game has changed.
Proof That Local SEO Still Works, If You Do It Right
So with the bold claim above, that local SEO is in fact not dead and it can still be an extremely valuable marketing play delivering some of the strongest ROI in the industry. Let’s take a look at a customer of mine. I have been working with this customer since Jan 2024, and from then until now we have seen website traffic increase from 17,000 monthly visitors to 169,000 monthly visitors! (attached ahrefs screenshot above)
Not Just Vanity Metrics
But I get it, some people may say… that’s just vanity metrics, these do not add any value to the business. Sadly, a lot of the time that statement is true. SEO’s can fall victim to chasing vanity metrics such as traffic, total ranking keywords and domain authority. But this is not true in the case I am sharing, in the screenshot above you will see that in Dec 2024, which even for the medical industry can be a quiet month, we had 231 qualified leads from SEO.
How to Actually Win with Local SEO in 2025
My goal with this daily brain dump is to give you actionable advice to scale and grow your business, not just regurgitated marketing tips. But let’s be real… the true answer to this question would take over 5,000 words and an 8 hour course. So I will scale it back, and give you the most important things you need to know.
Adjust Your SEO Strategy To Your Industry
Something I never hear marketers talk about is the fact that local SEO needs to be adjusted to the industry you are in. Let’s say you’re in the healthcare industry, well you don’t have local service ads to compete with! Yes you have more Google ads spend, meaning your industry can be more competitive.. But at a very local level it is actually easier.
If you’re a plumber, this is totally the opposite, local service ads are completely taking over with that very attractive Google guaranteed badge right at the top of Google! Meaning your hand will likely be forced into running these to compete.
Diversify Your Traffic Source
A few short years ago, there wouldn’t have been a single SEO telling you to diversify your traffic source, so why all of a sudden has this changed? Google is changing faster than ever, and so is the competitive landscape.
With the rise of AI content, alternative search engines such as Chat GPT, and the constant increase in paid results.. It’s now more important than ever to diversify! If you do not diversify your marketing, there is a good chance you will be left behind. This can be done in multiple different ways, and the answer would depend on your industry. But from a high level here are a few things you can do..
- Construction niche – Run local service ads!
- Healthcare niche – Double down on social platforms!
- Ecommerce brand – Build an engaged email list!
- Local business – Scale your Google maps!
- Every business – Get ready for AI, and optimise for AI search engines!
Take Google Maps Seriously
So many businesses sign up for a Google business profile, do an average job of filling it out with minimal effort, and then barely ever look at it again! This is such a waste, and a huge mistake.
Google maps are now the highest (unpaid) spots on local search results. So why would you not take this seriously?! Again let’s take a look at the customer i mentioned above.. No your eyes don’t deceive you in the screenshot above you can see the customer receiving 72 calls in one single month from Google maps!
I don’t say this lightly, there is absolutely no other marketing play that can deliver 72 phone calls, for the same investment. If anyone can find me one? I would be more than happy to hear about it!
Here’s the Bottom Line
Local SEO is far from dead, but the game has changed forever.
If you want to do more than just survive as a local business, you will need to diversify your traffic sources and likely take part in some type of paid advertising.
While organic search results are getting pushed further and further down, there is one section of local SEO that is still standing strong.. Google maps!
So take it seriously, do everything you can to ensure your profile is fully optimised, and stands out amongst the competition. Keep building them 5* reviews, uploading your weekly posts, and adding images of your latest work.
Local SEO relies heavily on momentum, so do something small for your business.. Daily!
I hope you got value from this and picked up something you can actually implement. Got any personal experiences with Local SEO? Or questions on what’s working right now? Drop a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!