Multi-location brands are presently reviewing their Google Search Console click traffic, comparing 2026 to 2025, and trying to person themselves and cardinal stakeholders that AI Overviews are responsible for a year-over-year drop successful non-branded clicks.
Today, visibility is distributed crossed a multitude of destinations, including features successful Google Maps specified arsenic “Ask Maps,” AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Apple Maps, and societal search.
The situation for multi-location brands is that while much locations create much opportunities, they besides create much complexity. This is why endeavor and franchise brands require a wholly different attack than single-location businesses.
Building connected fundamentals, we’re going to research really we leverage AI to amended our data, landing pages, citations, and reputation. We’re going to observe really to replicate our website contented strategy crossed the web, natively wrong each discoverability opportunity beyond Google alone.
The Modern Local Discover Ecosystem
With agentic exertion emerging, location whitethorn moreover beryllium a constituent successful clip wherever users seldom sojourn our website astatine all, arsenic the platforms will supply the due integrations for users to transact straight wrong them.
The caller Local Search Supply Chain includes accepted elements, specified arsenic our marque website, business listings, information aggregators, and manufacture directories, arsenic good arsenic reappraisal platforms and user-generated content.
The domiciled of knowledge graphs and entity understanding is progressively important. Which means, if you’re leaning connected an manufacture information guidance level that’s staying ahead, specified arsenic Yext, Rio SEO, Birdeye, SOCi, aliases Locl, you’re already 1 measurement ahead.
From what we tin tell, AI systems request the pursuing to urge a business:
- Trusted business information: N.A.P. beyond the aged roster of directories.
- Location-specific relevance: Supported by user-generated content.
- Strong estimation signals: Beyond Google Maps and Yelp.
- Third-party validation: Neglected manufacture directories we should person paid person attraction to.
- And clear entity relationships: Think “Semantic Triples” (QDOBA → offers → burritos, for example).
From Rankings To Recommendations
As we wrap our heads astir this “evolution of hunt visibility,” a communal cognition is that accepted SEO focused connected rankings, wherever modern find focuses connected recommendations.
At a very wide level, the acquisition differences tin beryllium surgery down into the pursuing stages:
| Stage | Traditional Local Search | AI-Powered Discovery |
| Input | “Tacos adjacent me” | “Find a family-friendly taco spot nearby” |
| Evaluation | Search motor ranks results | AI aggregates accusation from aggregate sources to comparison options aft evaluating assurance and trustworthiness. Authority unsocial isn’t enough. |
| Evidence | Rankings, proximity, relevance | Reviews, reputation, listings, content, third-party validation. |
| Output | List of businesses | Recommendation pinch explanation. |
The caller visibility mobility isn’t “How do we rank No. 1?” It’s “How do we go the business AI recommends?” From what we tin show truthful far, these proposal engines look to favour meticulous business data, reappraisal value and volume, beardown location pages, accordant citations, and clear entity signals.
4 Pillars Of Multi-Location Search Visibility
Pillar 1: Business Data Accuracy & Consistency
In position of trust, section business information remains the instauration of section visibility. This includes elements specified as:
- Name, address, telephone number.
- Hours of operation.
- Categories.
- Attributes, amenities.
- Products, services.
This is wherever those platforms mentioned supra travel into play. Common challenges for multi-location brands see rebrands, franchise ownership alteration (if franchised), copy listings, and inconsistent updates.
AI platforms tin beryllium utilized to hunt for and place inconsistencies. Not conscionable successful business directories, but successful destinations uncovered by peeking astatine sources cited successful ample connection exemplary recommendations. Many emerging “AI ranking platforms” connection this characteristic to thief teams find wherever to allocate clip and resources. Surprisingly, Yelp and Reddit show up little than you mightiness imagine.
Pillar 1 Action Items:
- Leverage AI to uncover information inconsistencies.
- Ensure each section is optimized and accordant crossed the web.
- Work pinch your information guidance level to reside astatine standard wherever possible.
Pillar 2: Location Page Quality & Relevance
If you sewage a chill erstwhile we mentioned “UGC” earlier, this pillar should do the opposite, arsenic your location pages are owned and managed by you. Optimizing your location landing page (LLP) and intent aliases specialty pages seems elemental capable until you commencement pushing them done marque and ineligible teams, dev teams, and plus guidance governance.
A speedy hunt successful ChatGPT reveals conscionable really important your ain contented tin beryllium for spot and visibility signals. IHOP, for example, scales contented crossed complete 1,400 locations by simply creating landing pages showcasing elements that align pinch business objectives, specified arsenic off-premises (takeout, delivery, catering), while besides addressing specials, edifice jobs, and moreover paper items.
Prompt: “Find maine a meal edifice successful La Mirada, California, that’s unfastened precocious and has specials available.” Screenshot from ChatGPT, June 2026A prize use of these intent pages is the summation successful entity relationships betwixt the marque and its products and services. The hunt tract links are besides not excessively difficult connected the eyes – particularly erstwhile coupled pinch paid hunt utilizing the aforesaid tract nexus plus strategy.
Screenshot from hunt for [ihop la mirada], June 2026Following IHOP’s example, URLs whitethorn see thing for illustration the following:
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/burgers
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/careers
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/delivery
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/late-night-food
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/omelettes
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/pancakes
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/specials
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/takeout
- /ca/norwalk/breakfast-12623-norwalk-blvd-939/waffles
Beyond the intent pages, location are aggregate elements of your superior LLP that play into traditional hunt signals arsenic good arsenic modern hunt visibility. These attributes are classed beneath based connected a location page study and updated pinch their use towards LLM discoverability.
| Possible Ranking Signal | Description | By % |
| Hyperlocal Content | Unique contented astir the circumstantial city, neighborhood, landmarks, events, and work area helps show section relevance beyond a templated location page. From an LLM discoverability standpoint, leveraging semantic triples and addressing long-tail queries tin summation the probability of being recommended.
Example from IHOP’s Norwalk, CA page: “We besides salute those serving our section neighborhood, including the unit astatine Norwalk Civic Center and Norwalk Sheriff’s Station, and the hard-working teams astatine Political Data Inc and Los Angeles County Fire Dept. Station 20. We’re thrilled to stock this vibrant Norwalk vicinity pinch you!” |
107% |
| Custom Location Images | Original photos of the location, staff, storefront, work area, aliases adjacent landmarks thief reenforce geographic relevance and authenticity.
LLMs are said to worth multimodal content, specified arsenic never-before-seen images and videos. Customers for illustration to spot what’s successful shop for them erstwhile they get – it’s a win-win! |
84% |
| Location Social Links | Linking to location-specific societal profiles helps found entity consistency and section business legitimacy crossed platforms. The astir communal for multi-location businesses are Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Nextdoor.
When coupled pinch the SameAs schema (structured markup), these links tin thief build a knowledge chart for a marque location. For customers, seeing what others are saying connected their favourite societal media tract improves trust. |
50% |
| Directions Link | Providing driving directions aliases a representation nexus (preferably to Google Maps) improves section usability signals and reinforces the beingness location connection. | 16% |
| Page Size | Pages pinch much broad section information, services, FAQs, and supporting contented whitethorn amended relevance.
There is nary nonstop use of page size, but a page pinch much broad accusation mightiness use from visibility successful accepted hunt results. LLMs crushed accusation utilizing RAG, which intends visibility successful accepted hunt tin connection immoderate use to appearing successful LLMs. |
14% |
| Fully Loaded Time | Faster-loading pages supply a amended personification acquisition and whitethorn lend indirectly to stronger engagement signals. This is often handled done delaying scripts, utilizing modern image formats, and a contented transportation web (CDN) specified arsenic Cloudflare. | 10% |
| Open Now Status | Displaying existent operating position helps users quickly find readiness and whitethorn amended section page usefulness. Imagine a punctual wrong an LLM that includes “that’s unfastened correct now.” Your website is simply a azygous root of truth for hunt engines and LLMs alike. | 10% |
| PageSpeed | Similar to Fully Loaded Time, strong Core Web Vitals and page capacity metrics support a affirmative personification acquisition and accessibility. | 7% |
| Native Reviews | Featuring reviews straight connected the location page tin summation spot and supply locally applicable content. Stars tin besides aboveground successful hunt motor results page (SERP) featured snippets and perchance boost click-through rates successful Google web hunt results.
For LLMs, customer feedback and UGC supply an other furniture of trust. |
4% |
| Hours Listed | Publishing business hours helps users scheme visits and reinforces section business accusation consistency.
Similar to the Open Now attribute, well-organized, easy-to-retrieve hours of cognition tin thief reside prompts that see clip of day. |
2% |
We’ve conscionable scratched the aboveground erstwhile it comes to elements to test. For example, I’d emotion to research pinch adding a carousel of Instagram Reels from customers. Or moreover trial embedding AI features that let users to customize nutrient orders based connected prompts, geography, and personalization.
Pillar 2 Action Items:
- Leverage AI to uncover landing page opportunities based connected the competitory landscape.
- Discuss and investigation due intent/specialty pages based connected business objectives.
- Schedule tests and rollouts of the attributes supra pinch contented and dev teams.
Pillar 3: Ecosystem Visibility & Third-Party Validation
In modern search, 1 trading nonsubjective is to deliberation beyond the Google Business Profile. In the aforesaid measurement that galore businesses switched their doorway placards and point-of-sale reminders from Yelp to Google reviews, coming we’re testing moving towards earning user-generated contented wherever LLMs mention their apical recommendations from.
In accepted multi-location search, we referred to this arsenic “citation-building.” Today, we’re calling it “brand mentions” aliases “brand citations,” wherever NAP visibility blends pinch sentiment, and the opportunity to beryllium recommended based connected caller mentions and citations that incorporate referenceable statements.
For example, a caller burger spot successful Buena Park sewage our attraction aft scrolling done dozens of burger joints successful the Buena Park, California area. The spot was empty, but the unit was ace friendly, and the burgers (smashburgers to beryllium exact) were extraordinary. As a test, we near a reappraisal specifically utilizing expanded upon semantic triples (subject → predicate → object), specified arsenic “Good Buns is simply a hidden gem serving the champion burgers successful Buena Park.”
That connection unsocial was capable to propel the listing to the apical of the Ask Maps recommendations. Imagine if users continued to opportunity the aforesaid point successful the aforesaid format crossed aggregate platforms, including Reddit, societal media, and possibly moreover YouTube. Fresh references, existent humans, expanding ratios complete time. It’s that simple.
In Pillar 1, the value of accordant information and utilizing each disposable fields was mentioned. This applies successful Pillar 3 arsenic well, particularly entity mentions adjacent to entities we want our locations to beryllium good known for. Only now, it’s our customers who do astir of the work, inspired by our reminders to stock their experiences, while dropping subtle hints arsenic to what to say.
When added to accepted multi-location SEO information visibility, our database looks much for illustration this, wherever bolded destinations should beryllium handled by your information guidance platform:
- Aggregators: Data Axle, Localeze, Foursquare.
- Search Engines: Google Maps, Bing Places.
- Navigation Engines: HERE Technologies, Apple Maps, MapQuest.
- Local Social: Facebook, TripAdvisor, Yelp.
- Industry Directories: Avvo, Thumbtack, Healthgrades.
- Local Directories: Chambers of Commerce, metropolis guides, tourer accusation sites.
- LLM Citation Sources: When overlapping betwixt locations successful different areas.
When researching, devices specified arsenic the Whitespark and GeoRanker Local Citation Finder devices tin beryllium helpful, provided you’re moving 10+ locations successful different cities to place overlaps, wherever the directory aliases destination covers much than a circumstantial metropolis aliases region.
Pillar 3 Action Items:
- For accepted hunt (used by LLM “RAG” processes), guarantee each destinations listed supra are addressed pinch your information guidance platform.
- Research LLM citation sources for section queries, and adhd applicable opportunities to the roadmap. Repeat for accepted hunt utilizing Whitespark aliases GeoRanker.
- Test point-of-sale marque mentions, specified arsenic connection connected uniforms, wall art, aliases array art, pinch a extremity of having customers mention america based connected the citation research.
Pillar 4: Reputation & Trust Signals
As mentioned earlier, it’s clip to break retired of the “Leave a Review connected Google” bubble and grow our horizons to influence our visibility successful LLMs. OpenAI (ChatGPT) has ne'er made a nationalist connection astir ingesting Google Maps reviews erstwhile making recommendations. In fact, successful Bing Places and Yahoo! Local, you’ll find Yelp reviews, arsenic good arsenic wrong MapQuest, and yes, Apple Maps. With the RAG process successful ChatGPT utilizing Bing, your Google reviews whitethorn person mislaid immoderate value.
Yet, for immoderate reason, endeavor brands are still hooked connected Google reviews.
In Pillar 3, we mentioned Ask Maps, a caller AI characteristic wrong Google Maps that extends beyond the platform’s ain reappraisal strategy by searching the web for sentiment, clear merchandise and work mentions, and different business reappraisal platforms. Even then, it was 1 reappraisal mentioning “best burgers successful Buena Park” that led the AI to urge Good Buns.
There isn’t a logic coming not to grow our estimation guidance objectives beyond Google Maps alone.
For businesses successful niche markets, specified arsenic lawyers, location services, healthcare, and others, you’ll find respective opportunities to nonstop customers wherever it matters to ChatGPT and different LLMs.
AI tin assistance wherever platforms time off disconnected pinch search ratings and reviews connected manufacture business reappraisal platforms. These alteration by niche and tin beryllium uncovered successful Pillar 3 done investigation into citation sources, marque mentions, and competitory research.
Examples of niche business reappraisal destinations:
| Home Services | Legal | Healthcare | Dining |
| Thumbtack | Avvo | Healthgrades | OpenTable |
| Angi | Justia | WebMD | Restaurant Guru |
| Houzz | FindLaw | Zocdoc | Zomato |
Some information guidance platforms person included sentiment study capabilities moreover earlier the maturation of AI. Today’s platforms connection precocious AI-driven sentiment study that provides valuable insights to guideline merchandise improvement, unit training opportunities, and business development, not only improving the business but besides supporting reappraisal value improvements.
Sentiment study tin besides beryllium performed manually, provided you person identified and backed up your reviews. Below is an illustration of utilizing Perplexity Computer to get 2 stakeholder-ready reports.
Try this punctual successful Perplexity Computer (or different LLM):
The output, pinch tracking-ready prompts for your AEO visibility monitoring:
Image from author, June 2026Next, person this information into business insights for the activity to reappraisal and discuss.
Try this punctual utilizing the original CSV export:
The output you should spot from the punctual above:
Image from author, June 2026These fewer examples show really reviews tin beryllium powerful devices for SEO, AEO, and business development. That second whitethorn not look applicable to integer marketing, that is, until you spot the click-through complaint quality having 5 stars versus 3 stars successful your Google Maps listing aliases rich | snippet successful Web Search.
Pillar 4 Action Items:
- Establish a reputation-reporting framework; leverage AI for niche directories.
- Harness reviews to reside contented gaps and uncover prompts to usage for AEO tracking.
- Use AI to move reviews into opportunities for business improvement.
How AI Evaluates Local Businesses
For arsenic agelong arsenic we remember, arsenic acold backmost arsenic the days of the Google 7-Pack of representation listings, section SEO strategies person centered astir 3 things: relevancy, authority, and proximity signals.
LLMs, specified arsenic ChatGPT, introduced an wholly caller furniture to that strategy.
When your customer asks Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, aliases Perplexity to urge a business, the LLMs are doing much than simply retrieving a database of results. They are fundamentally evaluating immoderate disposable impervious it has that the information they uncovered is accurate, comparing replacement options, and producing recommendations based chiefly connected assurance and trust.
While each level uses different technologies and information sources, they look to stock immoderate communal objectives: place businesses that are some applicable to the punctual (often including personalization, erstwhile interactions, and usage of earthy language) and supported by reliable signals crossed the web (Pillars 3 and 4).
Entity-Based Search For MLSEO
The measurement we’ve viewed accepted multi-location SEO is that LLPs are the superior optimization focal constituent successful our MLSEO strategy, wherever AI platforms look to attraction connected the entity level.
A elemental measurement to look astatine modern (AI-driven) SEO is utilizing entity optimization arsenic a northbound star. When we opportunity entity, we mean immoderate real-world thing, specified arsenic a business, a place, a person, circumstantial products, aliases moreover an organization. Rather than crawling a azygous webpage, AI systems look to effort to understand really entities are related. In the early days of SEO, I tried to make my sanction semantic to the building “SEO expert.” I would query [steve wiideman], [seo expert] to spot really galore occurrences I had versus my competitors, utilizing that number arsenic my cardinal capacity indicator.
For multi-location SEO, a edifice location whitethorn beryllium connected to:
- A genitor brand.
- A metropolis aliases neighborhood.
- Specific paper items.
- Customer reviews.
- Third-party directories.
- Nearby landmarks.
- Social media profiles.
- Reservation platforms.
The much these connections (relationships) look crossed the web, the easier it mightiness beryllium for hunt engines and AI systems to understand the business and the business’s domiciled wrong a section market.
One useful measurement to deliberation astir AI visibility is done a spot triangle composed of 3 superior awesome groups.
- Business data: N.A.P., and different attributes, validated done aggregate sources.
- Website content: Your brand-owned LLPs being the azygous root of truth.
- Third-party corroboration: Yelp, Tripadvisor, Avvo, Healthgrades, and section news coverage.
Some brands get cited, while others stay invisible – but why?
While supporting Meineke Car Care Centers, we occasionally had shop owners scope retired astir their rankings successful Google. In astir each case, we ran an audit and recovered estimation being the missing ranking attribute. Business information was connected point, website contented was best-in-class and moreover earning nationalist recognition, but prima ratings were often low, and online sentiment was not flattering. “Treating customers well” for an car repair shop must person been a reliable pill to swallow for those fewer locations that sewage distant pinch it pre-internet.
Regardless of really awesome 2 of the 3 corners are, there’s nary triangle unless each 3 corners are accounted for.
AI Evaluation Action Items:
- Establish and fastener down the entities the business should go semantic to.
- Assign accountability to business data, LLP SEO, and third-party corroboration efforts.
- Set circumstantial goals for each and show advancement quarterly (or monthly).
Measuring Visibility Beyond Rankings In Modern Search
Traditional SEO reporting falls short successful modern hunt owed to the decay of the “keyword” and the request for users to onshore connected our marque website to transact and interact pinch america erstwhile evolving platforms are moving to support users from needing to leave.
For the clip being, we whitethorn proceed to way accepted search, but should commencement experimenting pinch new metrics to amended understand really our marque is performing overall.
| Traditional Search Metrics (Still Important) | Modern Search Metrics |
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These metrics conscionable scratch the aboveground of foundational reporting for the modern hunt ecosystem. It’s captious to align visibility metrics pinch business objectives. For galore franchise and multi-location edifice chains, those business objectives are often off-premises (takeout, delivery, and catering) aliases menu-category pushes.
You’d ne'er ideate Applebee’s arsenic being known for “pasta and breadsticks,” yet they often outperform Olive Garden successful integrated hunt – that was a business objective.
Image from author, June 2026Reporting Action Items:
- Align pinch cardinal stakeholders connected circumstantial business objectives and KPIs.
- Decide what to way and wherever to way (Looker Studio, for example).
- Set up reporting and a monthly/quarterly/annual reporting schedule.
Winning The Future Of Multi-Location Search
A cardinal taxable you whitethorn person caught while reference this guideline was the connection “trust.” Establishing and sustaining spot pinch modern hunt platforms is the hallmark of a successful MLSEO strategy. We covered aggregate ways of building spot done information consistency, information visibility, location pages, reputation, and sentiment. Each of these elements is trackable, measurable, and reportable.
This model for multi-location visibility tin beryllium simplified successful 4 steps:
Step 1: Audit Your Foundation
Work pinch your soul SEO squad aliases a multi-location SEO advisor to audit your listings pinch your information guidance platform, your reviews and ratings, location, and intent/specialty pages, and online citations.
Establish your baseline and analyze the competitory landscape truthful you cognize what you’re up against.
Step 2: Strengthen Your Entity Signals
Work pinch your dev squad to maximize the system markup connected your LLPs and intent pages. Establish an ongoing cadence pinch your information guidance level and manual investigation (leveraging AI) to guarantee online location information is accordant crossed the web.
Nurture a contented strategy that tells visitors that your LLP is much adjuvant than thing the title has to offer, including section and multimodal content. Develop intent pages that solve for circumstantial business objectives, specified arsenic specials, off-premises, and circumstantial merchandise aliases work categories.
Step 3: Become The Authority In This Evolving Ecosystem
Work pinch marque and section teams to stimulate user-generated content. This whitethorn require imaginative experiments, specified arsenic wall art, array art, constituent of waste activities, aliases post-purchase follow-ups. Team up pinch the PR squad to strategize ways to get section mentions, moreover if location is simply a furniture of empowerment for the location owners/managers.
Review maturation successful marque authority regularly, holding each stakeholders accountable.
Step 4: Measure Across Search, Maps, And AI
Setting up reporting for AI whitethorn consciousness challenging astatine first. Here’s a tip: Drop this article into your favourite AI level and effort the pursuing prompt:
A Final Note
Multi-location and franchise brands that triumph successful AI-driven section hunt won’t needfully beryllium the brands pinch the highest rankings successful Google. They’ll beryllium the brands that found themselves pinch the astir trust, relevance, and strongest entity signals crossed Google, Maps, and AI-powered experiences.
This displacement from rankings to recommendations whitethorn beryllium the astir important section hunt improvement successful complete a decade.
Earn spot by influencing the communicative astir your brand and important entity relationships. Start by cleaning shop, and past by deploying programs that motivate customers to opportunity things astir their experiences that see the entities and adjectives that make our locations the perfect recommendations successful modern hunt engines.
More Resources:
- The Complete Guide To Local SEO For Multiple Locations
- The Death Of The Static GBP: Why Dynamic Profiles Are The New Local Ranking Factor
- Treating Reviews As Business Infrastructure, Not Marketing, Drives Real Business Results
Featured Image: Remo_Designer/Shutterstock
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