Google’s new GBP playbooks are actually good

and other local SEO info

April 06, 2026

Hello and Happy Easter to those who celebrate 🐰

Here are my local SEO tips of the week 👇️

This filter reveals what Google thinks your brand is. Here’s how to use it:

  1. Go to Google Search Console

  2. Click Performance > Search Results

  3. Click Filter > Query

  4. Select Branded queries

This shows all the searches Google considers related to your brand. And it’s not just your exact brand name. You’ll often see:

  • misspellings and variations

  • product or service-based searches tied to your business

  • sometimes even competitor terms

It allows you to actually see what people search for that leads them to your brand.

You can use this info to optimize for branded terms you weren’t even aware of. You can improve your website to target these specific branded terms, and that will help you get more traffic.

See it in action on Instagram.

2. I bet you don’t know all of these GBP hacks

My latest YouTube video covers 6 of my most obscure Google Business Profile tips that you need to know.

Here’s one that so many people miss: put text on the photos you upload to your Google Business Profile.

Instead of uploading a generic photo (like a lawyer and a client sitting in an office), add a short line that clearly describes the scene and includes the keywords you want to be associated with.

You can place that text directly on the image (like a simple caption at the bottom), and then upload it to your Business Profile.

This way, you’re giving Google’s AI more context about your business, which helps it better understand what you offer.

I cover this and 5 more awesome tips in my latest YouTube video 👇️

3. Google’s new GBP playbooks are actually good

Google published 5 new playbooks with the most important optimization tips for different business types:

  • Restaurants & cafés

  • Hotels & accommodations

  • Tour & activity operators

  • Service-based businesses

  • Plus a general playbook with universal best practices

Most small businesses (and a lot of SEOs) would get value from going through these tips.

You can find the playbooks in the latest Google Small Business Bulletin post, published by Lisa Landsman. They’re free and genuinely useful, so it’s worth downloading them, even if you don’t use them right away.

Lisa was kind enough to link them all in the LinkedIn comments, so go check them out!

4. 20 New Local Search Developments from Q1 2026

Did you see the new “Text Message” button in Google’s mobile Local Pack?

Joy Hawkins spotted this last week, and I find it interesting that Google is testing this amid all the recent reports of missing phone numbers from GBPs.

Is Google doing this to ease customer-business communication? Or are they just priming us to utilize this chat functionality so that they can take it away and only provide it on ads? Who’s to say 🤷

Miriam Ellis covers this and 19 more local search developments from the first quarter of 2026 in her newest Local Search Roundup, including:

  • Rand Fishkin's data on AI market share

  • AI mobile local packs are decimating phone calls (Sterling Sky, Jepto)

  • Old reviews driving AI summary misinformation (Claudia Tomina)

  • Agentic prompts popping up all over Google

  • How to build a business around LSAs (Near Media)

Read it here 👇️

And, as always, a huge thank you to all the contributors to this issue of the Local SEO Roundup 🙏

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Darren

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