Where Google's AI review filter fails

and more local SEO stuff to share

July 20, 2026

Hi!

After 3 weeks of drinking child-size thimbles of coffee in Europe, it’s so nice to be writing this email with a proper CUP of coffee on my desk at home ☕️

Here are my local SEO updates this week 👇️

1. One of the easiest ways to help Google’s AI understand your business

Add Services to your Google Business Profile.

People are asking AI increasingly specific questions. “Landscaper near me” is not the go-to anymore. Someone could search something like “Who rents out goats for landscaping near me?” (that is a real service btw)

But if goat landscaping / goatscaping is not listed in your Google Business Profile Services, Google may not consider you a relevant recommendation.

That is why your Services section matters. Here’s what you need to do to optimize it:

  1. Add every legitimate service you offer.

  2. Include a clear, detailed description for each service.

💡 Bonus tip: Add emojis to the titles of your custom services. This will make them more eye-catching to people browsing your Profile.

The clearer you are about what you do, the easier it is for Google’s AI to connect you with the right customer.

How have YOU set up your goat services? Let me know on LinkedIn.

2. The downside of letting Google’s AI make decisions without human context

I just watched a video from a heartbroken dad asking Google to restore the reviews on his daughter's memorial.

Here’s the full story and explanation of why they were removed 👇️

Instagram Reel

3. How to respond to a negative review

Negative reviews matter more than ever. Not just because potential customers read them, but also because AI tools are pulling information from reviews when they answer questions about local businesses.

The way people talk about your business online can shape what shows up in AI-generated answers. And when someone leaves a negative review, your response becomes part of that public story. 

I share the right way to respond to a negative review in this short video 👇️

Instagram Reel

4. Google’s refusing to index your pages?

Don’t worry. There's still a way to stay visible online.

When people search with AI tools, the answers they get often cite social media posts, sometimes even more than traditional website pages.

So, if Google refuses to index your site, follow this checklist from Miriam Ellis‘s new blog post to become more visible in AI (which is the future of search anyway):

Of course, this is not a perfect fix (AI makes stuff up, your brand mentions and reviews will heavily affect how AI represents your business, etc.), but it’s a good way to build visibility while dealing with indexing problems.

Read Miriam’s full post where she talks about her own indexing struggles and shares a lot more first-hand advice 👇️

5. Catch up on the pod

The user search journey has changed completely, and every SEO needs to create a map of it.

People are no longer discovering a business, researching it, and buying from it in one linear path. Now, customers may find you on social media, or you may get recommended by an LLM, or you may get mentioned on a podcast.

Here’s how to make a user journey map so you can maximize your marketing efforts beyond Google:

  1. Create or review your buyer personas

  2. Identify the phases of the journey (awareness, consideration, decision, retention, advocacy)

  3. Identify the channels where users find or interact with you (traditional search, social media, ads, LLMs, etc.)

  4. Imagine what the user is feeling at each phase and touchpoint to fine-tune your approach, messaging, etc.

One thing that can help with the 3rd point is the new social media performance section in GSC. If you are not familiar with it yet, Claire Carlile and Dayna Lucio discussed it in detail on last week’s podcast.

They also talked about:

  • AI summaries of Tripadvisor hotel reviews downplay serious complaints (Robert Booth)

  • Why TikTok deserves a place in your SEO strategy (Celeste Gonzalez)

  • AI Traffic vs AI Citations: What Clicks and Cited Pages Show About the AI Search Journey (Aleyda Solís)

  • Building a brand worth finding: Signals that fuel discovery (Beth Nunnington)

  • AI Workflows for Local SEO (Amanda Jordan)

Watch the episode here 👇️

🎧 Or if you prefer listening, find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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Darren

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