You know, local search has really come a long way. It’s not just about managing listings anymore – it’s about creating genuine experiences and connections with customers. Nowadays, people want interactions that feel tailor-made for them, no matter where they are in their journey. And let’s talk about AI-powered search – it’s changing the game fast. Search engines are getting smarter at understanding what users really want. They’re all about serving up content that’s not just relevant but engaging too. Whether you’re a big brand with multiple locations or a cozy local shop, the struggle is real: how do you make every interaction feel personal? And with cookies on their way out, that challenge just got a whole lot tougher. So, when you’re thinking about how to level up your digital game, it’s all about bringing together those scattered bits of customer info into one powerhouse database. In this article, we’re diving deep into the top priorities for businesses with a local focus in 2024, along with the key metrics you’ll want to keep an eye on to track your success. It’s all about staying ahead of the curve and giving your customers the experiences they crave. Experiences matter more in local than managing listings. The top five areas that 2024 location-based firms should concentrate on are shown below.  Discovery Ensuring visibility for brand and location-based queries is crucial. This involves: Establishing a comprehensive listing on Google Business Profile (GBP) and other authoritative channels relevant to your industry. Implementing a proper schema structure on your website to enhance search engine understanding. Regularly publishing relevant, timely, and engaging content, such as local events, pricing details, menus, operating hours, and maps. Key ingredients for successful discovery include: Utilizing customer search data effectively to gain insights into their needs and preferences. This data can be leveraged to train diverse Large Language Models (LLMs), enabling better comprehension of searcher intent and behaviors. Google’s recent integration of AI in maps is a testament to this strategy, utilizing LLMs to interpret conversational queries and offer personalized recommendations based on users’ interests. Creating topical and entity-rich content that fulfills the searcher’s requirements. It’s essential to continuously enhance existing content and align new product or solution releases with the evolving needs of your audience. A robust technical SEO foundation is essential for ensuring the effective crawling and indexing of your content. Implement and maintain comprehensive schema markup to assist search engines and AI in better understanding your content. To future-proof your website for the visually oriented SERPs of 2024, consider the following strategies: Enhance your landing pages with diverse elements such as images, business hours, address, FAQs, videos, PDFs, and customer reviews. Ensure a sufficient quantity of high-quality, authentic images to enhance search visibility and drive conversions. Optimize images to meet Google’s safe search standards and align with user intent. Avoid relying on stock photography to maintain authenticity and relevance. To future-proof your digital assets for evolving search engine result pages (SERPs), take the following steps: Centralize your image resources to ensure consistency across different channels. Utilize Google Natural Language Processing (NLP) for image optimization. Tag images with relevant schema markup and image tags to enhance their discoverability and relevance in search results. Relevance and Authority Google’s algorithm updates aim to ensure that brands offer helpful content with expert insights on products and services, providing genuine value to users. For brands, the focus isn’t just on creating more content; it’s about producing topical, entity-rich content that aligns with their channel and audience strategies. A robust content strategy is key to establishing relevance. This involves identifying content gaps compared to competitors and meeting consumer expectations. Location pages should go beyond basic information like name, address, and hours of operation to provide comprehensive details that fulfill audience needs. For instance, a searcher seeking hospitals may require information on doctors, insurance options, specialties, and more. Content should be localized and personalized based on audience segments such as age and past behavioral signals. Engaging audiences with location-specific content like posts and events is also crucial. While AI tools can assist in content generation, human oversight by subject matter experts is essential to ensure quality. Hyperlocal content strategies, starting with basic location name insertions, may seem cost-effective, but they risk lower rankings due to duplicative content. Creating unique, optimized pages for each location is only beneficial if the content genuinely adds value to users. Ultimately, an effective content strategy aims to connect with customers and engage them. While AI can enhance efficiency and scalability, humanizing content with the brand’s voice and perspective remains indispensable. Experience Providing a connected experience is essential for firms that rely on location. The difficulty lies in giving a brand-loyal customer seeking for a location-specific query high-quality information. Here are six essentials to think about when contemplating experience:  Consistency in Information In the realm of location-based businesses, offering a seamless experience is paramount. The challenge lies in delivering accurate information to loyal customers seeking location-specific queries. Here are six essential considerations for enhancing the experience: Uniformity of Information: It’s crucial to ensure that all details related to your brand, especially location data, are consistently presented across various platforms, including content creation systems, distribution channels, and customer relationship management tools. Centralized Data Source: For brands operating multiple locations, maintaining consistency can be achieved by establishing a single, authoritative data repository. This centralized source should serve as the primary reference for all platforms, such as the main website, directories, advertising campaigns, and public relations efforts, to ensure the accuracy of brand information. Importance in AI-driven Search: With the increasing reliance on AI-powered search technologies, the need for consistent and high-quality data becomes even more pronounced to mitigate the risk of errors or discrepancies. Site Structure Creating an optimal site architecture is crucial to ensure easy access to location-specific information. This data should be qualitative, relevant, engaging, and up-to-date, catering to both local and regional searches.  Here’s an example of how multi-location businesses can craft personalized experiences: Google typically assigns a