The SEO Juice: A Year of Trends, Trust Signals & Traffic Truths

Danielle Kudis

We’re celebrating one year of The SEO Juice so we stepped back to look at what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what still works across local search.

From the decline of Local Packs to growing trust in AI Overviews and shifting customer behaviors, this session was about clarity: knowing what your SEO team can control, what’s moving the needle, and what customers actually care about when they decide who to visit, click, or call.

Industry Updates: Fresh Squeezed Insights

SEO Trends Then vs. Now

Some things haven’t changed. Clicks still matter, brand mentions still count, and structured content still wins. But what’s changing is where those signals are showing up.

Local Packs are losing ground in search results. Social content, AI answers, and curated local results are taking their place. Meanwhile, Google’s algorithm leak confirmed what many suspected: brand authority, entity presence, and click behavior carry more weight than we thought.

What to Do: Focus on content that builds authority beyond your website. That means social posts, brand mentions, forums, and user-generated content across platforms.

What Customers Actually Care About

Convenience. Photos. Familiarity. Incentives. When it comes to choosing a business, most customers aren’t overthinking their choices. They’re looking for signals that make the choice easy and safe.

The most influential factors? Clear hours and availability, visuals that show what to expect, and brand names they recognize or have seen before. In many cases, the presence (or absence) of these details is what tips a click or call.

What to Do: Make sure every listing or page includes what customers are looking for, like photos, current hours, relevant offers, and language that reflects real customer priorities. Think, what would make you choose your business?

What’s Really Driving Your Traffic?

Traffic trends can be misleading without context. A drop in branded search might reflect a slowdown in marketing activity, not an SEO failure. And strong non-brand performance doesn’t always mean customers are ready to convert.

To understand what’s really working, you need to look at both the source of the demand and how well your site is capturing it. That means digging into branded vs. non-branded queries, reviewing where your clicks are coming from, and pairing ranking data with behavioral signals.

What to Do:

Review brand and non-brand performance separately in tools like Google Search Console
Pair keyword rankings with click and conversion metrics to find the real gaps
Strengthen internal links and metadata to support non-brand discovery
Collaborate with brand and media teams if branded traffic is soft

Maximize Your Local SEO Strategy with These Updates

Internal linking is underused, especially on high-traffic pages. If a location page or blog post is getting traffic, add links to other services, seasonal content, or lesser-known categories that customers might not find on their own.
Update your page titles and descriptions to include specific, useful terms, even if search volume is low. Think: new product names, services you quietly offer, or promotions people might be Googling, but that don’t show up in your top keywords.

Pro Tip: Don’t just optimize for what gets searched—optimize for what gets clicked and remembered.

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Caught in the Wild: Fun New Features

Here’s what we spotted this month:

Google’s Ask for Me Expands

This experimental feature from Google Search Labs lets an AI assistant call local businesses to ask about pricing and availability on behalf of the customer. It started with auto services and nail salons, but now it’s expanded to 13+ new categories including spas, gyms, tattoo shops, and more.

Why it matters: These calls can drive real, high-intent leads—but only if you’re set up to answer. Don’t ignore that mystery call from a robot voice.

Local Pack Ads Showing Up at the Bottom?

Sponsored listings that used to appear at the top of the Local Pack are now being spotted at the bottom. While this isn’t happening everywhere, it’s a clear sign that Google is continuing to experiment with ad positioning in the pack.

Why it matters: Ad placement influences click behavior. If your listings rely on top-of-pack ads, keep an eye on visibility shifts in local results.

Check Wait Time Shows Up – Even Without a Reservation Link

For restaurants that have the Accepts Reservations attribute enabled, but no actual reservation platform connected, Google is still displaying a clickable Check Wait Time CTA in Maps.

Why it matters: This appears to be part of Google’s Know Before You Go initiative. If you’re not managing waitlist tools or reservation platforms, double-check how these features are being interpreted (and displayed) in your listing.

Curated Local Categories in SERPs

A search for “restaurants in Long Beach” no longer returns just a list; it now shows curated themes like “top rated,” “family-friendly,” and “near the Pride Festival.” These sections seem to be based on popular, local intent signals and reflect Google’s shift toward more discovery-style browsing.

Why it matters: If you serve a niche like waterfront dining, outdoor seating, or dietary-friendly options, make sure your photos, attributes, and descriptions reflect that. Google is grouping and promoting them.