Try this experiment tonight. Open Chat GPT and type: "Who's the best plumber in Savannah?" Or "Best HVAC company near me?" or whatever industry you work in... You'll get a short list of names. And chances are, yours isn't on it. (I hope that I'm wrong!) A company called Local Falcon ran 37,500 AI searches across the 100 largest U.S. cities, asking five AI platforms (ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, and Grok) who the best local pros were. They studied re

"How much should local SEO cost?" is one of the first questions every business owner asks me, and one of the hardest to answer honestly without data. So let's start with data. Ahrefs surveyed 439 SEO service providers and found local SEO retainers average $1,557 a month. Break it down further and the picture gets clearer: DIY tools: $30–$90/month. You run everything yourself. Freelancers: $1,150/month on average. Agencies: $1,819/month on average. Full-service agencies in com