Darren Shaw

🔹 Founder of Whitespark.ca: local SEO software and services.
🔹 Local SEO educator with 45,000+ newsletter subscribers, 10,000+ YouTube subscribers, and 3,000+ email course sign-ups
🔹 In charge of the annual Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, one of the most cited resources in local SEO
🔹 Speaker at local search conferences around the globe and contributor to SEO publications
🔹 I've been doing web development and SEO for 27 years (yes, before Google existed)

Founder

Whitespark builds online tools and provides services that help businesses and agencies with local SEO. We're known for our Local Citation Finder, Local Rank Tracker, Citation Building & Audit Services, and Local SEO Consulting. Our team often collaborates with other industry leaders and frequently presents at top SEO & Marketing conferences in North America.

Most SEOs don’t realize they can see AI search prompts inside Search Console. I saw this tip from Chris Long on LinkedIn, and it’s too good not to share.

Here’s exactly how to do it:

1. Go to Search Console > Performance > Search Results
2. Set the date range to 12 months
3. Click Add Filter > Query
4. Change the dropdown to Custom (regex)
5. Paste in a regex that filters for long queries: ^(?:\S+\s+){9,}\S+$
6. Click Apply

You’ll now see longer, more conversational queries. Some of these may still be traditional searches, so I like to edit the regex and change the character count from 9 to 20.

Now you’re looking at really long prompts that people are likely typing into AI search.

Why this matters:

- I’m not a big fan of AI visibility tracking tools because, in my experience, their data is often garbage. This method gives you real data straight from Google and lets you see how people are actually asking questions about your business.
- You can identify content gaps and optimization opportunities on your website.
- You can track whether more AI-style queries are starting to show up over time.

Try it out and let me know if you see any crazy prompts in your data!

There’s a wild black-hat SEO case study where Holly Starks put 100 cell phones in her car, turned on driving directions to a business, and that business jumped to #1 in rankings.

Obviously you’re not going to do that, but driving directions WILL boost your rankings, so here’s how you can get more of them without driving around with 100 cell phones in your car:

1. Google your business name.
2. In the Knowledge Panel, click on “Directions”.
3. When the map opens, copy the URL from the address bar. That link is a direct driving directions link from the user’s location to your business.
4. Use the link and send it to your customers:
- Add it to appointment reminder emails/text messages
- Put it clearly on your website’s contact page
- If you’re hosting an event, send it out in email and text campaigns

If you’re getting people to physically visit your location anyway, you might as well encourage them to use the directions link. 

More direction requests = stronger engagement signals = better local rankings

Got any other ideas of where you could use this link?

We just launched an absolutely incredible new feature in Whitespark Local Ranking Grids, and you need to see it. When you click “Plot Competitors on Map”, you can instantly visualize your competitors on the map:

- Who’s outranking you at that exact location
- Where they’re physically located
- How close (or far) they are from that grid point
- How competitor clusters shift across the grid

You can even expand it from Top 10 all the way to Top 100. 

Yes, we track rankings all the way to 100 (unlike all of our outdated competitors).

But what I love the most about this new feature is how visual it makes everything. You can literally click around the grid and watch competitors change depending on their location. It makes proximity, density, and competition incredibly obvious and easy to explain to potential clients.

This data is incredibly valuable for:

- Showing prospects exactly who is outranking them and how close those competitors are.
- Spotting weak areas and competitive clusters on the map and adjusting your strategy accordingly.
- Identifying areas where competitors are farther away and a new location could do really well.

This is one of those features that makes you look really smart on a sales call because instead of overexplaining rankings to potential clients, you can visually show them what’s happening in just a few clicks and they instantly get it.

If you want to test the software for yourself, you can run 8 free 5×5 grid scans with our trial (no credit card required). Go click around. It’s actually fun.

Nobody knows this: you could get sued for spam fighting.

Did you know that a business can subpoena Google and request a record of who’s been making edits to their Google Business Profile?

Yep. It’s a real legal process. And if they go through it, Google will provide a list of accounts that made changes to their Profile.

So, if you’re out there using “Suggest an Edit” on competitor profiles, changing business names, categories, etc, those businesses could potentially find out it was you and take legal action.

That’s why I recommend using the Google Business Redressal Complaint Form.

Doing it this way removes the risk of being personally exposed in a legal request.

It is a great joy in my life to record the Whitespark Local Update podcast with the wonderful Claire Carlile 🎺  We’re 20 episodes in and you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

No alternative text description for this image

How do you structure your page in such a way that Google’s AI cites it in its answers?

I love Dan Petrovic. He recently did some amazing technical research into Google’s “grounding snippets”, i.e. the sentences it selects from your page to then build its answer to the user’s query.

The grounding process goes something like this:

1. A user submits a prompt to Gemini, for example.
2. Google breaks this prompt down into smaller sub-queries and finds web pages relevant to these sub-queries.
3. Then, Google selects the MOST RELEVANT SENTENCES from those pages.
4. These sentences turn into the grounding snippets that are fed into the AI model alongside the user’s prompt, so the AI can generate an answer.

One of Dan’s key takeaways from this research is that Google’s system prefers sentences that are both:

- semantically close to the query
- and early on the page

What does this mean for you?

Communicate the main idea of your content succinctly in the first paragraph of the page. This will increase the chances of Google using those first sentences as grounding snippets in its AI answers (which in turn will increase your brand’s AI visibility)

Claire and I discuss this topic on today’s episode of the Whitespark Local Update, plus:

- Google’s Minimum Viable Content Refresh (Steve Toth)
- Google is Nudging Reviewers to Edit Their Old Reviews (Claudia Tomina)
- Reviews + The Real World: Learnings From Famed Restaurant Reviewer, Marilyn Hagerty (Miriam Ellis)
- Updated Privacy Guidelines for Suspension & Reinstatement Requests (Vinay Toshniwal)
- What Extraction Method Is Google Using to Build Grounding Snippets? (Dan Petrovic)
- Careful With Google Business Profile Verification Flow (Claudia Tomina)
- Whitespark’s New Google Business Profile Reinstatement Service 👀

Find the full episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify!

Founder of Whitespark. I share local SEO tips and strategy. Lead researcher behind the annual Local Search Ranking Factors survey. Get everything you need for better local SEO at whitespark.ca

Local SEO Expert | GBP Suspension Expert | Google Ads Expert | 500+ GMBs Reinstated- Ex- Googler | Help Local Businesses to get qualified leads. Service for: HVAC, Law Firm, Contractors, Garage Door, Roofing.

Just noticed that GBP now has a “Reply to reviews with AI” feature. Has anyone here tried it yet?
I gave it a quick test, and it looks promising but doesn’t seem fully optimized at this stage.

Interestingly, it directed me to an older one star review and prompted me to generate a suggested reply. The response it produced was actually quite decent. However, when I tried to use the same feature for other unanswered reviews, the option wasn’t available.

Curious to hear if others are experiencing the same inconsistency or if it’s just me.

Joy Hawkins Randy Roberts Darren Shaw 

#GBP #AI #localseo

Most businesses are missing a huge opportunity with their Google Posts. They add photos to their Posts instead of videos. 
Videos stand out way more in the Google Posts feed, communicate more information in less time, and feel more authentic to potential customers.

Sure, recording videos takes a bit more effort than just taking a picture, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Just record a short clip inside your business:

- Have the owner or a team member talk about a current offer.
- Show what’s new.
- Show your space.
- Show a product.
- Show how you perform a service.

And if you or your client doesn’t like being on camera, you can make some flashy videos easy-peasy with a tool like Canva.

Videos in Google Posts → more engagement on your GBP → better visibility → more conversions.

How to See Your AI Traffic in Search Console

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gKmebB2g

One of the Most Underrated Local Ranking Signals?

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gPbSb4CY

What if you could sit down with your ideal customer and ask them anything before updating your website, and use those answers to 10x your content’s conversion power?

That’s the concept behind Andy Crestodina’s AI Personas. Here’s how it works:

You give AI a prompt that instructs it to act as your ideal customer. Then you use that “artificial buyer persona” to audit your webpages from the perspective of a potential customer. For example:

- Is the page addressing all the buyer’s objections?
- Is it triggering the emotional response you want your buyer to have?
- What are the decision criteria, and are you covering them all on the page?

Claire Carlile 🎺 and I discuss this in more detail on today’s episode of the Whitespark Local Update, plus:

- How To Mine Google Search Console For Conversation Data (Chris Long)
- AI Talking to AI (Ben Fisher)
- Updated Google Business Profile Policies (Hiroko Imai)
- Stop Chasing the Local 3-Pack (Claudia Tomina)
- Google Business Profile Violations (Sterling Sky Inc)

Find the full episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify!

Did you know that you can get SUED for editing a Google Business Profile?

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gsnyjWrA

Every local SEO who works with restaurants can learn a thing or two from Marilyn Hagerty.

She is an award-winning restaurant reviewer who rose to fame after her review of Olive Garden went viral. Her book Grand Forks (published by the great Anthony Bourdain, btw) holds all the secrets to great customer reviews.

In her new blog post, Miriam Ellis shares her biggest local SEO takeaways from Marilyn’s book. Here’s one:

Every one of Marilyn’s reviews hit on these topics:

- What she ate
- Satisfaction sentiment
- Price
- Atmosphere
- Service quality
- Wait times
- Cleanliness

These attributes happen to be some of the key elements featured on restaurant Google Business Profiles (see image). This is also the exact kind of content Google is now scraping for its new AI-driven “Ask a Question” feature.

What does this mean for restauranteurs and local SEOs who work with restaurants? Read Miriam’s full blog post on Whitespark’s blog to find out 👀

Use Video in Google Posts (Most Businesses Don’t)

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gBKtZPqP

Whitespark Local Ranking Grids is the only tool on the market that tracks to 100. Delivering real value.

⚡️Get your FREE SEO Surge Summit ticket at my profile!!

Shout out to Whitespark local ranking grids.
Someone reached out and their GBP was in the WRONG STATE!

A normal geogrid caps out at 20+
These geogrids go up to a 100

I showed this to the prospect, they fixed the bug
They're already showing up higher

No, not in the Map Pack
But this is real local SEO progress 💪

Darren Shaw give my best to the dev team 👏

Asurion

Director of SEO 

Milestone Inc

∙ Lead SEO programs to solve complex enterprise SEO problems at scale, and drive to implementation
∙ Drive product development for SEO products such as CMS, Local, FAQ, & Schema.
∙ Develop innovative technical and content SEO capabilities
∙ Construct search/site data and metrics frameworks for intelligent decision-making
∙ Drive cross-channel solutions with earned, owned, and paid media while influencing company and product strategy by building strong relationships with Marketing, Product, Engineering, and other departments.

Director of SEO

The SEO Department

I lead a team of SEOs and Copywriters that discover unique SEO solutions which have the ability to create meaningful ROI for each client’s unique starting position and resources.

•Develop, prioritize, and ensure execution of SEO roadmaps for B2B, SAAS, e-commerce, and many other verticals.
•Building, managing, and coaching an effective SEO team and network of partners to deliver the goals of the channel and the organization.
•Manage execution across distributed teams and agencies in multiple geographies

Sr. Director of SEO

Location3

As Director of Earned & Owned Media, I build and execute the strategies that elevate partner visibility in organic search. I lead the SEO, Local Search and Content teams to develop data-driven strategies that keep partners at the forefront of the complex and ever-changing organic search landscape. As part of the company’s strategy group, I identify cross-channel opportunities so campaigns are truly integrated. 

I've spent the past 12 years working to improve organic visibility for the brands you see on the shelves in stores and for the businesses you drive by every day in cities across the country. Current clients span from Retail, Insurance, Finance, Restaurants, Service Area Businesses, Restaurants, Hospitality and Travel.

- Develop, manage and execute on strategy, roadmap and vision for dozens of global brands.
- Partner with key stakeholders to develop an SEO roadmap that balances acquisition, conversion, user experience and technical SEO foundations. Collaborative by nature with a bias toward action.
- Oversee world-class SEO internal processes to ensure we are ahead of the curb on emerging search trends, technology, and strategy.
- Leverage analytics and data to prioritize SEO initiatives while monitoring acquisition health metrics and identifying areas of improvements, competitive benchmarks and relevant trends.
- Serve as the primary SEO evangelist throughout the organization and work cross functionally to establish alignment and buy in on the internal SEO strategy and with clients.
- Foster environment of teamwork, growth, learning and performance through mentoring and coaching
- Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with vendors as a premium data distribution partner (Google, Apple, Bing, Foursquare, Yelp, Waze, Samsung to name a few)
- Partner with Sales, Marketing, Product and Technology teams to build better products and services to provide more value to clients and bring in more new business

Director of SEO, Earned, and Owned Media

The Integer Group

I led the organic search strategies across several teams that dealt with CPG clients in Beverages, Health and Beauty, Chocolate, Fruity Confections, Home Goods and more

Covered the full run of Technical, On and Off-page initiatives for brand sites

Developed content strategies and optimizations for CPGs on the digital shelf with a focus on Amazon, Walmart, Sams Club, Target and many others

Build the organic search capabilities and developed the service within the organization. Worked with account teams to help sell into client engagements and to supplement other earned initiatives.

Senior SEO Manager

Burns Marketing

I lead the expansion of enterprise SEO and digital strategy offerings as well as contributing to in-house marketing initiatives. I enjoy building the processes and implementing aspects of content strategy, analytics, inbound marketing, paid search and on-page SEO while contributing to market research and social strategy. 

•Providing insight and motivating cross-functional teams including designers, project managers, developers, content writers and SEO/PPC specialists in the production of websites and digital marketing initiatives. 
•Identifying and translating clients’ business goals into executable strategies and campaigns for a variety of clients. 
•Leading the generation of creative and insight-driven recommendations to clients throughout the project lifecycle.
•	Architect, design, develop and maintain innovative, engaging and informative sites for a worldwide audience.
•	Educate and Integrate SEO into all cross functional teams to have all stakeholders thinking about SEO throughout the marketing strategy and implementation.
•	Maintain and develop the web code to ensure quality, content and readability by search engines.
•	Keep pace with SEO, search engine and internet marketing industry trends and developments and report changes as needed.
•	Advise, collaborate with, and synthesize feedback from Marketing, Product and Development partners to push for technical SEO best practices.

SEO Strategist 

Location3 Media

•Produce & manage keyword research, technical, content, competitive and backlink audits - analysis and documentation

•Develop data driven content marketing strategies to be used across paid, owned and earned media teams

•Provide technical recommendations for the department for all client migrations, campaigns and audits 

•Set company-wide SEO strategy and the prioritize the projects that matter

•Evangelize the benefits of SEO internally and educate developers, product managers and marketers on how to incorporate SEO best practices into every project

•Help the content marketing team identify areas of opportunity to develop and promote real estate content while adhering to SEO best practices

•Steer our outreach team toward sustainable, future proof, white-hat link-building programs

•Drive new initiative to focus on the organic search program for the company and the internal marketing team

•Speak at events to promote industry knowledge sharing while helping the company be known as a thought leader

Senior Account Manager // SEO

•Day-to-day management of multiple SEO clients and their subsequent campaigns and tactical execution of SEO strategies for National Brands

•Manage weekly and monthly SEO reporting and maintaining regular communication with clients to ensure satisfaction and reinforcement of goals

•Articulate and formulate best SEO strategies/knowledge to both clients and team members along with providing results or recommendations

•Maintain in-depth knowledge and analysis of industry trends and SEO news to identify new opportunities in technology and/or vendors

•Local Listing Management to increase visibility in local search for multi-unit locations. This includes Google Places and Yelp campaign management

Clients: US Airways, Advantage Rent a Car, FastSigns, Hard Rock Hotel, Wyndham Hotel Group, ViaSat, Primrose Schools, Homewatch Caregivers and ViaWest.

Account Manager // SEO

AFFILIATED FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.

• Manage multiple company websites that include use of WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal

• Cultivate, implement, and manage sales strategies across multiple distribution channels.  Assist in the creation of sales concepts and sales presentations for advisors

Senior Account Specialist | Digital Marketing

US Web Central

• Instrumental team member which helped company rise in search engine rankings and provide solid SEO practices to clients to achieve better rankings, more website traffic, and increased ROI  

• Drove company website to  #1 ranking in Google for "Denver SEO" and "Denver SEO Company" 6 months after making it a goal

Digital Marketing Specialist

I'm a Digital Marketer whose been specializing in organic search (SEO) for the past 15 years. I have a passion for using data to provide thought leadership, innovation, and tactical optimizations while pairing the data with creative to deliver campaigns that convert while resonating with customers.

I have a proven ability to look at various business needs and complex data/concepts, assess requirements, apply/consult on strategies, effectively communicate to executive leadership, and analyze results to continue to tune the "best in class" model for digital marketing programs. Through the entire process, I'm always looking at processes to create greater efficiencies.


Need short term SEO leadership? Over the years I have worked with companies and agencies to bridge SEO knowledge gaps while they hunted for the perfect long term person to lead their SEO and Digital Strategies.

taplio

The Battle

Darren Shaw

Matt Lacuesta

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDarren Shaw's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Darren Shaw

Matt Lacuesta

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Darren Shaw's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDarren Shaw's LinkedIn Performance