Andrew Shotland on AI Search, Local SEO & Reddit | Marketing Stack 2025
In this session of marketing stack 2025, Andrew Shotland, founder and CEO of Local SEO Guide, discusses the massive shift in how businesses are discovered online. Andrew is a highly respected consultant who has worked with major brands like Walmart and Home Depot to improve their search performance.
He explains that we are moving from a Google-first world toward a landscape defined by multi-surface discovery on platforms like ChatGPT and Reddit.
How is customer engagement becoming the new SEO?
Andrew argues that customer engagement is now the core of effective SEO. He suggests that users do not care about visiting websites as much as they used to. While websites are still necessary, user behaviour is shifting toward conversational platforms like Reddit.
On these platforms, people want to hear from others who have real opinions and experiences rather than reading a static blog. Large language models (LLMs) use this conversational data as a major part of their training sets. Because of this shift, businesses must go where their customers are rather than expecting customers to come to them.
Why are platforms like Reddit important for AI search training?
Large language models value conversational content more than traditional formal blog posts. This is because conversations represent real human language rather than professional writing. Andrew recommends that brands establish a "beachhead" on platforms like Reddit or niche forums. Engaging in these communities helps the AI models "absorb" the brand and play it back in search results. The goal is to be helpful to the community rather than just marketing yourself. Giving away "secrets" and providing honest advice builds essential trust with potential customers.
What is the purpose of a website in an AI discovery world?
In the future, a website may serve primarily as a trust signal or a place for transactions. It confirms to the user that a business has a professional team, a logo, and a history of success. However, the actual information exchange and discovery will happen on conversational platforms. Andrew believes that being an expert on these forums will eventually lead customers back to the website to book a meeting or make a purchase. The website remains an official address, but it is no longer the place where the initial conversation starts.
Are backlinks still relevant for Google Maps and local rankings?
Backlinks are still important, but they are just one part of a larger mix of factors. For Google Maps, proximity to the user is often the most critical ranking factor. Popularity or "prominence" also matters for rankings. This is measured by reviews, photos, and how often users click on a profile. Andrew notes that generic links purchased from vendors often have little effect on local maps rankings. Instead, local businesses need truly relevant links from sites that already rank for the target query or are related to the specific city.
How can brands track visibility and referrals from AI tools?
Measuring brand visibility in AI results is difficult, but tools like Local Falcon and Yext Scout are starting to provide data. Tracking attribution from Google AI overviews is not yet possible for marketers. However, businesses can track referrals from ChatGPT in Google Analytics by using specific regex formulas. Andrew mentions that ChatGPT is currently the only AI service sending significant referral traffic to his clients. He also suggests that sales teams should ask prospects directly where they found the business.
What is the best strategy for long term success in AI search?
If a company has a limited budget, Andrew recommends focusing entirely on brand marketing. Building brand awareness ensures that more people search for the brand name directly. AI engines are designed to identify and show the most popular and trusted brands to their users. Andrew also highlights the "crocodile effect," where AI overviews are growing while traditional local packs are shrinking in search results. To stay relevant, brands must ensure their information is updated on citation sources like Mapbox, which tools like ChatGPT use for location data.
How can businesses use AI to provide better solutions?
AI allows users to skip multiple steps in the traditional search process. Andrew shares a personal example of using ChatGPT to identify a problem with his lemon tree by taking a photo. The AI identified the issue, recommended a fertilizer, and found a local nursery where he could buy it.
This highlights the need for businesses to have high quality content and inventory data that AI can easily find. Andrew concludes by encouraging marketers to repurpose their website content for platforms like Reddit to increase their authority and visibility.
