We caught up with entrepreneur Sella Gannot, the founder of SimplyCity, a company driving innovation in the local SEO space.
Local SEO is the strongest lever small businesses can pull, as everyone is looking at social media as the answer for their marketing. But if you run a parking garage or a dumpster renting business, this is a bit of an ask. And the importance of "THE MAP" will just grow, as Google Maps has 2B monthly users already. What business owners and marketers will appreciate is that the on- and offline trust is hard fought for - and AI needs to base its recommendations on something real and true. That’s where real user-generated reviews, pictures, and uploads come in—they provide the authentic foundation AI relies on. The better the data, the better the recommendation.
At SimplyCity, we’ve observed that businesses with well-optimized local profiles—complete with accurate citations, reviews, and up-to-date information—are the ones thriving. The challenge for many businesses isn’t only attracting customers, but ensuring those customers can find them quickly and trust their online presence. AI experiences are already changing how platforms process local data. For example, voice search and ChatGPT are transforming user search behavior. Queries now often combine text, location, and visuals. Gemini connects to Google Maps and ChatGPT integrates with Bing Maps, allowing their ranking algorithms to deliver highly tailored recommendations based on available data. So it is imperative for businesses to maintain precise, consistent, and rich local data across all platforms—the first layer. The second layer is trust, built through high-quality reviews featuring pictures and proper context.
If your business’s phone number or opening hours are wrong, for example, you’ve already lost a potential customer. But let’s not overlook the human factor. Reviews play a dual role: they not only help potential customers make informed decisions but also signal search engines about the authority and reliability of your business. At SimplyCity, we help our clients streamline this by managing and answering their reviews effectively—prompting satisfied customers to leave feedback and ensuring responses to build trust. When I’m asked what businesses should prioritize, my answer is simple: focus on the fundamentals. Local SEO success requires optimized profiles with consistent citations, clear contact information, and engaging visuals like photos and videos. Tracking performance metrics is equally important to understand what’s working and where there’s room to improve.
With SimplyCity, our clients can access all of this in one platform, which is invaluable in a fast-paced digital landscape. However, it’s not always clear how best to interact with business owners. We’re leaning toward a data-first engineering platform. This approach will enable us to deliver messages to businesses through their preferred channels. Often that is WhatsApp and not email or logging into our dashboard. We want to have a proactive approach. We take care of the technical SEO and citations and profile maintenance, while coaching Businesses that to listen to customer feedback, and invest in tools that streamline their efforts will continue to thrive in this competitive space.
For more insights on how SimplyCity helps businesses get more customers with local SEO, visit www.thesimplycity.net.
