Local SEO in 2025: What Actually Works (w/ Joy Hawkins)

E804: Local SEO is changing fast in 2025 - AI Overviews, reviews, hours, link building, service area pages… what actually works right now?

Joy Hawkins, founder of Sterling Sky and one of the leading experts in local SEO, joins the podcast!

We cover: - How AI Overviews are influencing local rankings - The #1 local SEO mistake most businesses make (and how to fix it) - Reviews, recency, and why “open hours” can make or break your rankings - Multi-location SEO done right (without doorway pages) - Press releases, expired domains, and other link building tests - White-hat vs. shortcuts: what really lasts long term

If you run a local business or do SEO for clients, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can put to work immediately.

⭐️ Joy’s Agency - Sterling Sky: www.sterlingsky.ca ⭐️ Joy’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/SterlingSkyInc ⭐️ Joy’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyhawkins/ ⭐️ Local Search Forum - http://localsearchforum.com/

💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/

00:00 Introduction and Shared SERPs 00:07 Link Echoes and YouTube SEO 02:18 AI and SEO: Current Trends 02:57 Link Building Strategies 04:19 Internal Links 05:43 Review Recency and Google Business Profile 12:22 Press Releases in 2025 28:25 Local SEO and Multi-location Strategies 34:02 Google's Manual Penalties and Scaled Content Abuse 34:36 Service Area Pages: Hit or Miss? 35:57 Scaling SEO Efforts Proportionally 37:26 Holistic SEO: Beyond Traditional Methods 38:06 Reddit AMAs for SEO Benefits 41:48 White Hat SEO: The Long-Term Approach 42:46 Link Building Mistakes and Effective Tactics 47:17 Guest Posting for Small Businesses 54:27 Expired Domains and Redirects 01:02:54 Local SEO: Common Mistakes and Best Practices The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#localseo #seotips #searchengineoptimization #sweatystartup