Ex-Google GBP Director Brad Wetherall Reveals Expert Tips to Optimize your Google Business Profile and Leverage AI for Maximum Local SEO Impact

Are you future proofing your Google Business Profile for AI? In Part Two of Bob’s interview with Brad Wetherall, former Google Director and CEO of the GBP Experts, we explore how AI is transforming local SEO. With over a decade at Google, Brad shares behind-the-scenes insights on how your business listing impacts both traditional search and Google’s AI-driven results like AI Overviews. Learn what actions you need to take now to stay competitive in the evolving local search landscape.

What You’ll Learn

  • How Google’s AI uses GBP data to surface local businesses in AI Overviews and Search
  • The 5 must-do GBP optimizations to boost ranking and AI visibility
  • Why review volume and recency matter more than ever and how to outpace competitors

Want to know how your Google Business Profile stacks up? Get a free GBP audit at LocalSEOTactics.com and discover what’s holding you back in local search and AI rankings.

Why Google Business Profiles Matter More Than Ever

Your GBP isn’t just a digital listing, it’s Google’s primary source of local business data, and the foundation for AI-driven answers. Brad Wetherall of GBP Experts explains that Google’s AI (like Gemini and SGE) pulls directly from the GBP database for local intent queries. If your profile is optimized, your business is more likely to show up in AI Overviews, voice search, and the map pack.

“GBP is Google’s secret sauce when it comes to local AI,” Brad says. “No other platform has this level of verified business data.”

5 Must-Do GBP Optimizations for 2025 and Beyond

Brad outlines five critical optimizations that every business owner and marketer should prioritize:

1. Write keyword-rich, localized service descriptions

Your GBP services section should be broken out clearly, and each service should have its own unique, keyword-rich description. If your business operates in multiple locations, customize the descriptions for each city or area. Avoid copying and pasting the same content across all your listings. Google prefers location-specific relevance, and so do your customers.

2. Choose the right primary category

Your primary category plays a major role in where and how you appear in search. Brad gives the example of law firms, where choosing “lawyer” or “law firm” is far less effective than using something more specific like “personal injury attorney” or “divorce lawyer.” If you’re not sure which category to pick, look at your top-performing competitors and reverse-engineer their selections.

3. Get more reviews than your competitors

If you do nothing else, get more Google reviews. Reviews are not only a key ranking factor, but they also signal to both Google and customers that your business is active, trustworthy, and engaged. Brad emphasizes that reviews are the number one driver of visibility in the local map pack. How many should you aim for? At least more than your top competitors. If they have 40, you need 50. If they have 100, shoot for 120. Consistency also matters, so make review generation a routine part of your customer interactions.

4. Fully complete your profile

Many businesses leave fields blank in their Google Business Profile. That’s a mistake. Every unanswered field is a missed opportunity to build trust with Google’s AI. Fill in everything, even if the answer is no. Is your business pet-friendly? Do you offer free Wi-Fi? Are you wheelchair accessible? Providing clear answers to these questions makes your profile more robust and signals that the information is accurate and current.

5. Add authentic photos and videos

Google’s AI can now interpret visual content. That means your photos and videos are not just for customers—they’re for the algorithm too. Make sure to upload real images of your team, your services, your products, and your business in action. Avoid AI-generated or stock imagery. Authentic visuals help reinforce what your business actually does and can influence your visibility in AI-powered results.

AI and The Future of Local Search

Brad explains that Google’s AI features, like AI Overview and AI mode, are already pulling data directly from GBP profiles. He’s tested it himself by optimizing a profile and then prompting the AI for information about the business. The AI repeated the exact phrases he had included in the listing. That’s not a coincidence. That’s proof that what you put in your GBP is being used to train and power Google’s AI responses.

He also talks about the growing importance of associating content with trusted authors. As AI evaluates content, it wants to know who created it and whether that person or brand is credible. Businesses that clearly connect their content to real people, via author bios, LinkedIn profiles, professional associations, and local or industry citations, will have a better shot at being trusted and ranked.

Fixing Common GBP Issues

Many businesses only seek help when something goes wrong. Brad and his team at GBP Experts specialize in solving the problems that stop listings from performing. Whether your profile has been suspended, your verification failed, or your reviews have disappeared, getting expert help can mean the difference between staying stuck and showing up in the top three results.

Optimize Your GBP Today

Your Google Business Profile is no longer just a digital listing. It is a dynamic, high-trust data source that directly impacts how your business appears in both search results and AI-generated answers. Optimizing your profile is one of the smartest moves you can make to improve your visibility, attract more customers, and future-proof your local SEO strategy.

Get a Free Google Business Profile Audit

Get a free audit of your Google Business Profile. We’ll show you what’s working, what’s not, and how to fix it based on the same strategies Brad Wetherall used to shape GBP from the inside.

Your future visibility in local and AI search starts here.