In this podcast episode, Danny Leibrandt, founder of Pest Control SEO, interviews Andrew Shotland, a seasoned expert in local SEO and founder of Local SEO Guide. The discussion revolves around Andrew's extensive experience in the SEO industry, starting with his early days at Showtime Networks and NBC, where he launched some of the first websites for these companies. Andrew later transitioned into local SEO when he helped start Insider Pages, an early competitor to Yelp. Despite initial success, a website redesign caused the company to lose most of its traffic, leading to its eventual sale and Andrew's pivot to SEO consulting. Andrew shares how his experience at Insider Pages made him empathetic towards business owners struggling with SEO, which became a key factor in his success as a consultant. He emphasizes the importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket and diversifying marketing efforts beyond just SEO. Throughout the conversation, Andrew provides insights into his approach to SEO, including the importance of understanding search intent, the role of Google Business Profiles, and the need for a solid content strategy. He discusses the challenges of managing SEO for both small businesses and large enterprises, noting the differences in strategy and execution. The discussion also touches on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to exponential growth for Andrew's agency as businesses rushed to improve their online presence. Andrew talks about Bay Area Search, a networking group he co-founded for SEO professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area, and its challenges during the pandemic. In the latter part of the episode, Andrew highlights the importance of proximity in Google Business Profile rankings and shares some advanced strategies, such as setting up real locations in target areas to improve local search visibility. He also introduces a new tool, SERP Summary, designed to monitor search results and provide valuable data for home services businesses, which is set to launch in September. The episode concludes with Andrew sharing his top SEO tools, including Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and SEMrush, and where listeners can find him online. Danny wraps up by thanking Andrew and expressing interest in continuing the conversation in the future. Andrew Shotland, Founder of Local SEO Guide: Twitter: https://twitter.com/localseoguide LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/localseoguide/ Local SEO Guide: https://www.localseoguide.com/ BayAreaSearch: https://bayareasearch.org/ Danny Leibrandt, Founder of Pest Control SEO: Facebook: https://facebook.com/DannyLeibrandt LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dannyleibrandt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DannyLeibrandt Website: https://dannyleibrandt.com Pest Control SEO Podcast Platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PestControlSEO/podcasts Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1TCL0LhZbsJS6mzanqnnT1?si=7d918c77a6234ce2 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pest-control-seo-podcast/id1741176782 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0bb5254-5d6c-4940-8211-085157cc1239/pest-control-seo-podcast Audible: https://www.audible.com/podcast/Pest-Control-SEO-Podcast/B0D1FCN28S?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp Podcast Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Background 05:46 Lessons Learned from Insider Pages 09:19 Consulting and Scaling Up 15:12 Impact of COVID-19 on the Agency 20:10 Strategies For Multi-Location Businesses 28:00 The Value of Building Real Locations 38:41 Favorite SEO Tools He Uses #localmarketing #localbusiness #localseo #seo #marketing #pestcontrol #pestcontrolseo #pestcontrolmarketing