How to prep for Google's AI/visual future

and other cool stuff from last week

January 28, 2025

Hello hello!

Here’s some interesting stuff from last week 👇️

1. Use a custom GPT to write your GBP description

I love this custom GPT for writing Google Business Profile descriptions from Ioannis Trifonidis.

Sure, you can ask ChatGPT to “write a GBP description for a business”, but Ioannis’ GPT goes one step further by giving a few different options in different styles.

2. How to prep for Google’s increasingly visual future

In 2022, Mike Blumenthal shared a study showing that photos went from occupying about 2% of screen space in 2016 to over 30% by 2022 for local searches on mobile. I suspect the number is much higher now.

Here are some examples of why visuals are king in local SEO 👇️

  • Photos and videos are the first thing you see when you open a Business Profile

  • Google automatically switches out your GBP’s featured image depending on the search term

  • Google’s AI can identify what’s in your GBP photos and group them into slideshows

  • Google has invested in search by image technology, and their AI Overviews are filled with imagery

  • SERP features like “People also search for” are full of images, as are multiple GBP features like Products, Reviews, See What’s in Store, and Updates

  • Google continues to find new ways to incorporate imagery into your Profile’s various sections (for example, the new review/photo carousel)

If you missed it, make sure you take a few minutes to read Miriam Ellis’s recent article on this. It will help you learn how to adjust to the visual landscape of local SEO 👇️

3. I asked 3 different AI chatbots to describe a picture for me

Here’s what happened 👇

  1. ChatGPT managed to describe the picture really well: it picked up that this was a photo of an electrician. It also recognized the name of the business.

  2. Claude AI also recognized that it was a picture of an electrician at work and picked up the word “Arnold” from the text written on the uniform.

  3. And Gemini… well… it must have been looking at a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger 🤷‍♂️

Watch this video to see the answers each AI tool gave me and learn what my takeaways are.

4. I want this for all my clients

Check out this cool “Immersive View” on Google Maps 👇️

@darrenshawseo

Whoa 😮 Check out this cool “Immersive View” on Google Maps. I want this for all my clients! How do you get this on your profile? I’m not s... See more

5. What’s your search history like?

— Darren Shaw (@whitespark.ca)2025-01-25T17:02:15.734492Z

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Darren

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