After an extended hiatus, Whitespark’s Local Search Rank Factors report is back! This time, our very own Sam Knight, co-founder of Hoopless, was asked to contribute to the survey – made up of 47 of the most notable voices in Local SEO.
The survey is a comprehensive 2-hour assessment of 187 weighted factors – from Map Pack rankings, local organic rankings, conversion impact, and new for this year – AI visibility!
There’s been massive impact with AI search, but thus far local search has been remained mostly insulated.
(Broader, informational “national” type queries have seen the steepest decline in organic traffic).
But that’s not to say Local SEO hasn’t changed. Local SEO continues to change, and the 2026 Survey gives a great pulse from the brightest minds in the industry.
Here are the top highlights:
Local SEO Rank Factor Changes Over Time
Most Notable Changes in 2025-2026
Top 10 AI Search Factors
These are just some of the highlights, so be sure to check out the full report – there’s a ton of insight!
