Honestly, I've been watching this whole Google shake-up from the sidelines and it's a mess. location pages are essentially dead for most local businesses now - Google's not rewarding that old playbook. links from community sources pointing at your homepage? that's the only thing that might still move the needle locally.
But here's the kicker - Google just told everyone they're fundamentally reworking search from the ground up, starting this week. Nobody knows how badly they've broken everything yet. As someone who's spent years in performance marketing (SMS side, not SEO, but I see the same trust erosion happening), my genuine advice is: do not stress about your SEO right now. and definitely don't hire a SEO specialist in the next couple of months if you're just starting out.
It's easy to throw good money after bad when the playing field is shifting under your feet. for a lot of bigger operations, staying on top of its crucial, but for someone in your position? Focus on building genuine customer relationships through channels you control - like SMS or email. That kind of intimacy won't get rekt by a search algorithm update.
