South Africa: Location Bank announces groundbreaking white paper, the AI disruption
The white paper highlights how the rise of AI-powered search engines, voice assistants, and generative search experiences (like Google's SGE) is diminishing the dominance of paid search ads. These AI systems increasingly favor accurate, structured, and highly relevant local content often bypassing or excluding paid placements in favor of organic, AI-curated results.
Key findings and insights from the white paper include:
- The search paradigm shift: AI-powered search (SGE, voice assistants) prioritises trustworthy, structured, local content, pushing paid ads down or out. Over 65% of Google searches now result in zero clicks.
- Decline of traditional search ads: Data shows a 17% fall in click-through rates (CTR) for search ads and a 23% year-over-year increase in cost-per-click (CPC) in key verticals, making them less efficient.
- Organic local presence as the competitive edge: Up-to-date Google business profiles (GBPs), high-quality reviews, accurate business information, and structured data across platforms (Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing, Uber) are now paramount. These assets are persistent, credible, and directly ingested by AI.
- Real-world impact: A case study of a leading South African QSR chain using Location Bank's platform demonstrated a remarkable 37% increase in direction requests from Google Maps within 90 days, achieved solely by improving GBP data accuracy across 450+ stores, without additional ad spend.
- Data-driven strategy: The paper emphasises that collecting and analysing local search behaviour empowers brands with competitive insights, allowing them to feed AI platforms with consistent, location-level data that drives visibility.
The white paper provides a clear action plan for multi-location brands to build durable, AI-friendly local infrastructure, including conducting audits, standardising NAP data, actively managing reviews, and leveraging platforms like Location Bank to centralise and scale updates.
About Location Bank
Location Bank is a South African-based martech company dedicated to helping brands centralise their location data, manage online reputation, and maximise visibility across platforms like Google and Facebook. Trusted by SMEs and enterprises alike, Location Bank provides the tools businesses need to thrive in a connected world.
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