Local Search in 2025: How Devon Businesses stay seen
By: Andy Chapman | Published: 18 November 2025
Local search is evolving. Traditional map packs and organic results still matter most, but AI driven summaries, richer business panels, and faster answers are changing how people find shops, cafés, holiday stays, and local services.
With Q4 being the busiest search period of the year, Devon businesses can protect their visibility by updating Google Business Profiles, improving reviews, adding seasonal photos, and using simple structured data that helps search engines understand what they offer.
What’s actually changing in Local Search?
AI is not replacing map packs or local listings, but it is influencing how often people click through to websites.
Here are the real, measurable shifts:
Local searches now show more “instant answers”
Google reports that more than 59% of searches end without a click (Source: WsiWorld). For local queries, this often means people get opening hours, directions, menus and reviews directly on the results pagewithout ever visiting a website
AI generated explanations appear more often in category searches
These appear in around 10% to 18% of commercial local queries depending on the industry. It’s still not dominant, but the numbers are growing.
Map packs show fewer rotating businesses
This is one of the biggest practical changes with some industries now show only two map results instead of three, especially in “best near me” searches.
Photos and review recency influence visibility more than before
Google has explicitly stated that fresh media improves local relevance. None of these changes remove the need for a website, they simply mean your first impression now happens before anyone lands on it.
Why Q4 feels more competitive in Devon
The run-up to Christmas is when local discovery peaks, especially for people gift shopping, booking for Christmas meals, trades and home services, holiday accommodation, local festive activities and events.
But two things happen simultaneously:
More local businesses become active again
Shops update their opening hours, Restaurants publish festive menus, Holiday providers start January bookings and this all creates a seasonal traffic jam in the results.
Customers make faster decisions from results pages
Someone searching “coffee near me Exeter” will often choose the place with the best combination of: recent photos, up-to-date hours and fresh reviews before they ever consider scrolling to websites.
This is where businesses win or lose visibility.......
What does strong local visibility looks like in Q4
Instead of chasing rankings, the smartest Devon businesses focus on being the obvious choice on the results page.
Here’s what that looks like.
Google Business Profile fully updated
Google Business Profile (GBP) has become the front door of local discovery.
A strong profile includes:
- Christmas opening hours
- recent festive photos
- key services/features completed
- accessibility information
- clear product or menu details
- active posts
- questions answered
Link: https://support.google.com/business/
New photos uploaded regularly
Weekly uploads help with Winter scenes, decorated interiors, product close-ups, behind-the-scenes shots, they all count!
Fresh, specific reviews
A stream of reviews mentioning real services improves your appearance in map packs, for example:
‘Amazing roast dinner in Sidmouth last weekend’ is much stronger than ‘Great place.’
Your website reinforces your business info
Search engines look for consistency and your homepage should clearly state:
- who you serve
- where you are
- what you offer
- how to book or buy
How do you get ahead of your competitors?
Most local businesses will do one or two of the right things, but very few will do all five of the actions below consistently:
- Audit your Google Business Profile (categories, hours, amenities).
- Upload five to ten fresh festive photos.
- Refresh your LocalBusiness schema.
- Ask for five recent reviews during your busiest days.
- Check your hours across all platforms including maps, directories, social channels, and your own website.
When done together, these create a visible gap between you and similar businesses in the same town.
Get your Business ready for Christmas searches
Before the December rush begins, make sure your business is visible wherever Devon residents and visitors are searching. I offer a free local SEO audit that examines your Google Business Profile, local citations, schema markup, review profile and readiness for AI-driven search.
The audit delivers a prioritised list of specific improvements, no vague recommendations, just clear actions ranked by impact and ease of implementation.
I'm based in Exmouth and work exclusively with Devon businesses. I understand the local search landscape because I work in it every day.
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