How AEO and Local SEO Work Together in 2026
98.8% of local businesses receive zero AI citations. Here's how combining local SEO and AEO gets Midwest service businesses found on Google Maps AND in AI search.
Local SEO services for small businesses
Rank in the Google map pack and local results for the towns you work in. Stand Up: seo done at build only, with no ongoing SEO after launch. Growth: monthly seo at $649/mo, one targeted blog post a month plus Google Business Profile management.
Spec summary
- Stand Up
- SEO done at build only
- Growth
- Monthly SEO
- Untapped
- Agency-style SEO
- From
- $649/mo on Growth, 1-year term
- Setup fee
- $0
- Timing
- Set up at launch on every plan. Monthly on Growth. Untapped quoted to scope
Stand Up and Growth have fixed prices, so your bid is instant. Custom work is reviewed by Chris, who gets in touch to talk it through. See plans
A real agency, not a tool
BrightLocal and Semrush sell software and dashboards. Untap Web does the work: your Google Business Profile, your listings, your schema and your county pages, every month, in the Midwest markets we serve.
AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews draw on the same local signals when they answer who to call: structured data, reviews and clear local pages. The same work serves the map pack and AI answers.
What is included in local SEO
Growth: monthly seo. Stand Up: seo done at build only.
- Google Business Profile
- Managed monthly on Growth; not included on Stand Up
- SEO work
- Monthly SEO on Growth: one targeted blog post a month aimed at a local search you want to win, plus Google Business Profile management. SEO done at build only on Stand Up.
- Location pages
- Within your page budget, built from U.S. Census data on Growth; within your page budget on Stand Up
- Name, address and phone
- Assisted updates on Growth; guided checklist on Stand Up
- Rich results schema
- FAQPage, BlogPosting, Article, Person, AggregateRating, Offer, ItemList
- Blog posts
- 1 per month, aimed at a local search you want to win and written to be cited in AI answers (Growth)
- Launch performance standard
- Lighthouse 95+ performance; 100 accessibility, best practices and SEO. Details in the Service Agreement, section 4.6.
Local SEO deliverables
What Growth covers, grouped. Setup items go live at launch; the blog post and profile management run every month.
Google Business Profile
- Full profile setup and ongoing management
- Posts, photo strategy and Q&A monitoring
- Category optimization and service descriptions
- Review response guidance
Listings and schema
- Audit and cleanup of your business listings
- LocalBusiness schema with ZIP-code service areas
- On-page local SEO: local headings, meta tags and links
Content and pages
- County and service pages with local census data
- A monthly blog post aimed at a local search you want to win
Not included
- Guaranteed rankings. No one controls Google's results.
- Ongoing SEO on Stand Up. On-page SEO, schema, speed and local targeting set up at launch. No ongoing SEO after launch.
- Pages beyond your plan's page budget. They are quoted in your bid.
- Social media management. It is an add-on, quoted in your bid.
How long does local SEO take to work?
There is no fixed date: results depend on your market, your competitors and your reviews. This is the order the work happens in.
- 1
Audit
Your profile, listings, site and competitors reviewed, and the fixes put in order.
Month 1
- 2
Fix the foundation
Profile completed, listings corrected, schema and location pages live.
Months 1 to 2
- 3
Monthly SEO
One targeted blog post and Google Business Profile management.
Every month on Growth
Local SEO cost compared with an agency
Published agency prices, with sources, next to ours.
| Cost | Typical agency | Untap Web |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing local SEO | Agency SEO retainers typically run $2,000 to $20,000 per month.1 | Monthly SEO is included in Growth at $649/mo ($599/mo on a 2-year term), with the website. Stand Up has seo done at build only. |
| Keeping it maintained | Agency website maintenance typically runs $300 or more per month.2 | Included in the monthly price on every plan. |
Ongoing local SEO
- Typical agency
- Agency SEO retainers typically run $2,000 to $20,000 per month.1
- Untap Web
- Monthly SEO is included in Growth at $649/mo ($599/mo on a 2-year term), with the website. Stand Up has seo done at build only.
Keeping it maintained
- Typical agency
- Agency website maintenance typically runs $300 or more per month.2
- Untap Web
- Included in the monthly price on every plan.
- 1. Clutch (2026), accessed October 2026: clutch.co/seo-firms/pricing
- 2. FitSmallBusiness (2025), accessed October 2026: fitsmallbusiness.com/website-costs
Plans
Plans from $199/mo, no setup fee.
SEO is set up at launch on every plan. Monthly SEO is part of Growth.
Local search results from featured client sites
Measured results with their dates, from Google Search Console and Lighthouse.
All featured work
Stucky's Garage Doors
Wentzville, MO
- Plan
- Stand Up
- Trade
- Garage door repair
- Scope
- Site rebuild, 3 county location pages
- Mobile speed
- Lighthouse performance 17 before, 97 after
B. Woody's Tree Service
St. Charles, MO
- Plan
- Stand Up
- Trade
- Tree service
- Scope
- Site rebuild, 2 county location pages
- Mobile speed
- Lighthouse performance 53 before, 96 after
Local SEO services by county
Each county page targets searches specific to that market, with local census data. In our home market that includes St. Louis, O'Fallon, St. Charles, St. Peters, and Florissant, and every other city across the St. Louis metro.
Illinois
Iowa
Nebraska
Ohio
Questions owners ask before hiring a local SEO agency
How much does local SEO cost for a small business?
Monthly SEO is included in Growth at $649/mo ($599/mo on a 2-year term), with a $0 setup fee: one targeted blog post a month aimed at a local search you want to win, plus Google Business Profile management. Stand Up has seo done at build only, with no ongoing SEO after launch. Agency SEO retainers typically start around $2,000 a month (Clutch, 2026). Growth includes monthly SEO with your website from $599/mo.
How long does it take to see results from local SEO?
It depends on your market, your competitors and your reviews, so we don't promise a date. Profile and listing fixes go in during the first month or two, then the work compounds month by month.
What do you do every month for $649?
One targeted blog post a month aimed at a local search you want to win, written to be cited in AI answers, plus Google Business Profile management (categories, services, photos, posts and Q&A). Schema, listings and county pages are set up at launch and kept current.
What is the difference between local SEO and regular SEO?
Regular SEO targets the blue-link results. Local SEO targets the Google map pack and the local knowledge panel, where the factors differ: proximity, how complete your Google Business Profile is, reviews, consistent listings and local landing pages. We build for both.
Do you manage Google Business Profile?
Yes, on Growth. We handle categories, service areas, service descriptions, posts, photos, Q&A monitoring and review response guidance. For most local service businesses the profile is the most important local SEO asset.
How does AI search change local SEO?
AI answer engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews now answer local service questions too. They draw on structured data, reviews and clear local content, the same signals behind map pack rankings, so our schema and content work serves both.
Answered by Chris Melson, Founder & CEO.
Find out why competitors rank above you.
Pick a plan and the features you need, and see the price before the first call.
Stand Up and Growth have fixed prices, so your bid is instant. Custom work is reviewed by Chris, who gets in touch to talk it through.