James Dooley speaks with Paul Truscott about what drives local SEO rankings in 2026. Paul breaks down Google’s three-part ranking model for local websites: topicality for relevance, quality for sitewide strength, and popularity for real user signals like branded searches and long clicks. They discuss semantic SEO vs keyword matching, how internal linking and site focus affect performance, and why bloated blogs can cause topic dilution. Paul also explains how SERP features like People Also Ask and People Also Search For reveal intent, plus why small local businesses can win by using real, location-led experience.