Why local services run at ×0.65

Three reasons the multiplier drops to 0.65 from the ×1.15 SaaS base:

  • Smaller query radius — one city, 5–15 commercially relevant prompts, not a 60-prompt national cluster
  • Simpler schema — LocalBusiness or its subtypes (Attorney, MedicalOrganization, RealEstateAgent, Dentist) are well-defined with clear required fields
  • Thinner AEO competition — most local competitors have not started AEO yet; the prompt cluster is uncontested

That puts a single-city dental clinic on $580 / month for the Starter audit, $1,560 / month for Growth, $3,120 / month for Scale. Enterprise is rarely the right tier for local — economics do not justify it.

Where the AI surface differs

Local services are voice-first. The buyer is in their kitchen asking “good orthodontist near me” or in their car asking “contract lawyer for small business”. The AI surface that returns those answers is different from a B2B AEO/GEO programme:

  • Google Local AIO — Google’s AI Overview for local intent, surfaces from the Local Pack. Schema-driven.
  • Voice (Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa) — pulls from Local Pack and structured data.
  • ChatGPT and Perplexity — minor role for local services, growing but still secondary in 2026.

The structural recipe is the same — Quick Facts, H2-as-question, FAQ direct answer ≤30 words — but the schema is more important and the prompt cluster is shorter.

The schema layer for local

Pick the most specific subtype and fully populate it. For a dental clinic that is Dentist (not LocalBusiness parent type). Required fields:

  • name, address (PostalAddress), telephone, url
  • geo (latitude / longitude)
  • openingHours or openingHoursSpecification
  • hasMap (link to Google Maps listing)
  • priceRange ($, $$, $$$)
  • paymentAccepted
  • aggregateRating only if you have real reviews
  • medicalSpecialty (for medical), practiceArea (for legal), serviceArea

Per practitioner, deploy schema.org Person with sameAs to LinkedIn, professional registry, and where possible — a published interview or named directory listing.

What we do not over-deliver

Local services do not need 60 tracked prompts or 7 LLM platforms. We track:

  • 10–15 prompts per location
  • 3 surfaces (Google Local AIO, voice, ChatGPT)
  • 3–5 named local competitors

That is sufficient for the niche. Over-tooling a single-city dentist would burn budget the engagement does not have.

When the multiplier rises to 1.0×

Premium local runs at base, not discounted. Three categories:

  • Luxury real estate — high-AOV, longer sales cycle, more LLM-research before contact
  • Cosmetic surgery and high-end aesthetics — higher LTV, YMYL filtering applies
  • Top-tier corporate law — single-jurisdiction but enterprise-class lead value

These pay base SaaS rate (×1.15) or higher because the lead value carries the chék.

What you should ship this month

If you are a local clinic, single-jurisdiction firm or local agency without a Google Business Profile and structured schema — that is the cheapest fix and you can do it without us in two weekends.

If you have those layers and want to start AEO seriously: the Starter audit at $580 / month for three months gives you the punch-list. From there, Growth at $1,560 / month for six months is the right sustained engagement for a clinic with 5–15 staff or a multi-location agency.

What does not work for local

  • Mass-market content marketing — no national-keyword volume justifies it
  • AI-generated reviews — penalised hard by both Google and the AI extractors
  • Generic “we serve [list of 50 cities]” pages — diluted, ignored
  • Unverified Person bios — even at ×0.65 you need real names with verifiable profiles