--- title: "Stephen Sumner | Local SEO, Legal Sector & AI Search" description: "Stephen Sumner: 27+ years in search, with a focus on local SEO, the legal sector and AI search visibility. Founder of Local SEO Ltd. Projects, experience and writing." author: Stephen Sumner canonical: https://stephensumner.com/ --- # Stephen Sumner | Local SEO, Legal Sector & AI Search Canonical: https://stephensumner.com/ # Twenty-seven years in search, *one* place for all of it. I'm Stephen Sumner, 27+ years in search and founder of Local SEO Ltd. This is my corner of the web: where I keep my projects, share what I've learned, and point to everything I'm building. [Explore the projects](#projects) [Read my writing](https://stephensumner.com/blog/) Find me ![Stephen Sumner at a whiteboard](https://stephensumner.com/img/about-whiteboard.webp) 27*+* Years in search Featured & published in ![Search Engine Land](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/search-engine-land.webp) ![Grit Daily](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/grit-daily.webp) ![Marketer Magazine](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/marketer-magazine.webp) ![Semrush](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/semrush.webp) ![Traffic Think Tank](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/traffic-think-tank.webp) ![Rank Ranger](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/rank-ranger.webp) ![Business 2 Community](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/b2c.webp) ![SERPWoo](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/serpwoo.webp) ![SEO Daily](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/seo-daily.webp) ![GlockApps](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/glockapps.webp) ![Sheets for Marketers](https://stephensumner.com/img/featured/sheets-for-marketers.webp) ## What I'm building. My flagship venture, with more in the works. This is where everything I build will live. [The agency I founded ### Local SEO Ltd The growth agency I founded. The name's a nod to where I started; today we pair proven, data-driven frameworks with AI-native execution to grow ambitious brands. While traditional agencies flounder, we lean into AI, hard. localseo.agency Visit site](https://localseo.agency) ## The corners of search I keep coming back to. Twenty-seven years in, these are the areas that still hold my attention: what I read about, experiment with, and write up here. ### AI Search & AEO The shift from blue links to answer engines is the thing I think about most right now: how brands stay visible inside AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity. - Answer-engine optimisation - Entity & schema strategy - LLM visibility tracking ### Legal Sector Most of my work lives in the legal space, helping law firms and legal services get found by the people who need them. - Law firm SEO - Legal content strategy - Directory visibility ### Local SEO Map packs, citations and local intent: one specialism among several, and one that rewards patience and clean, boring execution. - Citation strategy - Google Business Profile - Local landing pages ### Systems & Process I'm a bit obsessed with the repeatable process behind a result: documenting it, measuring it, and making it run without me in the room. - Documented playbooks - Reporting dashboards - Team enablement ## Some of the brands I've helped grow. ## Agencies I've worked & consulted for. In-house, on staff, or brought in to consult: teams I've helped build search programmes with over the years. ![Oban International](https://stephensumner.com/img/agencies/oban.webp) Oban International ![doublesearch](https://stephensumner.com/img/agencies/doublesearch.webp) doublesearch ![Vertical Leap](https://stephensumner.com/img/agencies/verticalleap.webp) Vertical Leap ![21six](https://stephensumner.com/img/agencies/21six.webp) 21six ![ETCH](https://stephensumner.com/img/agencies/etch.webp) ETCH ![Wallmander Co](https://stephensumner.com/img/agencies/wallmander-co.png) Wallmander Co ## What peers in the industry say. People I've worked alongside, learned from, and traded notes with over twenty-seven years in search. ![Stewart Rogers, editor, journalist and co-founder at CONFUSION&JOY](https://stephensumner.com/img/testimonials/stewart-rogers.webp) Stewart Rogers Editor, Journalist & Co-founder, CONFUSION&JOY > I've worked with Stephen since our days at a major UK agency, and he remains my absolute go-to for SEO, AEO and GEO. He was mastering search before the term SEO was even coined, and he still leads the curve as it evolves into AI discovery and agentic development. Beyond his unrivalled expertise, Stephen has fantastic values, incredible attention to detail, and is a joy to work with. ![Lee Wilson, Managing Partner at Performance Accelerate (GAIN)](https://stephensumner.com/img/testimonials/lee-wilson.webp) Lee Wilson Managing Partner, Performance Accelerate · GAIN > Stephen is highly specialised in SEO, bringing a unique set of skills outside of traditional SEO-only expertise — including an entrepreneurial mindset to approaching problem solving and creative thinking. ![Gordon Glenister, author and keynote speaker](https://stephensumner.com/img/testimonials/gordon-glenister.webp) Gordon Glenister Author & Keynote Speaker > Stephen is one of the leading lights in the world of SEO. He really knows his stuff — not only is he an able professional, he's also acutely aware of upcoming changes to Google and how they're likely to affect search. I trust his advice and opinions. ![Fredrik Johansson of Double Search AB](https://stephensumner.com/img/testimonials/fredrik-johansson.webp) Fredrik Johansson Double Search AB > Among a lot of self-proclaimed experts, Stephen is one of the few who actually is an expert in SEO/PPC. It's hard to find people with such experience, hands-on skills and passion as Stephen has for online marketing and growth. He's also a great person and really easy to work with. I highly recommend Stephen for any business in need to step up their online presence. ![Stephen Sumner working](https://stephensumner.com/img/hero-warm.webp) ## Twenty-seven years in search, *still* learning out loud. I started in search before "content marketing" had a name. Twenty-seven years on, I'm the founder of Local SEO Ltd, a growth agency built on proven, data-driven frameworks and AI-native by default (the name nods to where I started, not the limits of the work), and I've spent my career helping brands across the legal, care and commerce sectors get found. I've served on the International Steering Committee at BrightonSEO, and these days I'm most interested in two things: staying ahead as AI reshapes search, and building things of my own. This site is where I tie it all together: the projects, the experience, and the notes I write to think things through. A personal note: I left the UK for Sweden in 2013 and have been based in Gothenburg ever since — long enough to become a Swedish citizen as well as a British one, and, after more than a decade running search from here, one of the most experienced SEO specialists working in Sweden. The work travels well (it's borderless by nature), but the coffee and the quiet are firmly Scandinavian. 27*+* Years in search 300*+* Brands worked with 6 Agencies Gothenburg, Sweden, since 2013 ## Notes from the field. [Read the blog](https://stephensumner.com/blog/) [AI Search llms.txt just changed. Here is what actually matters. 7 min](https://stephensumner.com/blog/llms-txt-v2/) [Local SEO The directory moat: data, audience and AI 14 min](https://stephensumner.com/blog/business-directory-moat/) [AI Search The 120-Point AI Readiness Framework 26 min](https://stephensumner.com/blog/ai-readiness-framework/) ![Stephen Sumner](https://stephensumner.com/img/avatar.webp) ## Always up for talking *search*. Got a question, an idea, or just want to compare notes? No pitch, no agenda. I read everything myself and reply to most things. [hello@stephensumner.com](mailto:hello@stephensumner.com) Gothenburg, Sweden · working worldwide [Or find me on LinkedIn & X](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephensumner/)