What local SEO is
Local SEO is the discipline of ranking in Google's local search surfaces: the map pack, "near me" queries, and local-intent organic results. It is distinct from classical SEO because the ranking signals are location-biased.
The three ranking factors
Google's own documentation names three: (1) Relevance (does your GBP category match the query), (2) Distance (how close you are to the searcher), (3) Prominence (reviews, citations, inbound links). Nothing has displaced this framework.
Google Business Profile is the center of gravity
A complete, actively-posted GBP outperforms a sparse one by a large margin. Posts weekly, categories chosen precisely, services listed, Q&A answered, photos refreshed, reviews responded to.
Review velocity beats review volume
A business with 200 reviews and 2 new ones per month looks dead. A business with 80 reviews and 6 new ones per month looks alive. Google weights velocity.
Where AEO sits on top
AEO uses many of the same signals plus structured data and entity-building. The two reinforce each other: strong local SEO improves AEO; strong AEO (branded search growth) improves local SEO. Running them together is the compound play.