The Secrets Behind 17 Years of Local Marketing: Gyi Tsakalakis

The Early Roadblocks and Big Wins

Let’s be real: starting a business is never easy. Gyi opened AttorneySync in a tiny studio apartment with his business partner, talking to skeptical lawyers who claimed, “Nobody hires attorneys online.” Fast-forward to today, and the legal industry has gone from “Internet? Nah!” to “We need a strong digital presence now.”

Beyond the skepticism, Gyi also had to sort out internal business hurdles—ranging from pivoting the company model early on to learning everything there is to know about scaling an agency. Despite the challenges, he and his team stuck to their guns, iterated, and came out stronger.

Becoming a Local SEO Authority

If you’re in local SEO, you’ve probably heard of the Local Search Ranking Factors that Whitespark releases—featuring input from the world’s top SEOs. Gyi is one of those experts. He’s also been the co-host of Lunch Hour Legal Marketing for over seven years, discussing new developments in the lawyer marketing scene. You can hear his voice of authority across multiple platforms, and he’s worked hard to earn every bit of that credibility.

Local Marketing Must-Haves: Proximity, Partnerships, and Reviews

Gyi and I dived deep into what local businesses (including law firms) need to focus on most:

1. Proximity Matters
   Where your business is physically located makes a huge impact on Google Maps and Google’s local search results. If you want to dominate in certain cities or neighborhoods, consider opening multiple offices or choosing the most strategic location in the first place.

2. Local Partnerships
   When it comes to link building and driving community awareness, you can’t beat local partnerships. Gyi emphasized teaming up with local charities, sports teams, or nonprofits to build trust, get authentic links, and stand out from national competitors.

3. Reviews Can Make or Break You
   In local markets—particularly in law or home services—reviews are the ultimate conversion booster. People check the map pack and pick the highest-rated business before even thinking twice. Fake reviews are everywhere, but they’re risky and unethical. Real, high-quality testimonials are the only way to win in the long run.

Tracking and Conversion: The Agency’s Perspective

One of the biggest challenges in local marketing is proving ROI. Driving traffic is great, but if phones aren’t ringing and contact forms aren’t filled out, who cares?

• Implement Proper Tracking
  Gyi and I both stressed the need for CallRail or other call tracking tools to see exactly where leads come from. You also want unique phone numbers for different channels—Google Ads, organic, social, etc.—to identify which campaigns are really working.

• Communicate Clearly
  If your client doesn’t share how many of those calls turn into paying customers, you’re stuck in the dark. Gyi’s team handles things by setting up CRMs or tapping into existing ones to connect the dots between leads and revenue. Everyone wins when you connect the marketing data to the actual sales data.

• Regular Check-Ins and Dashboards
  Whether clients prefer monthly or weekly reports, show them live dashboards they can check any time. The most important thing is explaining the “why” behind the data—how it leads to real, measurable growth.

Scaling Smart: When and How to Add Locations

For local businesses (like law firms or pest control companies), strategically adding new office locations can be a game-changer. But you have to do it for the right reasons:

• Goal Alignment
  Are you ready to hire more people? Do you have the budget for a second space? Are you prepared to market that second location properly?

• Competitive Landscape
  If your current city is hyper-competitive, consider placing your new office in a slightly smaller market where you can dominate faster.

• Review Strategy
  That second location means building up a whole new set of five-star reviews. Don’t underestimate the time and resources that requires.

Embracing AI Without Losing the Human Touch

Right now, AI (like ChatGPT) is grabbing everyone’s attention, and Gyi believes it’s only a matter of time before it integrates more deeply with local results. Even if ChatGPT starts embedding map data, Google’s local profile system still holds a massive advantage. My takeaway? Stay aware of AI’s growth, but keep providing top-level, personalized customer experiences. The best businesses—in any industry—win on customer experience, trust, and authentic community presence.

My Key Lessons from Gyi

1. Delivering a Great Service Experience Comes First
Marketing gets easier when your clients love you—and will happily say so online.

2. Offer a Holistic Approach
SEO and ads are great, but partner them with strong follow-up and in-house processes so those leads actually convert.

3. Data Must Drive Decisions
Always set up your dashboards, track calls, and ask, “How did you find us?” whenever you close a sale.

4. Stay Nimble
Whether it’s new platforms, AI, or Google updates, those who adapt and innovate always come out on top.

Final Thoughts

My conversation with Gyi Tsakalakis was jam-packed with insights on how to thrive in local marketing—especially in the highly competitive legal space. But no matter your industry, these key principles remain the same: leverage proximity, build local trust and partnerships, generate authentic reviews, and use data to guide your next steps. Most of all, never forget the importance of real-world relationships and delivering an outstanding customer experience.

If you’re an attorney looking for a marketing partner (or any local business owner wanting a fresh strategy), definitely check out Gyi and his agency at AttorneySync. And if you’ve got questions about growing your own local business, feel free to reach out to me anytime here at Local Marketing Secrets!

P.S. Check out the full episode here: