The Near Memo
Exploring the big stories for the week at the intersection of local business & marketing across the spectrum of search, social and commerce. With Greg Sterling, Mike Blumenthal & David Mihm.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 31 minutes
- Episodes
- 227
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
A Google “Pardon”?, Siri’s Search Improvements, Search from Chat GPT is Really Good
Google's Antitrust Battle: Legal and Political Shifts: As Google’s antitrust trial unfolds, recent shifts in U.S. leadership may change the tech giant’s outlook. With Trump’s election …
AI in Local SEO, Siri Finally Gets Local Search, ChatGPT's Growing User Base
AI in Local SEO: Challenges and Opportunities:
We dive into how AI is reshaping local search. Key insights from Andrew Shotland’s analysis reveal that Google’s AI overviews appear inco…
Conversation with Raj Singh, the founder of Soloist.ai, an AI-powered website builder
Introduction and Background (00:01 - 10:30)
The conversation opens with Greg Sterling introducing Raj Singh, the founder of Soloist.ai, an AI-powered website builder targeted at small bu…
Apple Expands Business Connect, Which Directories Matter?, SEMrush Acquires Search Engine Land
Apple Expands Business Connect Beyond Brick-and-Mortar:
It was announced that Apple Business Connect will now include a broader range of businesses, such as e-commerce, work-from-home, …
Google Tests AI-Organized Carousels in Local, Facebook Tests New Local Tab, Google Declines in Customer Loyalty
Google Tests AI-organized Carousels in Local Search Results for Restaurants & Bars:
Recent test search results for local businesses on Google, particularly restaurants and bars, have b…
Places Sites in US? Allure’s Ongoing Google Review Fraud Scandal, FTC Targets AI Tool Rytr for Fake Review Generation
Google's Place Sites: A Compliance Gesture or A True Shift in Search?
Google is rolling out a new feature called "Place Sites" in North America, following its initial launch in Europe a…
Search Tactics for EU Hotels, Google’s Updated Spam Guideline, When might Yelp v Google Go to Trial?
How Individual Hotels Can Win in EU Search:
Our research on hotel searches in Europe, revealed that Booking.com dominated user clicks, especially through ads, while Google's Hotel Finde…
Google tests Review Badge of Shame in UK; Google’s Antitrust Travails; SMB Marketing Disconnects
Google Testing Review Badge of Shame & More in UK for Review Abuses:
Google has rolled out a new review “badge of shame” and a new help document titled "Business Profile Restrictions fo…
EU Consumer Research in Hotel market, The impact of recent EU fines on Google, Possible remedies to prevent Google self-preferencing
Google and Booking: The Symbiotic Gatekeeper Relationship in European Hotel Search -
We dive into our recent user behavior research findings about hotel searches in Europe. We recruite…
The Google Review Fraud Landscape in Maps & LSA and How a Business Should Respond From the Vault (Ep 139)
Google Review Fraud Landscape (10:04):
- Estimates that 18% of reviews across various platforms are fake.
- Home service industries, such as locksmiths, moving companies, and HVAC, are heavil…
LSA Gets More GBP Features, Google Maps Gets Cleanup, Yelp Sues Google Over Antitrust
LSA Increasingly relying on GBP Features:
We delve into Google's ongoing “fixes” of LSA features, where reviews and booking tools for LSAs are being integrated from GBP. This move is se…
GBP Phone Hacking Problems Persist, New FTC Fake Reviews Rules, SearchGPT & the Future of Search
Google's PR Smoke and Mirrors: Old GBP Phone Hacking Problems Persist Despite Promises:
Spammers and scammers have been able to hijack business phone numbers on Google listings with alar…
The Increasing Role of Brand in SEO
The Role of Brand in Seo:
We speak with guest, Mordy Oberstein on the role of branding in SEO, particularly how it has re-emerged as a significant factor in conversions and SEO. We exp…
GBP Bugs & AI-Driven Layoff Concern, Sale of CNET & Google, Antitrust Remedy: Impact on Apple & SEO
Google's Local Business Service Woes: Persistent Bugs and AI-Driven Layoffs Spark Concern:
There have been ongoing support and technical issues with Google Business Profiles. Major bug…
MindTrip brings AI travel search, Search Shenanigans, Boost Google Local Rankings w/ Engagement?
Segment 1: OpenAI & MindTrip bring AI to search, will it matter?
Last Thursday, OpenAI made waves with an announcement about Search GPT, a prototype aimed at revamping the search experi…
Reframing how search ranking works, Google Doubles Down on Income, Voice Search Redux? w/ Cindy Krum
SEOs need to reframe how search ranking works - click thru data being the most important factor:
Click data is a cornerstone of Google’s ranking algorithm, as highlighted by recent DOJ…
How Local SEOs are using Gen AI & ChatGPT: Tips, tactics & strategies w/ Darren Shaw & Joy Hawkins
In this extended episode of the Near Memo, Greg Sterling , Joy Hawkins, Darren Shaw & Mike Blumenthal explore the role of generative AI and how it has evolved one year after CHat GPT wa…
Seattle surgeon pays $5 mil review fraud fine; Local Search increasingly shows Google GBP results
Seattle surgeon pays $5 mil fine for review fraud; What responsibility does Google have?
Allure Esthetics and its owner Dr. Java Sagan, were convicted of violating the Consumer Review Fa…
From the vault: What and why of review fraud on Google how to deal with it
The big picture of review fraud - who does it and why:
We explore the full range of review fraud from fake positive reviews, black hat negative reviews and review extortion with Curtis…
New Research: SMB web lead generation failures & how to fix
Leadferno: a better tools to capture website leads -
Leadferno is a conversion platform designed to transform website visitors into leads through seamless communication tools. Unlike tr…