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
Fired Google Raters replaced w/ AI? SEO Tools are just tools, Hidden Gems & decline of Big Social
Will Fired Google Raters Be Replaced with AI?
Last week Google terminated their relationship with one of the companies responsible for rating the quality of websites. Certainly Google h…
SGE NOT the Future, GBP End Days? Google Chooses Sizzle over Steak?
SGE has huge impacts but is still just a testing ground:
Some industries, like healthcare, are impacted by Google’s SGE (search generative experience) than others with 76% of queries a…
LSA Scam & Honest Businesses, Google Created a Shitty Internet? Generative AI & its Impact on Google
How the Google Guarantee Scam Impacts Honest Businesses?
The Google Guarantee Scam is frequently perpetrated by groups of foreign nationals working in relative anonymity and looking for …
Exposing the Google Local Service Ads Scam in Home Services: A Marketer's Insight
Join us in this eye-opening discussion with Zachary Dotson, an experienced marketer in the home services industry, as he sheds light on a rampant scam in Google Local Service Ads. Learn…
Businesses & Google SGE, Google Goes All in On Interstitials, Where is Bard Going?
What Should Businesses Do About Google SGE?
Google has not yet announced any concrete plans for the future of Search Generative Experience (SGE), and it is unclear how it will evolve in…
The Google Review Fraud Landscape in Maps & LSA and How a Business Should Respond
The Google Review Fraud Landscape in Maps & LSA and How a Business Should Respond:
Google Review Fraud Landscape (10:17):
- Estimates that 18% of reviews across various platforms are fak…
Will Google's Reactive Behavior to Search Quality & AI Solve Their Problems?
Will Google's Reactive Behavior to Search Quality & AI Solve Their Problems?
- Google is struggling to adapt to the changing market dynamics, including the rise of AI, TikTok, and criticis…
Can Gemini Fix Search? The Impact of Google’s Rating Bias, LSA Reviewjacking
Can Gemini Fix Search?
Google’s current interface and attempts at query refinement are largely broken. Google’s new Gemini upgrade to SGE appears to offer advanced search query refineme…
How Local SEO Agencies are using Generative AI & ChatGPT: Tips, tactics and strategies
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…
Google’s newest search features, Whitespark: Reviews by category, Fake review enforcement failures
Google’s Newest Search Features: “Whipped cream on S.H. I. .T”.?
While Google's new features aim to enhance user interaction and personalize the search experience, they may not address b…
GMaps Immersive directions, Citations & Local Search, The GBP new small business attribute
Google Maps from useful to bloat?
Google Maps continues to add new features and functionality and as it has become a primary search engine for Google and its forward facing brand it has …
Lessons in Building and Marketing a Consumer Brand
“Running a startup is like being in a knife fight,” BeanBox Co-Founder and CEO Matthew Berk unexpectedly says, as he describes the arduous but rewarding journey from the world of SaaS t…
GBP Call History returns, Local Trust Report, SGE Where now?
GBP Call History’s History - What does it say about Google?
Google Business Profile Call History has been problematic from the start because it made the business of calling a business mo…
Bulk Dashboard Comeback?, GBP listing cleanup, Alternatives to Google search
Bulk Dashboard Comeback?, GBP listing cleanup, Alternatives to Google search
Segment 1 Title (100 chars): Will GBP rescue the multi-location Business Profile Manager dashboard from the …
So Clicks are a ranking signal? Google Comments on Review Fraud, Bard enhanced with extensions
“Clicks Are Not a ranking signal” except that they are:
If we have learned anything over the years with Google it is that you need to take with a huge grain of salt. While they might n…
High Impact Content Marketing in the Age of AI
What Is Content?:
Purna Virji and I discuss what motivated her to write the book, how she defines “content” and why she took a very expansive approach to content strategy and marketin…
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…
Google Anit-trust case unlikely to change anything, GBP deduping form, Searchers go deep in the SERPS
Upcoming Google Anit-trust case unlikely to change much of anything:
Google’s antitrust case is starting next week. Google filed for a summary judgment and some of the issues were decid…
Do searchers goto the Local Finder?, How many links does a local website need? Google's BS around creating great content
Local SEOs wonder whether searchers actually enter the Local Finder from the Pack results. We often think no but our research indicates that not only do searchers enter the Local Finder…
SMBs search to find services, GBP supports bends to European regs, No copyright for AI
How SMBs buy services:
Despite what we may think, neither word of mouth nor social are how small and very small businesses buy payment solutions. Search was where it was at. This surve…