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.
Podcasting since 2021 • 180 episodes
The Near Memo
Latest Episodes
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 for Policy Violations," introducing...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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38:06
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 recruited 100 users each from Spain, Fra...
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36:35
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 heavily affected.<...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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45:02
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 seen as an attempt to streamline operations a...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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43:18
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 alarming ease, despite Google's assurances th...
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40:37