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.
Episodes
274 episodes
Tactics for Building a Local Brand in the Age of AI Search — An Agency Panel
Four agency operators join Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal to close out the Near Memo brand-building series: Paula French (Search Influence), Joy Hawkins (Sterling Sky), Andrew Shotland (Local SEO Guide), and Matt McGee (SEO Savvy Agent). It'...
AI Overviews, Brand Search & Local SEO: Cyrus Shepard on Earning the Click - from the archives
We're on vacation this week, so we're re-running one of our favorite April conversations. It still speaks to our current series on brand in local, and a live panel on local digital brand strategy follows next week.Cyrus Shepard (founder...
Legal Marketing in the AI Era: LSAs, Reviews, and Manufacturing Brand Demand
Part 3 of the Near Memo brand-building series brings brand down to earth in professional services — specifically legal, where a client hires once in a lifetime, can't judge quality, and every ad on the screen looks identical. Gyi Tsakalakis, co...
Cyrus Shepard Interview: What "Local Brand" Actually Means to Google and AI
Cyrus Shepard, founder of Zyppy, joins Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal for Part 2 of the Near Memo brand-building series — this time on the technical side: how Google and AI systems actually model a brand, and what a local business can do abo...
The 3-Step Trust Equation: How to Build a Local Brand That Customers (& AI) Trust
What separates a commodity local provider from a business that easily commands premium pricing? In this kickoff to our four-part brand series, Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal are joined by marketing pioneer John Jantsch.John details...
Ep. 264: Web Authenticity & The Agentic Future of the SMB Website with Raj Singh
Are traditional websites dying, or are they just changing shapes? Hosts Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal catch up with serial entrepreneur and Mozilla VP of Product Raj Singh to discuss how AI search friction is changing the local web. Learn w...
Beyond the Star Rating: Extracting Strategic Content Insights from Customer Feedback
Local SEO strategy often gets stuck playing a quantitative numbers game with review counts and velocity benchmarks. But what happens when you treat the collective text of your market's customer reviews as an ongoing, free focus group? Thi...
Ep. 262: Regulating the Digital Wild West: Inside the FTC’s Battle Against Review Fraud and AI Deception with Michael Atleson
What happens when federal regulators take on fake reviews and predatory AI applications? This week on NearMemo, Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal host Michael Atleson, former Senior Attorney at the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices ...
Google Maps' AI Shift: Why Brand Building, Reviews & Social Presence Are the New Local SEO
Are your local search frameworks ready for a probabilistic, AI-driven Map interface? This week, Greg, Mike, and local search practitioner Craig Burton map out the massive influx of automated algorithmic categorization structures rolling across ...
Goodbye Traffic, Hello Sales: The New Playbook for Local SEO Visibility
How do you build brand permanence in a local market when web attribution metrics are fading? This week, we dive into Part 2 of our post-Google I/O masterclass with Cindy Krum, Krystal Taing, and Greg Gifford. The panel shifts completely f...
What Does I/O Mean for Marketers with Cindy Krum, Gregg Gifford & Krystal Tang - Part 1
The rules of user discovery are undergoing a massive rewrite. This week, the Near Media roundtable features top search minds Cindy Krum, Krystal Taing, and Greg Gifford to analyze the long-term strategic impacts of Google I/O and Google M...
From Keyword Rankings to Brand Reverence: The New Local AI SEO Blueprint
In this Duda webinar, Darren Shaw and Mike Blumenthal explore the paradigm shift occurring in local search as Google increasingly incorporates generative AI into Google Business Profiles and Google Maps. Through new features like "Know Be...
Google Already Knows Everything About You — And Their New AI Features Make It Worse
Google just revealed the future of Search at Google I/O and Google Marketing Live — and it’s far more personal, predictive, and invasive than most people realize.In this episode of Near Memo, Mike Blumenthal and Greg Sterling break down:...
The Death of Keywords: How Google’s Personal Intelligence is defining the future of Local Search
In Part 2 of Near Media’s conversation with Garrett Sussman, the discussion shifts from AI personalization theory to the real-world impact on local search, SEO, reviews, attribution, and marketing strategy.Garrett joins Greg Sterling and...
How Google’s Personal Intelligence is Quietly Revolutionizing Your Search Results
Is Google getting too personal? In this episode of the Near Memo, Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal are joined by Garrett Sussman (iPullRank) to discuss his provocative 12-month study on AI personalization. We dive deep into how Google’s "AI Mo...
Google Ask Maps Deep Dive: The Future of Local SEO & AI Search
Join our celebrity local SEO panel—Claudia Tomina, Adam Dorfman, and Darren "The Canadian" Shaw—as they explore "Ask Maps," Google’s AI-powered conversational interface for local search. We demo the new desktop UI, discuss how hyper-personaliza...
Review Fraud, FTC Fines, and Yelp’s Legal Strike
Greg and Mike discuss the shifting landscape of local search. From the FTC’s latest crackdown on incentivized reviews to Yelp’s attempt to fast-forward their antitrust case against Google using recent federal rulings. We also explore the expans...
Google Reviews Crackdown, Meta vs Google, and the AI Search Shift (What Marketers Are Missing)
Google just changed the rules on reviews—and businesses may already be getting penalized. Meanwhile, Meta is projected to overtake Google in ad revenue, despite ongoing legal battles and ethical concerns.In this episode, Mike ...
Google Lied About Click Data — Here’s What Actually Drives Rankings in 2026
This episode explores how Google actually uses click data (despite years of denial) and how that reality intersects with the rise of AI Overviews. Cyrus Shepherd connects the dots between antitrust trial revelations, API leaks,...
AI, Reviews & Intent Pages: What Actually Drives Multi-Location SEO Now (Part 2)
In Part 2, Steve Wiideman joins Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal to cut through the AI hype and explain what’s actually working in multi-location SEO today.Despite growing attention on AI ...
Multi-Location SEO: What Actually Works (And What Doesn’t) Part 1
What does it really take to scale SEO across hundreds (or thousands) of locations?In this episode of the Near Memo, Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal are joined by Steve Wiideman to unpack the operational, strategic, and technical realit...
State of Google Business Profile 2026: Impressions Are Down 54%—But Actions Aren’t
Google Business Profile impressions are dropping fast—but conversions aren’t.In this Near Memo episode, Greg Sterling, Mike Blumenthal, and Adam Dorfman unpack BirdEye’s latest data and explore what’s really changing in local search....
From the Archives: Local Search Ranking Factors — Darren Shaw on Reviews, AI Search & What Drives Local Rank
In this archive episode of the Near Memo podcast, Darren Shaw of Whitespark joins Mike Blumenthal, Greg Sterling, and David Mihm to discuss the influential Local Search Ranking Factors study.The panel breaks down how...
How should agencies build a business around Google Local Service Ads (LSAs)?
In this episode of the Near Memo podcast, Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal host a panel discussion with Eric Levine (Leadwise HQ, former Google LSA team), Claudia Tomina (Reputation Arm), Matt Casady (Sterling Sky), and Crystal Horto...
AI, Strong-Arm Tactics & a Shifting Review Landscape Are Reshaping Local Search
Google AI & Click Economics Google is replacing structured GBP data with AI-generated summaries, nudging users into AI Mode, and expanding monetization pathways. Aleyda Solis’ study and Near Media research show ads — espe...