Local Marketing Beat: AI Search, GEO & Multi-Location Marketing

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Local Marketing Beat is a podcast for enterprise and multi-location marketers navigating the shift to AI-driven local search, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and customer experience at scale. Hosted by Christian Hustle and brought to you by Uberall, each episode features candid conversations with industry leaders, platform experts, and operators shaping how businesses are discovered, recommended, and chosen in a world where AI answers replace traditional search results. We break down how AI search actually works, what signals matter for visibility and trust, and how brands should adapt their local marketing, reputation, and location strategies to stay competitive. Topics include AI search and GEO, Google Business Profiles, reviews and sentiment, local visibility, and real-world examples from enterprise brands. If you’re responsible for local growth, digital strategy, or customer experience across multiple locations, Local Marketing Beat helps you understand what’s changing — and what to do next. New episodes drop regularly. Follow the show and stay ahead of the shift in local discovery.

  1. May 13 ·  Video

    How to Manage Search, Sentiment, and Scale for Restaurant Brands and Franchises

    In this episode, Christian Hustle and Ari Nahmani, CEO and founder of Kahena, explore how large restaurant brands and franchise operators can win at local search in an AI-driven world. They break down how the customer discovery journey has shifted away from brand websites toward third-party platforms like DoorDash, Yelp, and OpenTable — and what that means for search strategy. They also cover why review velocity and sentiment have become outsized signals for both Google's diversity update and LLM training, how to build location pages that convert rather than just inform, and why A/B testing at the location level is one of the most underused tools available to multi-location brands. They wrap up with a frank assessment of what breaks first at scale — and why reviews, not data hygiene, are now the hardest thing to manage across hundreds or thousands of locations. 👤 Guest Info Ari Nahmani – CEO and founder of Kahena https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinahmani/ 🧭 Key Concepts Covered - How the customer discovery journey has fragmented across delivery and review aggregators - Branded vs. non-branded search: what the balance looks like for large restaurant chains - Why AI search query fan-out creates new non-brand ranking opportunities - Local landing pages V2: what best-in-class location pages include beyond address and hours - A/B testing at scale: how to test category changes, descriptions, and page layouts across location subsets - Google's diversity update and why it's making reviews more critical than ever for big chains - NFC tap cards and post-purchase triggers: practical tactics to increase review velocity - How review responses train LLMs — and why your USP language needs to be consistent everywhere - What breaks first at scale: reviews, technical errors, and the risk of rolling out changes too fast 🕒 Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Kahena and Ari's Background 01:22 How the Customer Discovery Journey Has Changed 04:35 Branded vs. Non-Branded Search for Restaurant Chains 07:10 The Opportunity in Near Me and Long-Tail Local Search 09:28 Local Landing Pages: What V2 Looks Like 13:46 A/B Testing Strategies Across Locations 17:00 Optimising Location Pages for Conversion 21:16 Sentiment, Reviews and the Diversity Update 24:00 How Reviews Feed AI Search and LLM Training 28:06 What Breaks First at Scale 🔗 Resources - Discover Kahena: https://kahena.com - Discover Location Performance Optimization: https://uberall.com/en-us/products/location-performance-optimization - Meet UB-I: https://get.uberall.com/ub-i/ - Get GEO & LPO Certified at Uberall Academy: https://academy.uberall.com/ - Follow Kahena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kahena-digital-marketing/

    32 min

  2. May 5 ·  Video

    How to Scale Social Media Content Across Hundreds of Franchise Locations

    In this episode, Christian Hustle and Melissa Telsrow, President and co-founder of Hiper, explore how multi-location brands can scale authentic social media content that drives real-world discovery. They explain why top franchise systems are winning by moving away from "waterfall" corporate content and instead empowering local operators to share original, unpolished stories that build consumer trust. They also cover the rise of "interest media" on platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts, the growing importance of Employee-Generated Content (EGC), and why technical SEO must be paired with hyper-local storytelling to create a true multiplier effect. They wrap up with practical strategies for building a content framework that balances automated scale with local autonomy to stay competitive in an AI-driven search landscape. 👤 Guest Info Melissa Telsrow – President and co-founder of Hiper 🧭 Key Concepts Covered How AI is reshaping "near me" searches and local discovery The shift from keywords to interest-based discovery on TikTok and Shorts Why "unpolished" native content outperforms professional photography by 55% The Rise of EGC: Using employee-generated content to build brand humanization Collaborator Strategy: Using Instagram Reels and geotagging for local proximity search How to build a three-pronged scaling system: Baseline, Templates, and Managed Service The "Waterfall" Trap: Why cascading national content to local pages hurts engagement Leveraging Facebook as a secondary local SEO powerhouse Establishing brand guardrails to empower local operator creativity 🕒 Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Hiper Multi-Location Marketing 01:19 Understanding Consumer Behavior in the Age of AI 03:39 The Role of Social Media in Search and Discovery 06:46 Leveraging User-Generated and Employee-Generated Content 09:45 Building Trust with Authentic Content 12:00 Strategies for Scaling Content Across Multiple Locations 16:06 Common Mistakes in Franchise Marketing 19:46 The Importance of Authenticity in Content Creation 🔗 Resources Discover Hiper: https://hiperlocalmarketing.com Discover Location Performance Optimization: https://uberall.com/en-us/products/location-performance-optimization Meet UB-I: https://get.uberall.com/ub-i/ Get GEO & LPO Certified at Uberall Academy: https://academy.uberall.com/ Follow Hiper on Social: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiperlocalmarketing/

    22 min

  3. Mar 24 ·  Video

    How CMOs should reallocate budget in 2026

    David breaks down 3 moves every marketing leader should make right now: 1. Align your content, comms, and PR strategy around a North Star that reflects where the market actually is today 2. Build your prompt universe. The questions and topics that drive real elasticity and scalable growth 3. The third one? Best to hear this one from David himself 👀 Watch the full episode on YouTube

    28 sec

  4. Mar 17 ·  Video

    Why Some Brands Show Up in AI Answers (And Others Don’t) - AthenaHQ State of AI Search Report

    In this episode, Christian Hustle and Athena HQ’s David Zeledon explore how AI search is rapidly reshaping customer discovery, with predictions that up to 60–70% of traditional search traffic could shift to AI in the near future. They explain why top brands are winning by focusing on answer-driven, intent-based content and building strong signals across websites, social media, PR, and third-party sources, helping AI systems understand and recommend them more often. They also cover new performance metrics like Share of Voice and ROI per prompt, the growing importance of blogs and YouTube for AI visibility, and why brands must rethink success beyond clicks. They wrap up with practical strategies for adapting content, aligning teams, and investing in AI search optimization (AEO/GEO) to stay competitive. 👤 Guest Info David Zeledon – Head of Growth at Athena HQ 🧭 Key Concepts Covered The shift from keywords to answers in AI search Why top brands dominate through content ecosystems and multi-channel presence How AI evaluates trust using off-site signals, mentions, and citations The growing importance of YouTube and video in training AI models Why blogs outperform product pages as AI entry points How zero-click behavior is evolving into answer-first journeys New AI-era KPIs: share of voice, mentions per prompt, and ROI per prompt How to map prompts to revenue using real customer insights Why industries like travel and hospitality face the biggest disruption risk How CMOs should restructure teams and budgets for GEO and AEO 🕒 Chapters 00:00 The Rise of AI Search and Traffic Decline Predictions 00:58 What Top Brands Do Differently in AI Search 03:08 From Clicks to Influence: The New Funnel 05:55 New KPIs for AI Search Success 08:45 YouTube, Context, and AI Training Data 12:24 Why Blogs Are the #1 AI Entry Point 14:02 Industries Most at Risk in AI Search 15:09 GEO Strategy for CMOs in 2026 17:06 Final Takeaways and Where to Follow 🔗 Resources Discover GEO Studio: https://uberall.com/en-us/products/geo-studio Discover Location Performance Optimization: https://uberall.com/en-us/products/lo... Meet UB-I: https://get.uberall.com/ub-i/ Get GEO & LPO Certified at Uberall Academy: https://academy.uberall.com/ Learn more about Athena HQ: https://athenahq.ai/ David Zeledon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-zeledon/ State of AI Seach 2026 Athena HQ Report: https://athenahq.ai/athena-state-of-ai-full-report

    18 min

  5. Feb 26 ·  Video

    How Brands Optimize for AI Shopping Agents in 2026

    This episode explores how AI agents are reshaping online shopping, SEO, and the digital customer journey. Host Christian Hustle sits down with Jes Scholz, Growth Marketing Consultant, Keynote Speaker, and SEO Writer, to unpack how agentic search is redefining what it means for brands to be optimized in 2026. From AI agents that can shop for users to the new standards like Web MCP, this episode reveals why site design, schema, and measurement frameworks must evolve and how brands can stay discoverable when clicks disappear and agents do the buying. 👤 Guest Info Jes Scholz – Growth Marketing Consultant, Keynote Speaker & SEO Writer 🧭 Key Concepts Covered - How AI agents are transforming the shopping experience - Why pretty design can break usability for both humans and AI - The role of site speed, simplicity, and UI in agentic discoverability - Understanding Web MCP and the new “API-first” website standard - How to measure success in a world without clicks or impressions - The rebirth of share of voice as the true marketing KPI - Why agentic search may favor market leaders — and how challengers can compete - The future of AI SEO and why metrics must give way to meaningful KPIs 🕒 Chapters 00:00 AI Agents and the Future of Shopping 01:27 Why Websites Are Failing Both Users and Agents 03:35 The Hidden Cost of "Pretty" Design 05:34 Introducing Web MCP: APIs for the Agentic Web 07:21 Will Brand Loyalty Survive AI Shopping? 09:38 How to Compete with Market Leaders in AI Search 13:09 GEO, AI SEO, and What We Should Call It 14:48 Tracking Success Beyond Clicks and Sessions 18:41 Why Data Silos Kill True Insight 21:23 How CMOs Should Set AI SEO Priorities 23:40 Tracking the Correlation Between AI Visibility and Market Share 🔗 Resources Get GEO & LPO Certified at Uberall Academy: https://academy.uberall.com/ Discover Location Performance Optimization: https://uberall.com/en-us/products/lo... Meet UB-I: https://get.uberall.com/ub-i/ Follow Jes Scholz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesscholz/ Read SEO Brief on Substack: https://seobrief.substack.com/

    25 min

  6. Feb 23 ·  Video

    Boosting AI Search Visibility: Why Video Matters for Your Brand

    Not every brand needs to go viral. But every brand needs to be visible. In our latest Local Marketing Beat episode, Cindy Krum breaks down how video is your brand’s “proof of life” online and builds trust across AI search.

    17 sec

  7. Feb 11 ·  Video

    How Brands Should Use Video Content to Build Trust and Stand Out in AI Search

    This episode dives into how brands can build trust and visibility beyond their websites in the era of AI-powered search. Host Christian Hustle sits down with Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, to unpack how AI overviews, video content, and authentic engagement are rewriting the rules of SEO and brand discovery. Explore how video (both long-form and short-form) can help brands appear in AI results, how Google and social platforms rank multimedia content, and why “proof of life” across the web now matters more than backlinks. 👤 Guest Info Cindy Krum – CEO & Founder of MobileMoxiePioneer in mobile-first SEO, AI discoverability, and video-driven brand strategy. 🧭 Key Concepts Covered - Why AI search is the next frontier of SEO - How video content increases brand trust and AI visibility - The shift from websites to brand ecosystems - “Proof of life” signals: real humans, real engagement - How TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are influencing search behavior - What AI overviews mean for brand mentions and authenticity - The importance of transcripts, engagement, and context in ranking - How to repurpose long-form video into shorts using AI tools - Why low production value content can perform better than polished ads 🕒 Chapters 00:00 Building Brand Trust in the Age of AI Search 02:54 The Evolution of Mobile SEO and AI 05:08 Leveraging Video for Brand Authenticity 08:14 The Impact of TikTok on Brand Discovery 10:37 Creating Trust Across Digital Platforms 12:44 The Role of Video in Modern Marketing 14:59 Navigating AI and Content Creation 18:00 Putting Authentic Video Into Practice 🔗 Resources Get GEO & LPO Certified at Uberall Academy: https://academy.uberall.com/ Discover Location Performance Optimization: https://uberall.com/en-us/products/lo... Meet UB-I: https://get.uberall.com/ub-i/ Cindy Krum on Twitter/X: https://x.com/Suzzicks MobileMoxie: https://mobilemoxie.com

    22 min

  8. Jan 30 ·  Video

    From Blue Links to LLMs: The End of SEO as We Know It

    In this episode, Christian Hustle sat down with James Hocking from Hocking Digital to unpack how structured data, attribution, and adaptive local SEO can keep your brand ahead in AI-driven discovery. 📍Chapters: 00:00 The rise of AI in Local SEO 02:32 Understanding LLMs and Their Impact on SEO 05:05 The Importance of Schema and Data Structure 08:03 Device and Location Influence on Search Behaviour 10:40 Content Strategy for AI and LLMs 12:54 Internal Linking and Discoverability 15:34 Key Takeaways for Brands in the AI Era 🔑 Key Takeaways: 1. AI models prioritize content quality, freshness, and context over traditional SEO tactics like internal linking. 2. Search results now shift based on where and how users search, making localized and mobile-first strategies essential. 3. Evergreen pieces still build authority, but brand pages need regular updates to stay relevant to AI-driven algorithms. 4. The new SEO is dynamic and data-driven, blending structured content, local insights, and AI-ready optimization. 💡 Learn more: Get LPO Certified at Uberall Academy: https://academy.uberall.com/ Discover Location Performance Optimization: https://uberall.com/en-us/products/location-performance-optimization Meet UB-I: https://get.uberall.com/ub-i/ Learn more about Get Heard: https://getheard.online/

    23 min
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About

Local Marketing Beat is a podcast for enterprise and multi-location marketers navigating the shift to AI-driven local search, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and customer experience at scale. Hosted by Christian Hustle and brought to you by Uberall, each episode features candid conversations with industry leaders, platform experts, and operators shaping how businesses are discovered, recommended, and chosen in a world where AI answers replace traditional search results. We break down how AI search actually works, what signals matter for visibility and trust, and how brands should adapt their local marketing, reputation, and location strategies to stay competitive. Topics include AI search and GEO, Google Business Profiles, reviews and sentiment, local visibility, and real-world examples from enterprise brands. If you’re responsible for local growth, digital strategy, or customer experience across multiple locations, Local Marketing Beat helps you understand what’s changing — and what to do next. New episodes drop regularly. Follow the show and stay ahead of the shift in local discovery.

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