171 episodes
The Near Memo Greg Sterling, Mike Blumenthal & David Mihm
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- News
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5.0 • 6 Ratings
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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.
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How Local SEOs are using Gen AI & ChatGPT: Tips, tactics & strategies w/ Darren Shaw & Joy Hawkins
Send us a Text Message.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 was released. We cover:Experiences and opinions on the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in SEO and content creation.The effectiveness of AI in different aspects of agency work, including creative tasks and data analysis.The influence of AI on the quality of content and the evolving na...
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Seattle surgeon pays $5 mil review fraud fine; Local Search increasingly shows Google GBP results
Send us a Text Message.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 Fairness Act. They forced 21,000 clients to sign agreements preventing them from leaving honest reviews and engaged in additional deceptive practices like paying for the removal of negative reviews and posting fake ones.Despite a $5 million fine, Allure Esthetics still shows high ratings on...
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From the vault: What and why of review fraud on Google how to deal with it
Send us a Text Message.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 Boyd of the Transparency Company. How widespread is it, is it growing, which categories are most likely to participate in it and why. How to deal with fake review attacks and competitors who use fake reviews: If you are an honest business can you compete in a world rife w...
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New Research: SMB web lead generation failures & how to fix
Send us a Text Message.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 traditional chatbots, Leadferno leverages SMS to facilitate human conversations, which studies show is the preferred communication channel for most people. It’s floating CTAs (Call-to-Actions) on websites encourage visitors to start conversations via text messaging. This approach helps...
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Expanding Local Results in SERPS, Cluttered SERP Reduce Organic Traffic, AI Overviews Worsen Search
Send us a Text Message.Google Expanding Local Results in the SERPS to the Exclusion of Organic: While many SEOs have been focused on AI answers and how they are disrupting search, the story in Local search is different. AI Answers have yet to have any impact in Local but Google, over the past several years has dramatically increased their control & domination of the Local SERPS with Local Entity data and in doing so seem to be in the process of banishing organic results…. this is pa...
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Rand Fishkin Interview #2: Zero Click, Regulating Google & Coping with the New SEO Reality
Send us a Text Message.In this week’s podcast we discussed the evolution of zero-click search and Rand’s upcoming study with Spark Toro's clickstream data provider, Datos, to explore the impact of AI overviews and changes in zero-click searches across different regions. Rand argued for more stringent antitrust measures, drawing parallels between Google's practices and historical monopolies that unfairly leveraged their market power to move into new markets. His call for breaking up Googl...
Customer Reviews
Unravel Local Business Marketing with The Near Memo
Greg, Mike, and David masterfully navigate the convergence of local business, marketing, and tech in The Near Memo. It's a weekly must listen with of invaluable insights for anyone looking to stay on top of the latest in local digital marketing.
Relevant, timely insights on local search
With this podcast, now it’s easier for me to stay up to date on the local search industry with its constant mergers, product updates, and evolving consumer behaviors. The hosts keep it fun and casual while explaining the history and context behind industry trends. I appreciate the different types of formats (email, podcast, blog).
For local digital marketing news/insight, put this on your shortlist
It's a privilege to listen in as these three veterans of local digital marketing riff on a handful of cherry-picked industry news stories each week. The episodes are short but substantive. And the format brings both range and relevance. The Near Memo highlights some of the most interesting and important developments in local: moves by big tech monoliths, rising new entrants in the market, and just interesting new data that comes to light. If you're going to listen to one podcast in this space, put this one on your shortlist. (Great name BTW, just search "podcast near me"!)