The Near Memo

Send us a textClaudia Tomina joins Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal to unpack what the Google API leak reveals about local rankings, why reviews are being removed at scale, and how AI Overviews, Gemini, and agentic shopping are pushing transactions into Google’s AI interfaces. A must-listen for anyone managing a Google Business Profile in 2026.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textAI tools are changing how consumers discover local businesses, but Google remains the system of record for trust, reviews, directions, and contact. This conversation explores how AI reduces cognitive load, concentrates visibility, and amplifies brand demand—forcing local marketers to rethink SEO beyond rankings.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textLocal SEO, reviews, and Google LSAs are no longer working the way law firms expect. In this episode of Near Memo, Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync) joins Mike Blumenthal and Greg Sterling to explain why rankings and traffic are misleading, how LSAs reshape legal demand, why review cheating is rampant, and how brand trust has become the real competitive moat.If you’re relying on Google visibility alone to grow a law firm, this conversation is a wake-up call.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textGoogle’s AI Mode and ChatGPT search are reshaping local discovery. This deep dive interview with Michel van Luijtelaar of GMBapi explains what’s changing, how users behave inside AI results, and what local businesses must do now to stay visible and trusted.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textIn this episode of The Near Memo, Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal talk with Michel of GMB API about what new data reveals regarding review removals, fraud detection, incentivized reviews, and regional legal differences across Europe and the U.S.The conversation explores why reviews are increasingly central to AI-driven search experiences, how enforcement tools can unintentionally harm small businesses, and what this all means for trust, visibility, and competition in local search.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textIn this episode, Jes Scholz joins Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal for a deep dive into the forces reshaping search: AI agents, the rise of conversational interfaces, the 60/40 brand-activation model, content freshness, multimodal distribution, and why your database — not your website — may determine your competitive future.Jes explains what marketers must do now: update your content strategy, test your site with agents, fix your UX friction, and prepare your database for natural-language inputs. Essential listening for SEOs, CMOs, and local businesses navigating the next wave of digital change.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textIn this packed episode, Jes Scholz joins Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal to explore where AI search is really headed. From conversational interfaces replacing the search box to the competitive implications of Gemini 3, Jes explains why Google’s index is shrinking, why publishers must evolve, and why consensus around brand salience — not keywords — decides visibility.We also cover local search dynamics, review-based consensus modeling, multi-touch attribution myths, and how to create content that earns true distribution in 2025.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textIn this episode of the Near Memo, Mike Blumenthal and Greg Sterling unpack Google’s dramatic shift toward an AI-first search ecosystem — including the rollout of Know Before you Go in Maps, ads in the new AI Mode in Search & Maps, and the introduction oof Gemini 3 what that means for personalization and marketers.We explore:• Google Maps’ new AI-powered interfaces — including Know Before You Go and the prominent “Ask” module that pulls data from reviews, websites, and third-party sources. We discuss how Google is reshaping the local experience by elevating AI-generated insights above traditional organic content.• Google’s new reviewer aliases and their implications — from anonymity and fraud concerns to how aliases complicate trust, moderation, business intelligence, and the already-confusing review ecosystem.• Ads quietly invading AI Mode — what early experiments show about ad placement, user behavior, declining click-through rates, and Google’s likely future ad units as the AI interface becomes the top of the SERP.• Google’s monopoly strategy in the AI race — including how Google is leveraging its scale, distribution, defaults, and product integrations to push Gemini over ChatGPT, claw back market share, and extend its dominance into AI search experiences despite weak antitrust remedies.Plus: The Near Media newsletter is going free.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Local SEO expert Greg Gifford, founder of SearchLab Digital, discusses his comprehensive study of 3,000 personal injury law firms' Google Business Profiles. He reveals the key differences between #1 and #10 ranked firms, focusing on review response rates, photo uploads, and technical SEO issues. Gifford explains surprising findings around UTM tracking and the implications of distance from city centroids for rankings. The conversation also dives into the future of local search in an AI-driven world, offering valuable insights for SEO practitioners.

Send us a textLocal SEO just got a major shake-up. In this episode, Darren Shaw of Whitespark joins Mike Blumenthal, David Mihm, and Greg Sterling to reveal key takeaways from the 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors study — including how AI search, behavioral signals, and reviews are changing the local game. Hear what really moves the needle, what’s fading, and where Google, Gemini, and ChatGPT fit into your future strategy.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/