Shows / The Near Memo
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
- The Near Memo
Bing not a G killer, Yelp research masks market share decline, Dealing with review attacks on Google Business Profiles
Send us Fan Mail Bing isn’t a Google killer but it is important for a number of other reasons: Bing’s inclusion of ChatGPT has positioned Microsoft to take…
- The Near Memo
GBP Services impact rank, Local title tag impacts on rank, Google eases review filter
Send us Fan Mail Google Business Profile services positively impact rank: In a recent test by Joy Hawkins at Sterlingsky demonstrated that having services…
- The Near Memo
Bing transformed by AI, Groceries drive Walmart upscale & Ecommerce invests in PPC & SEO
Send us Fan Mail Microsoft’s transformation of Bing with AI & some smart moves: There are now millions of people on the BingChat waitlist. And many have noted…
- The Near Memo
How digital agencies can use AI with Joy Hawkins & Kevin Indig
Send us Fan Mail In this extended episode we explore the role AI in general and ChatGPT is having on the work within digital agencies. What are the…
- The Near Memo
Own your processes, SEOs need AI for automation, AI will increase fake reviews, now what?
Send us Fan Mail ChatGPT and similar generative AI tools can write very credible reviews, very quickly and easily. The number of fake reviews could possibly…
- The Near Memo
Mailchimp Campaign Manager, Copyright implications of generative AI, GBP forums provide bug insights
Send us Fan Mail Mailchimp launched Campaign Manager, a way for marketers to plan, execute, and track their marketing campaigns across multiple channels—like…
- The Near Memo
Business Connect flawed agency model, Large agencies: Local is a fad, Technical SEO roadblocks
Send us Fan Mail Failings in Apple Business Connect Agency Model: While the Apple Business Connect Dashboard is well designed and the new API is significant…
- The Near Memo
Apple Business Connect is important, Stack ranking of employees: effective or sadistic? AI’s next step: productization
Send us Fan Mail Why the new Apple Business Connect is so important: Apple Business Connect is both a small business interface AND an API. The small business…
- The Near Memo
AG sues surgeon for review fraud, Shopify targets enterprise retail, Bing to integrate ChatGPT
Send us Fan Mail Washington AG sues plastic surgeon for review fraud: Allure, a chain of Seattle based plastic surgery centers, has been sued under the federal…
- The Near Memo
Barry Schwartz Talks All Things Google - UI, Algorithms and AI Spam
Send us Fan Mail In this 44 minute interview, David, Mike and Greg interrogate Barry Schwartz about algorithm updates, the SERP and the future of Google in an…
- The Near Memo
Age cohorts & reviews, Apple’s Business Register, Google’s Visual Elements → Search complexity
Send us Fan Mail How different age groups think about reviews: In a recent, large scale survey of attitudes and behaviors around reviews, Miriam Ellis…
- The Near Memo
ChatGPT’s impact on local, How Google’s new review filter works, Google nukes The Beam (boo!)
Send us Fan Mail How ChatGPT’s breakthrough ability to create content will significantly impact local: ChatGPT seems to provide a quantum leap in quality and…
- The Near Memo
Survey:Buying links works, Why did Alexa fail? Moderation will be at center of Sec 230 debate
Send us Fan Mail 74.3% of link builders pay for links and 89.1% of link builders say nofollow links have an impact on rankings. David reviewed a new survey of…
- The Near Memo
Google Review Bug Saga, Impact of Local Business Reviews, Google’s Missguided Store Finder
Send us Fan Mail Google has finally admitted to the bug that caused local businesses to lose all of their reviews AND rank visibility. Google appears to have…
- The Near Memo
GPB Bug Nuking Reviews, Google Review Location Surfaced, AirBnB Branding VS SEM for conversions
Send us Fan Mail Google has been on a review tear of late and many reviews are being nuked that the new filter “thinks” violates the TOS. But not all review…
- The Near Memo
Just How Prevalent Are Zero-Click Search Results? (featuring Marcus Tober of Semrush)
Send us Fan Mail Marcus Tober, SVP of Enterprise Solutions for Semrush, joins Greg and David for this episode of the Near Memo. The trio discusses Semrush’s…
- The Near Memo
Shopify disappoints on retention, SEMRush Zero Click research & Apple Maps vs Google Maps in Europe
Send us Fan Mail Description Shopify study shows much higher churn than WooCommerce, why & what are the implications? A recent study in the Mails & Globe…
- The Near Memo
Google 3-Pack: New Branded Ads, GBP Neglect, and Container Retail Models (feat. Krystal Taing)
Send us Fan Mail Krystal Taing, Director of Pre-Sales Solutions for Uberall and Google Business Profile Platinum Product Expert, joins Greg and David for this…
- The Near Memo
Whitespark’s Effort to Reach an Underserved Part of the SMB Market with Its SEO Services
Send us Fan Mail Allie Margeson, Director of SEO Services for Whitespark, joins Greg and David for this episode of the Near Memo. She takes a deeper dive into…
- The Near Memo
Near Media X NearSt: Google’s Insatiable Appetite for Local Inventory Data
Send us Fan Mail “Mike’s Excellent European Adventure” continues this week, so Nick Brackenbury, CEO of SaaS company NearSt joins Greg and David for a…
- The Near Memo
How Nerdy Nuts Co-Founder Blended Creativity, PR, Influencer Marketing, and Tiktok to Fuel Success
Send us Fan Mail This episode breaks from our typical Near Memo format in two big ways: 1) at 50 minutes, it’s roughly double the length of a typical episode…
- The Near Memo
Google goes Astroturf, iOS elevates search but fails, Search alternatives are blooming, why?
Send us Fan Mail Google doubles down on SMB deception to achieve political goals - Google recently sent out an email to its massive base of business clients…
- The Near Memo
The demise of local audiologists, Content bots for local news, Facebook shutters Neighborhoods
Send us Fan Mail On October 16th, hearing aids for folks with low to moderate hearing loss will now be sold over the counter, no longer requiring testing…
- The Near Memo
Google Quick Read- useful or Gen Z bone? Why are Google Posts rejected? Why Nextdoor needs local seo
Send us Fan Mail Google is testing a new label associated with content that is quick to read on both mobile and desktop. The label appears with either the text…
- The Near Memo
Shopify Influencer Play, Google’s Human Content Update; Why now? Google’s AI First Approach is wrong
Send us Fan Mail Shopify Cretes an Influencer Marketplace - Of all of the networks that have attempted to create a way for businesses to easily connect with…
- The Near Memo
Yelp selling its business data, Google’s Review Spam algo nukes many legit reviews, Tik-Tok for brands
Send us Fan Mail Yelp has recently publicized their newest revenue stream; selling merchant data to marketers. It seems sleazy and is likely just a money grab…
- The Near Memo
Google whines about iMessage, Axios acquired by Cox, Facebook B2B segments
Send us Fan Mail After dozens of failed messaging starts, Google has been on a campaign to get Apple to integrate with their telco favored RCS messaging…
- The Near Memo
Shopify invests in email, End of location intelligence, E-commerce not eating retail, it is retail
Send us Fan Mail Segment 1: Shopify’s investment in Klaviyo improves Shopify’s enterprise cred & may signal acquisition In a move to protect and enhance their…
- The Near Memo
Instagram evolves (?), Google turns off reviews for women’s clinics , Google Commerce SERP Trends
Send us Fan Mail Instagram evolves (?) to target Gen Z but leaves others behind Instagram and Facebook are attempting to cater to the consumption patterns of…
- The Near Memo
Amazon & Google pander to the FTC, American Privacy Act: Opt-In/Out Battle, Instagram goes local
Send us Fan Mail Amazon AND Google both try to demonstrate their anti fake review bonafides. Both fail to do their job and offer little in the way of…
- The Near Memo
Indie Bookstores Rebound, Privacy abuses both public & private, Ages 18-25 shun Google for Tik-Tok
Send us Fan Mail In the past year somewhere on the order of 300 independent bookstores have opened. The need for discovery, serendipity, community and…
- The Near Memo
EU passes Digital Markets & Digital Services Acts to rein in big tech & prevent fraud & deception
Send us Fan Mail The Digital Markets Act attempts to create a new framework for understanding and regulating digital monopolies to improve competitiveness and…
- The Near Memo
Entities not keywords, key to search, Google Offers shows playbook, Data privacy even more important
Send us Fan Mail Time to stop lamenting “zero click” search and to embrace the “messy middle” of Google’s entity search and barnacle SEO. Understanding how…
- The Near Memo
Google Search Quality Declining?, Google Local Test & Self-preferencing, Shifting search behaviors
Send us Fan Mail There's a growing perception that Google is in decline or dying. In an article in the Atlantic, Charlie Warzel interviews Marie Haynes, Dannie…
- The Near Memo
The power of great CX, What % of searches are local? Antitrust laws & how marketing might change
Send us Fan Mail Chewy’s provides great CX and it goes viral: When a dog owner’s pet died and they asked Chewy to refund their unused food, the company went…
- The Near Memo
Amazon doing Local Ads, Yep it, Apple BNPL & Search developments, Auto created Google Ads showing up
Send us Fan Mail Amazon has been posting new job positions for “rare opportunity to join a start-up business within Amazon Ads and play a strategic role in…
- The Near Memo
Apple search engine, GBP product kerfuffle, Walmart stores to be used for 3rd party local delivery
Send us Fan Mail Rumors have surfaced that Apple will roll out a general purpose search engine at WWDC this week. Will it be browser based? Available on the…
- The Near Memo
Walmart does drones, GML: AI, automation & images are future, Local inventory ad unit mimics 3-pack
Send us Fan Mail Walmart announced that they were rolling out drone delivery in 6 states this week, offering upto 100,000 picked in the local store. Meanwhile…
- The Near Memo
Mourning Bill Slawski, Will people use My Ad Center? Baby formula shortage shows CTR impacts rank
Send us Fan Mail Bill was instrumental in helping me understand Local search. Over the years he shared his knowledge willingly and unsparingly and he will be…
- The Near Memo
SMB more successful with content, Google I/O dreams big but puts in stake around Local, Multisearch & Lens + Near Me
Send us Fan Mail SMB more successful with content, typical looks at SMBS often undercounts total Google spent much of their I/O talking about their grand…
- The Near Memo
Earth Day promos damage reputation, CX - more than a #, SMBs need an integrated digital approach
Send us Fan Mail In three consumer surveys it became clear that a significant minority (~25%) of the buying public thinks ill of companies that use Earth Day…
- The Near Memo
Ratings vs Review Text, Can G Ad automation replace agencies?, Will Musk torpedo Twitter ads?
Send us Fan Mail It is generally assumed that the ratings aspect of reviews is what drives conversions and thus they are typically emphasized. However it would…
- The Near Memo
Amazon’s Buy with Prime; AI content & the future of the internet, What content drives SMB research?
Send us Fan Mail Amazon’s bold play to push Prime benefits across all of e-commerce is not only a direct threat to Shopify but UPS and FedEx as well. While it…
- The Near Memo
Google: Ad Domination, Self-Updating Maps reflects failure to engage, Mobile SERP are Image Serps
Send us Fan Mail According to the 2021 IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, online ad revenue grew at the fastest pace since 2006, 35% year over year. In…
- The Near Memo
Live Inventory Improves 3-Pack Rank, LocalU-Spam, Review & Vicinity Update, GA4 Sucks-what’s next?
Send us Fan Mail Google’s Local help files have been updated to note that providing real time inventory via Merchant Center will result in increased rank…
- The Near Memo
Antitrust Laws Closer, Google partners with CVS on appts, Consumer review trust down but usage is up
Send us Fan Mail Last week the European Parliament completed work on its Digital Markets Act. The legislation targets major US tech "gatekeepers" and prohibits…
- The Near Memo
Featured Snippets & Ranking, Consumer Expectations: Chat vs SMS, Google Product Images in Local Packs
Send us Fan Mail Most featured snippets come from what would have been organic results 1 through 3. However 20% of featured snippets come from results 6-10 and…
- The Near Memo
Google goes local w/ product search; FTC: HomeAdvisor cheated SMBs; SMBs dislike direct sales model
Send us Fan Mail Google, in competing with Amazon product search, has taken a local approach with their Shopping tool. While the approach makes sense…
- The Near Memo
Google Sued Over GBP Order CTA, Publishers Sue Ad Providers, Yelp’s 2021 Traffic Declines
Send us Fan Mail Restaurants sue Google for adding Order buttons through 3rd parties to their Business Profile. In 2019, Google automatically added…
- The Near Memo
Review reliance up but trust is down; Amazon kills bookstores for Grocery Business, Nextdoor #s
Send us Fan Mail The consumer review paradox. More than three-fourths (77%) of consumers now "always" or "regularly" read local business reviews, according to…
- The Near Memo
Yelp Elite reviews for sale; Core Web Vitals: No impact on Local ranking, Google offering SEO training, What will Google be in 10 years?
Send us Fan Mail Yelp Elite reviews for sale According to a local NBC affiliate investigation, brokers are paying a subset of Yelp elites to post fake reviews…
- The Near Memo
Will Google’s AI make SEO superfluous? Is Google’s Android Privacy Sandbox Real or Performative? What do Wix’s #’s say about how big the SMB market is?
Send us Fan Mail Segment 1: Will Google’s Increasingly good ability to summarize with AI make SEO superfluous? Marie Haynes highlighted a new Google Docs…
- The Near Memo
Google spams Congress w/ SMB emails, Amazon hits $31B in Ad sales, Apple Tap to Pay available soon
Send us Fan Mail Obviously feeling nervous, Google is intensifying its anti-antitrust campaign, lobbying SMBs to "take action" and automating their emails to…
- The Near Memo
Meta Takes a Dive, Yelp, Google take review high ground & FTC warns review Platforms
Send us Fan Mail We discuss the reasons behind Meta’s terrible 4th quarter and stock fall. Was it really Apple’s fault? Will people in the universe buy into…
- The Near Memo
GMB PWND by spammer, Google moves toward contextual advertising & The FTC updates review guidelines
Send us Fan Mail After a brief discussion of Google My Business losing control of their previous FB page, we cover how Google, in formally abandoning their…
- The Near Memo
Bill to end surveillance ads, SMB use of SAAS tools low & growing, Niantic’s path to the metaverse
Send us Fan Mail This bill, largely in response to the growing sentiment that large digital companies are spying on every day Americans for profit, is unlikely…
- The Near Memo
Vendasta buys MatchCraft, Business required vax shows path, TLDR bill requires TOS simplification
Send us Fan Mail Vendasta, which provides an app store for agencies, has acquired PPC pioneer MatchCraft. The acquisition will fill out Vendasta core marketing…
- The Near Memo
NFTs as a funding model? Can Google compete in product search? Distrust of tech companies is high.
Send us Fan Mail Using a traditional golf course model with an NFT twist, over $10 million was raised in 48 hours. The project got lots of media coverage even…
- The Near Memo
Google rolls out new Local Packs; Yelp Survey: text reviews are best; Local Guides dominate Google reviews
Send us Fan Mail Last week, Google released a new, more horizontal Local Map Pack with more white space, a bigger, squarer map and bigger images. How will this…
- The Near Memo
A deep dive into the Local Search Ranking Factors with Darren Shaw
Send us Fan Mail In this interview with Darren Shaw we take a deep dive into the Local Search Ranking Factors. We look at the key take aways, the strengths and…