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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 tools and “agentic commerce,” the real drivers of visibility are still foundational: intent-driven content, strong review signals, and brand awareness.

They also explore how zero-click search is changing attribution, why websites are becoming data sources for AI, and what local search will look like in the next 3–5 years.

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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 realities of multi-location SEO.

They explore testing frameworks, content strategies, franchise challenges, reviews, imagery, and the evolving nature of search behavior.

If you manage local SEO at scale, this is a must-listen.

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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 AI Overviews and LLM-driven discovery to Google’s new Ask Maps interface, they examine how search behavior is shifting—and why Google still controls the final decision point.

They also dig into:

• Category vs brand search behavior
• Industry-level engagement differences
• The evolving role of reviews in AI-driven results
• Apple Maps as a quiet challenger

If you’re trying to understand how AI is reshaping local SEO, this episode connects the dots.

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