Send us a text

Local Services Ads have become the “top-of-the-page” battleground for high-value local categories—especially professional services. In this episode, Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal talk with former LSA team member Eric Levine about how LSAs evolved, what really influences rank, and how Google’s lead marketplace mechanics shape outcomes.

We break down “request multiple options,” lead billing, the big ranking signals (reviews, responsiveness, radius/service area), why LSAs often win user attention over the local pack, and how photos should be chosen and structured to match user decision-making.

Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a text

AI isn’t killing search — it’s reshaping how people discover, evaluate, and choose businesses.

In this in terview with Crystal Carter of Wix, we unpack how large language models, AI assistants, and emerging “agent” experiences are changing consumer behavior, local search, and brand visibility. From ChatGPT and Google’s AI-driven results to personalization, intent modeling, and task completion, we explore what actually changes — and what doesn’t.

We also dig into:
• Why AI acts more like a complement to search than a replacement
• How “choice” and “consideration” evolve in AI-first experiences
• What happens when interfaces collapse research, comparison, and action into one flow
• Why local, reviews, and brand signals still matter — just differently
• What businesses should prepare for as agents begin acting on behalf of users

If you care about search, local, UX, or how consumers actually make decisions, this is the conversation you want to hear.

Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a text

Claudia 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/