Generative AI - Digital Marketing Journals Hong Kong

Multi-Location SEO: How To Win Google & AI Search Visibility At Scale

11Aug

By Steve WiidemanNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Multi-Location SEO: How To Win Google & AI Search Visibility At Scale

Multi-location brands are currently reviewing their Google Search Console click traffic, comparing 2026 to 2025, and trying to convince themselves and key stakeholders that AI Overviews are responsible for a year-over-year drop in non-branded clicks. Today, visibility is distributed across a multitude of destinations, including features in Google Maps such as “Ask Maps,” AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Apple Maps, and social search. The challenge for multi-location brands is that while more locations create more opportunities, they also create more complexity. This is why enterprise and franchise brands require a completely different approach than single-location businesses. Building on fundamentals, we’re going to explore how we leverage AI to improve our data, landing...

Reviews, Reputation & Listings: The Local Signals AI Now Reads

7Aug

By Matt G. SouthernNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Reviews, Reputation & Listings: The Local Signals AI Now Reads

For years, you could gauge local visibility by checking the map pack and a page of organic results. These have always mattered, but now, the same business details that feed them are also powering AI assistants. Instead of presenting a page full of options, an assistant responds with just a few names. This change emphasizes how crucial it is to keep a strong foundation. What was once just a minor listing mistake that affected rankings could now entirely stop a business from being included in the AI’s response. The basic details like your name, address, phone number, hours, reviews, and mentions from other sources are important in helping customers find your business easily. AI systems depend on getting the right information about your business, understanding what you offer, and gathering da...

AI Overviews Now Answer Most Local Searches – How To Get Your Business Cited

30Jul

By Adam HeitzmanNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

AI Overviews Now Answer Most Local Searches – How To Get Your Business Cited

If your local search traffic has felt off lately, you’re not imagining it. Fewer clicks. Fewer calls. Customers finding answers and moving on without ever hitting your site. That’s not a seasonal dip or a technical issue. That’s AI Overviews doing exactly what Google designed them to do. Local SEO used to be predictable. Optimize your Google Business Profile, build citations, stack localized keywords, and protect your Map Pack spot. That system worked for years. In 2026, it’s not enough. Working across 15+ client markets at our agency, spanning home services, legal, fitness, healthcare, and financial verticals, we’re seeing businesses rank well in the traditional local pack while being completely invisible in AI-generated answers for the exact same queries. Those two things used to be the ...

24Jun

By Matt G. SouthernNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Google Ask Maps Updates – How They Impact Your Business Profile

Many businesses see their Google Business Profile as a listing to verify and then leave untouched. Google’s new Ask Maps feature treats it as a conversational dataset for generating helpful answers about a business. The questions Ask Maps answers are what make change meaningful. When someone asks for a 24-hour locksmith who can get into a car right now, they get an immediate answer. That’s one question with multiple conditions taken into account. Showing up as one of the answers depends on having accurate and up-to-date business data. While Google hasn’t said how it chooses businesses to recommend in Ask Maps, it’s clear that the data it pulls from is increasingly important. What Google Says About Ask Maps Google calls Ask Maps a helpful tool for asking detailed, real-world questions and r...

How To: Optimize Your Small Business For AI Search

27May

By Loren BakerNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, Webinar

How To: Optimize Your Small Business For AI Search

Your next customer is searching right now. Will they find you? Waiting to show up alongside your competitors on Google Maps? Customers are finding local businesses through AI assistants, voice search, social platforms, and review sites. You should be in these places, too. 👆 Get the exact steps to show up where your next customer is already searching. Register above to watch the full session. Stop Being Invisible: Get Your Small Business Found Across Every Channel Your Customers Are Using This small business marketing webinar gives you a clear, channel-by-channel system for building the kind of online presence that earns trust before the first call. Watch Kelli Henthorn and Kevin White, Small Business Experts at Thryv, as they share a step-by-step framework for optimizing your Googl...

90-Day GEO Playbook for Local Search: How To Show Up For AI

11May

By UberallNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, SEO Strategy, Sponsored Posts

90-Day GEO Playbook for Local Search: How To Show Up For AI

This post was sponsored by Uberall. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Local consumers have stopped searching the way we built our marketing around. This significant change in buyer habits has been quietly happening in the last 18 to 24 months. According to recent Uberall research into AI search behavior, an estimated $750 billion in consumer spend is already shifting toward AI-powered search. Roughly 60% of all searches now end without a single click to a website. And in a finding that should stop every marketer cold, or at least those working for multi-location businesses, 68% of brands are missing entirely from the recommendations AI engines generate in their category. That problem goes beyond channels. It’s a fast-moving visibility problem that risks affectin...

22Dec

By Jeff RiddallNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How Will AI Mode Impact Local SEO?

In organic search, disruption has always been the norm, but the integration of AI into Google Search – with AI Overviews and now AI Mode – is not an incremental change; it is a fundamental restructuring. For marketers overseeing single or multi-location SEO strategies, the transition from the traditional blue-link environment to a conversational, synthesized search experience carries important stakes. The initial manifestation of this shift, the AI Overview (AIO), which claims the premium “Position 0” real estate on a search engine results page (SERP), provided the initial shockwave. However, the long-term competitive reality is defined by AI Mode, a full conversational ecosystem where users can engage in multi-stage dialogue with AI. This interactive mode anticipates a user’s entire “info...

23Dec

By Kristi HinesNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, PPC, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, SEO Strategy

What To Expect In 2024

Initially, the Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) experiment in Labs was expected to “end” in December 2023. But with the latest redesign of the Google Labs website, many have noticed that the end date for SGE has disappeared. What does this mean for Google SGE and the future of generative AI in search? Here’s what we know about Google SGE and what we can expect with generative AI in search for 2024. Screenshot from Google, December 2023 Consumers Want AI-Powered Search According to a survey of 2,205 adults in the United States, the AI-powered product that people are most interested in is search. Also included in the list of AI products are AI-powered smart assistants, shopping recommendations, and ads. (Feb 2023) Screenshot from Statista, December 2023 Over 25% Of Users Trust AI-Po...

OpenAI Investigates ‘Lazy’ GPT-4 Complaints On Google Reviews, X

9Dec

By Kristi HinesNo Comments

Generative AI, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

OpenAI Investigates ‘Lazy’ GPT-4 Complaints On Google Reviews, X

OpenAI, the company that launched ChatGPT a little over a year ago, has recently taken to social media to address concerns regarding the “lazy” performance of GPT-4 on social media and Google Reviews. Screenshot from X, December 2023 This move comes after growing user feedback online, which even includes a one-star review on the company’s Google Reviews. OpenAI Gives Insight Into Training Chat Models, Performance Evaluations, And A/B Testing OpenAI, through its @ChatGPTapp Twitter account, detailed the complexities involved in training chat models. Screenshot from X, December 2023 The organization highlighted that the process is not a “clean industrial process” and that variations in training runs can lead to noticeable differences in the AI’s personality, creative style, and political bia...