Google's increasingly aggressive crackdowns and harsher core updates are significantly impacting Local SEO and AI search professionals. Medium to Small Businesses are experiencing major traffic losses due to these changes, often without understanding the cause. This situation necessitates a strategic adaptation to the new landscape, focusing on content adjustments and off-site brand mentions to mitigate the effects of Google algorithm shifts and stay ahead of AI updates in search.

Lily Ray @amsive joins us to break down why small to medium businesses are being hit the hardest by Google and provides a strategic roadmap for content adjustments, brand mentions, and surviving the shift to AI-driven search.

#localseo #seo #localsearch

🕒 Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: The SEO Landscape in 2026

01:03 Who is Lily Ray?

02:02 Is AI Content Inherently Dangerous?

04:03 The Risks of "Scaling" Content & City Pages

06:15 Service Area Pages vs. Physical Locations

09:23 Why YMYL Topics Face Higher Scrutiny

10:41 How AI Overviews are Killing Organic Traffic

12:48 Action Items: Diversification & Digital PR

15:47 The New Role of SEOs: LLM Discoverability

17:41 Why Reddit & Forums are Dominating Search

18:55 Small Business Strategy: Video & Authenticity

21:14 Analyzing the Most Recent Core Updates

24:10 Google’s Preference for .gov & Authority Sites

27:28 How to Diagnose & Recover from a Hit

31:16 The Truth About Backlinks & Disavow Tools

34:14 Content Classifiers & Site-Wide Demotions

37:00 Local Pack vs. Organic: Why GBP Stays Safe

39:05 The Crackdown on Self-Serving Listicles

44:17 E-E-A-T: Common Misconceptions Debunked

48:12 The War on AI-Generated Fake Reviews

51:51 Rapid-Fire Questions & Future Myths

🔗 Resources:

Lily Ray’s Newsletter: https://www.amsive.com/insights/

Joy Hawkins' Newsletter: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/newsletter/

Google Search Console Guide: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9128669

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Grow Your Business With Local SEO

At Sterling Sky, we're passionate about helping businesses like yours achieve their local SEO goals. We know that the digital landscape can be confusing and ever-changing, so we've made it our mission to provide you with the expert guidance and support your need to succeed.

We've helped countless businesses achieve their local SEO goals, and we're confident that we can help you do the same.

READY TO TAKE YOUR LOCAL SEO TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

Websites:

https://www.sterlingsky.ca/

https://localu.org/

https://localsearchforum.com/

Blogs:

https://www.sterlingsky.ca/blog/

https://localu.org/blog/

Ep 26104

Google Business Profile suspensions, disappearing reviews, and sudden listing removals are happening more often than ever, and most business owners have no idea why.

In this webinar, we sit down with a seasoned Google Business Profile product expert, Ben Fisher, Co-Founder at @SteadyDemand who works inside the mess every day, dealing with real suspensions, failed verifications, spam networks, and review wipeouts.

Links:

Steady Demand

https://www.steadydemand.com/

Tool http://peec.ai/

Sterling Sky Podcast

https://www.sterlingsky.ca/local-seo-the-experts-guide-podcast/

Localu Global Virtual Conference VOD

https://localu.org/localu-global-access-on-demand-recorded-january-28-2026/

Local Search Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/localsearch/

Video: 7 Local SEO Mistakes Costing Your Business THOUSANDS (Fix These NOW!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54_JsfQuLx8

#localseo #googlebusinessprofile #digitalmarketing

EP 26008

In this exclusive session, we’re joined by Mike King, one of the sharpest minds in search, to unpack the wildest shifts happening in Google’s AI-powered results right now. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at real tactics Mike is using for clients today to gain visibility across AI platforms like Google and ChatGPT and how you can apply them immediately.

LIVE TOOL DEMO: Mike will walk through a powerful fan-out query tool that uncovers how Google is interpreting and ranking entire topics. We’ll even use real audience examples in the demo so you can see it in action.

What you’ll learn:

✅ The “fan-out query” method explained in plain English

✅ How to pull Google’s full query list for your niche

✅ Tactics to help small businesses stand out in an AI-dominated search landscape

✅ Why certain blackhat strategies still work (and Mike’s take on them)

Whether you’re a business owner, SEO strategist, or just trying to stay ahead of AI’s impact on search, this webinar will leave you with actionable insights you won’t find anywhere else.

Save your seat now and come ready with a topic for the live tool demo! Register👉 https://localu.org/how-rank-2026-mike-king-webinar/

Links:

Mike King's Tool - https://ipullrank.com/tools/qforia

https://ipullrank.com/case-studies

Mike King's Conference April 27-30, 2026 - https://seoweek.org/

LocalU Global - Attend from Anywhere🌎 - https://localu.org/etn/localu-global-january-28-2026/

Next Months Webinar: https://localu.org/gbp-violations-punishment-ben-fisher/