Blog
Insights on local search, listings, reputation and multi-location marketing.
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TikTok's Local Feed Isn't in South Africa Yet. That's the Head Start.
TikTok's Local Feed launched in the US in February 2026 but has not reached South Africa. What multi-location brands should do with the head start.
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Google Now Rejects Bilingual Business Names. For Multi-Location Brands, That Is Not One Listing. It Is All of Them.
Google now bans repeated bilingual and dual-script business names, even on storefront signage. What multi-location brands must audit across every location now.
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ChatGPT Has a Maps Tab. The Real Story Is Where the Pins Come From.
ChatGPT now has a Maps tab on desktop. The bigger shift is that its business pins now come from at least four data providers, not just Google.
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One Restricted Google Account Can Suspend Every Location You Manage
A restricted Google account suspends every Business Profile it manages. How multi-location brands spot it, appeal in the right order, and prevent it.
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AI Search Has a Shortlist. Most of Your Locations Aren't On It.
AI search recommends roughly one local business in a hundred. For multi-location brands the gap isn't knowledge, it's running the work across every location.
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Google Business Profile Is Sending You Visits You Can't See. Here's How Multi-Location Brands Track Them.
Google Business Profile traffic gets buried in "Direct" and "Organic" in GA4. Here is how multi-location brands tag, track and prove GBP-driven visits at scale.
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The Impression Recession: Why Visibility Metrics Stopped Telling the Truth
Search Console now has a Generative AI section, and location impressions fell 53.8% while customer actions held. What the 2026 metrics shift means, and what to measure.
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Apple's Local Lists Are Coming. Most of Your Branches Won't Make 'Best Open Now'.
Apple Maps now builds AI-curated "Best Open Now" lists. Here is why multi-location brands with inaccurate hours get quietly left off, and how to qualify.
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Bulk Verification: The Multi-Location Google Setup Step Most Brands Get Wrong
Bulk verification lets multi-location brands verify every Google Business Profile at once. Who qualifies, how it works, and why it now shapes AI visibility.
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Google Is Now Using AI to Police Your Reviews. Here's What Multi-Location Brands Need to Change
Google now uses AI to enforce review authenticity at scale, and the FTC is fining fake reviews. What franchise and multi-location brands must fix now.
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Microsoft Copilot Is Answering Your Customers' Location Queries. Most Brands Aren't in the Answer.
Microsoft Copilot draws local business data from Bing Places. Multi-location brands that ignore Bing Places are invisible to millions of local queries.
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Google Preferred Sources Now Shape AI Overviews: What It Means for Your Locations
Google Preferred Sources now extends into AI Overviews and AI Mode. Here is what it means for multi-location brands and how to get your regulars to opt in.
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Google Now Calls Local Businesses for Your Customers. Most Multi-Location Brands Will Miss the Call.
Google's AI now calls local businesses on behalf of customers. Here's what multi-location brands must fix before agentic booking expands this summer.
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AI Local Packs Show 68% Fewer Businesses: What the May 2026 Core Update Means for Multi-Location Brands
Google's May 2026 core update reshaped local search, and AI local packs now surface 68% fewer businesses. What multi-location brands should fix first.
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Google Knows Who Your Customers Are. What the Personal Intelligence Era Means for Multi-Location Local Search.
Google's Personal Intelligence in AI Mode now personalises local results using Gmail and Photos. Here's what multi-location brands need to do to win.
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Reddit Is Now Inside Google's AI Results. Here's What Every Multi-Location Brand Needs to Do.
Google's AI answers now quote Reddit and forum posts. Updated August 2026 with new citation data and what multi-location brands should actually do about it.
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What 250 Locations Taught Us About Getting Cited by Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT
Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT already cite local pages on non-branded queries. Across 250+ locations, five characteristics separate cited pages from invisible ones.
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Do You Need a New AI Search Strategy?
AI search is reshaping local discovery, but the fundamentals haven't changed. See why managed brands win and the six inputs to focus on for AI visibility.
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Franchisees Don't Buy a Marketing Job: Franchise Local Marketing and AI Search Visibility
Franchise brands lose AI search visibility when local content depends on franchisees who never wanted to be marketers. The fix is a managed service model.
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Google Removed Q&A from Your Business Profiles. Now AI Is Answering Your Customers With or Without You.
Google retired Business Profile Q&A in late 2025. Now Gemini AI answers customer questions automatically. Here's what multi-location brands must do now.
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AI Gap: 98.8% of Franchise Locations Need Better AI Visibility
Only 1.2% of franchise locations get recommended by ChatGPT. Learn what AI uses to surface locations and how multi-location brands can improve visibility.
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Someone Is Trying to Claim Your Client's Listing. Right Now.
GBP listing hijacking is spiking in 2026. Learn why Google's UI change is fuelling unauthorised claim requests and how to protect multi-location brands.
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Apple Maps Paid Advertising: What Multi-Location Brands Need Now
Apple Business launched in April 2026 with paid placements coming soon. Here's what multi-location brands must do now to be ready for Apple Maps ads.
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Your Rankings Haven't Changed. So Why Is Your Traffic Disappearing?
Organic traffic is falling for brands across every sector and rankings aren't the reason. Here's what AI search is doing, what metrics to watch, and what to do next.
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The Openness Signal: Trading Hours Are Now a Top-5 Ranking Factor
Trading hours have quietly become a top local-search ranking factor. Here's why openness matters and where multi-location brands are leaking visibility.
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How to Get Recommended in AI Search
AI assistants now decide which businesses get recommended. Here's how multi-location brands can get surfaced in AI search and turn traffic into revenue.
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Google Maps Launches AI-Powered "Ask Maps" & Immersive Navigation
Google Maps launched Ask Maps and Immersive Navigation on 12 March 2026, both powered by Gemini. Here's what multi-location brands need to do now.
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Google Review Removals in 2025: What Happened to Your Stars?
Google removed a number of business reviews in late 2025. Learn what caused the Google reviews and star ratings to disappear, and how to protect yours.
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Google Maps Gemini: New Era for Real-Time Discovery
Google has reimagined Maps with a Gemini-powered experience, turning navigation into real-time, discovery-driven local search. Here's what's changed.
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The Hidden SEO Power of Local Facebook Pages
Local Facebook pages are a low-maintenance, high-impact part of your digital infrastructure. Here's why multi-location brands should set one up per branch.
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Google's Latest Core Update: What Multi-Location Brands Need to Know
Google's latest core update is reshaping local search. Here's how it affects multi-location brands and what to prioritise on your location pages.
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Scam Alert: The Fake Restaurant Review Scam Targeting Consumers
Scammers are paying people to post fake positive Google reviews for restaurants, then vanishing with a 'registration fee'. Here's how it works and how to stay safe.
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Google Maps' AI Upgrade and What It Means for Local Businesses in South Africa
Google Maps has rolled out major AI upgrades including Live View and Immersive View. Here's what the changes mean for local businesses in South Africa.
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Social Places Makes Its Way to the United Kingdom
From the EWiF Awards to The Franchise Marketing Show, here's a look at Social Places' recent UK trip and what our expansion means for clients.
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Winning Local Search in 2025 with AI: Smarter Strategies for Multi-Location Brands
With 46% of Google searches carrying local intent, AI is reshaping local SEO. Here are smarter strategies and top tips for multi-location brands in 2025.
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Celebrating 10 Years of Social Places' Martech Journey
Social Places turns 10. A look back at a decade of building local marketing technology for multi-location brands, from our 2015 founding to today.
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Standard Bank Top Women Awards: We're So Proud
Social Places and Co-Founder Ashleigh Wainstein were named finalists at the Standard Bank Top Women Awards. Here's what these honours mean to our team.
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