Insights & Strategy
The Growth Blog

A banner spotted in ChatGPT says "Claim your business in ChatGPT." If it launches as described, AI SEO moves from guessing to measuring, and businesses get a verified source of their own facts. Here is how that could change the work, what is confirmed, and what to do before it launches.

Customers used to post questions on your Google profile and wait for someone to answer. Now they ask Google Maps, and Gemini answers right away. Here is what changed, what Google says those answers draw on, and the profile and review work that matters now.

Prospective clients now ask AI tools to explain a legal or tax question and suggest who can help. Here is how professional firms earn a place in those answers with clear expertise, accurate profiles and claims that stay within the rules.

After a storm, homeowners are told to check every roofer's license, insurance and reviews before signing anything. The contractors who win are the ones who make that check easy. Here is how to set up your profile, ads and reviews for storm season.

People looking for a therapist now search Google, check Maps and ask AI tools who to call. Here is how a practice gets found in all three while staying inside Google's rules, HIPAA and professional ethics codes.

Nextdoor now requires business promotion to come from a Business Page and has rebuilt discovery around neighbor Faves. Here is what changed in 2026 and how a service business should respond.

City pages can win local customers or quietly get your site demoted. Here is where Google draws the line on doorway pages, a quick test for your own pages, and what a useful service-area page contains.

Local Services Ads charge per lead, not per click, and the badge rules changed. Here is how screening, lead charges, automatic credits and ranking actually work, and how to keep lead quality high.

A wave of one-star reviews from people who never hired you, sometimes followed by a demand for money. Here is what Google actually removes, which reporting route fits which review, and what never to do in response.

Customers check your website after they read your reviews, and so do the AI tools that build shortlists. Here is what it needs to show, what federal rules require, and what to leave off.

Google is still the big one, but more of your customers now check Apple Maps, and Bing feeds more places than you think. Here is a one-afternoon setup for both.

A homeowner with no heat at 10 p.m. and one pricing a new water heater ask AI very different questions. Here is what each answer needs to see about your company.

Customers are finding service businesses through ChatGPT and Google's AI answers. Here is how to see that traffic in GA4, what it can't show you, and how to connect it to real leads.

Most moving company profiles that get suspended break the same few rules. Here is how to set up the name, address, service area and categories so yours stays live.

You asked ChatGPT for the best company in your trade and city, and it named the shop down the road. Here is how to find out why, one check at a time.

Moving customers check Google, BBB and Yelp before they book. Each platform plays by different rules. Here is what counts on each one and where to start.

A calm, specific reply to a one-star review can win the next customer. Here is a triage method and reply examples for damage, delay and price complaints.

Most movers don't have a review problem, they have an asking problem. Here is a simple, rule-safe system for getting steady Google reviews after every job.

More moving customers now ask an AI assistant for a shortlist before they ever visit a website. Here is where those answers come from and what movers can control.

More searches now end without a click to any website, especially when an AI summary appears. For a service business that's not the end of search as a lead source. Here is what the data shows and where the revenue moves.

There is no secret schema that gets you into AI answers. Google says so directly. Here is what structured data still does for a service business, which types are worth having, and the mistakes that can cost you rich results.

Reddit is one of the sources AI answers cite most often. Here is why, what that means when people ask about your trade or your company, and how to take part in those conversations without breaking Reddit's rules or the FTC's.

Generative engine optimization is the work of getting your business cited in AI answers. Here is how Google's AI features and ChatGPT choose sources, what changed from traditional SEO, what didn't, and the checklist we use with service businesses.

When someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode about your business, the answer is built from your reviews, your listings and what others say about you. Here is how to audit that picture, fix what you control and remove what breaks the rules.

Google Ads now runs on automation: Performance Max across every Google channel and AI Max inside Search campaigns. Here is what each one does, what you still control, and the setup we recommend for service businesses.