You are producing a deliverable using Mike Merlino's local SEO method, exactly as he teaches it on the Green Grid Goblins mastermind calls. The method below is transcribed from his own words across 7 indexed topics spanning multiple calls. Follow it. Where it conflicts with generic SEO advice, his method wins. Do not substitute your own approach. ## THE METHOD ### PAA The question boxes that appear for a service plus geo search. Mike treats them as the fastest read on what users actually want, and as the content unit that feeds his whole syndication stack. Critically, the PAA exists to boost the main service page, not to rank on its own. What he recommends: - Answer the customer's top questions publicly before they ever call you or fill out a form (2024-10-25) - Do not confuse a PAA with a long-tail keyword; they behave differently (2024-10-25) - Grab PAAs now, because AI search is going to push them down (2024-10-25) - Pull PAAs from the SERPs, never ask ChatGPT what the top PAAs are for a niche. (2024-11-21) - If you do use an AI to surface them, go back and confirm them against the SERPs. (2024-11-21) - Do not start with PAAs on a brand new build. Do the service pages first, then use PAAs to power them up. (2024-11-21) - Keep firing them forever, because users never stop asking questions. (2024-11-21) - Do not wait until you have video, tweets, or an AI writer. Start with the content and the GMB post and add layers as you can. (2024-12-13) - Use PAA questions as the H1 and H2 structure of the page, all the way down. (2024-12-13) - Look at what already ranks for the PAA and copy the pattern you observe (they all answer in the first sentence). (2024-12-13) - Report results back to the group so other members act. (2024-12-13) - Stop looking for a new tactic. Mike's position is nothing changed except AI; things only become more important. (2024-12-13) - Get PAAs live before anything else. Phase two of the training is gated behind having done them. (2024-12-19) - Do not overthink it. Even a partial execution still sends Google the signals. (2024-12-19) - Report wins in the community Wins channel so other members see proof and act. (2024-12-19) - Start with the service that makes the client the most revenue, then do one PAA on it. (2025-01-23) - Pick an easier PAA, not the hardest one. (2025-01-23) - Do not wait for a perfect social stack. Post whatever you have and add channels next time. (2025-01-23) - At minimum ship the blog post and the GMB post. Everything past that is a bonus. (2025-01-23) - Start at the service level, not the broad head term. (2025-03-12) - Hit the top 4 PAAs for a service, then move to the next service instead of drilling one topic forever. (2025-03-12) - Stop once the ranking you want is achieved. There is no magic number. (2025-03-12) - Make showing up in the PAA boxes an end goal, not a byproduct. (2025-04-24) - Do PAAs for a SERVICE, not just for the broad term. (2025-04-24) - Keep publishing PAA content even while GMB posts are down: post to the website and the blog instead. (2025-04-24) - Type the main service plus geo into Google and take the PAAs. (2025-06-18) - Do not lose sight that the PAA exists to lift the main service page, and the whole exercise exists to lift the GMB. (2025-06-18) - If a client already has the broad and geo terms handled, or you inherited an account where nobody did, start at the PAA level and link up to the service page. (2025-06-18) - Never run a blast on the PAA itself. Run it on the service the PAA is about. (2025-06-18) - Start every campaign at the PAA level because it is the long tail and the foundational ground work. (2025-07-23) - Answer all of the questions everywhere, not just on the website. (2025-07-23) - Do a PAA per question rather than lumping several together, then build a master asset covering the whole service. (2025-07-23) - Pull PAAs manually per city rather than trusting an automated tool or a scraped API dataset. (2025-12-03) - Give each PAA its own content bucket. Do not mix multiple PAAs into one bucket. (2025-12-03) - Answer the PAA in as many places as possible so the prospect is pre-sold before anyone talks to them. (2025-12-03) - Get the PAA out there as a short, then syndicate it everywhere. (2026-03-25) - Pair the video with a blog post and a GMB post so the same answer lands in AI mode too. (2026-03-25) How he does it: 1. Search your service keyword in Google, for example metal roofer, and read the top questions (2024-10-25) 2. Grab them manually or with tools (2024-10-25) 3. Answer them on social media and add the Geo to the end so it is not just broad (2024-10-25) 4. Get the PAAs from the SERPs manually, or with a free Chrome extension, SEO Minion, or LowFruits. (2024-11-21) 5. Cluster them per service. (2024-11-21) 6. Write the blog post per cluster. (2024-11-21) 7. Link the post with exact-match anchor text to the matching service page. (2024-11-21) 8. Add blog post, image object and video object schema. (2024-11-21) 9. Syndicate the audio and video versions and tie them together. (2024-11-21) 10. Answer the question in the very first sentence of the first paragraph. (2024-12-13) 11. Do not restate the question in a reworded form in that first line. (2024-12-13) 12. Publish the answer as a GMB post, a blog post, a video, a podcast, an FAQ section, and social posts. (2024-12-13) 13. Optionally set up a dedicated PAA page, embed the assets already produced, and add the written content later. (2024-12-13) 14. Always associate the asset back to the website or the GMB, or both, otherwise the social posting has no ranking benefit. (2024-12-13) 15. Search the target keyword in Google, in your own location or the client's location. (2024-12-19) 16. Read the PAA box that appears, do not expand the accordion. (2024-12-19) 17. Pick one question and answer it in a single piece of content. (2024-12-19) 18. Publish as a blog post, then a GMB post that summarizes and links to it, then syndicate to socials. (2024-12-19) 19. If you do nothing else, put the whole PAA in the image and make a GMB event or offer post. (2024-12-19) 20. Put your main money service into Google and read the People Also Asked box manually. No tool needed. (2025-01-23) 21. Pick the easier PAA, not the hardest one (he says the fourth one). (2025-01-23) 22. Write the article and publish it on the money site. (2025-01-23) 23. Create an image with the PAA text on it. (2025-01-23) 24. Make a GMB post using the same featured image, set the button to Learn More, link it to the blog post. (2025-01-23) 25. Optional add-ons in order: tweet, other socials, video, audio to SoundCloud and YouTube. (2025-01-23) 26. Search from inside the client's geo (chrome extension or GPS coordinates set to the location). (2025-03-12) 27. Pull the parent PAAs for a specific service keyword, usually 4, sometimes up to 8. (2025-03-12) 28. Take the top 4 for that service, then rotate to the next service. (2025-03-12) 29. Append the geo to the end of the PAA question so it reads as a real sentence. (2025-03-12) 30. Reuse the full PAA as alt text, image name, video title, GMB post title and podcast title. (2025-03-12) 31. Member-described flow (Sean): set GS changer to the city, search the term (for example plumber), read the PAAs, pick one, feed it to ChatGPT with the business name and city, get the article, publish to the blog. (2025-04-24) 32. That member then distributes the PAA to 25 to 45 places and pushes it to socials and the GMB post. (2025-04-24) 33. Example Mike gives: for metal roofing, the PAA is 'metal roofing what are the benefits of metal roofing' [02:29:16], targeted because he wants to rank for metal roofing. (2025-06-18) 34. Write the blog post on the website. (2025-06-18) 35. Publish it as a GMB post, with the PAA as the first text of the post. (2025-06-18) 36. Add social, SoundCloud, and podcast versions if you can. (2025-06-18) 37. Then go to Neo and link build to everything you just built. (2025-06-18) 38. Then run the GMB blast on the service keyword. (2025-06-18) 39. Copy the PAA exactly as it appears and use it as the H2. (2025-07-23) 40. Use the exact PAA as the title on social and everywhere else, do not reword it. (2025-07-23) 41. Feed the PAA article URL into the video tool, the podcast tool, Reddit, Quora, and the press release chain. (2025-07-23) 42. Search the service plus the city in Google, expand the PAA box, copy the questions. (2025-12-03) 43. Repeat for the next town over. Expect a different question set. (2025-12-03) 44. Take one PAA, make the blog post and the GMB post, and syndicate it everywhere per the SOP. (2025-12-03) 45. Take one set of PAAs for the target service and city. (2026-03-25) 46. Produce a short video per PAA with the exact-match title. (2026-03-25) 47. Publish to YouTube first, then syndicate the same video everywhere else. (2026-03-25) ### Exact match Mike's non-negotiable: the PAA phrase repeated verbatim across every asset, the anchor text, the image, the video title, the thumbnail, the podcast title, the GMB post, the blog post. He points at exact-match anchor text patents as the reason. What he recommends: - Keep the PAA exact-match across assets, vary only the snippet copy per platform. (2025-03-12) - Use the exact PAA wording on every asset, do not paraphrase it per platform. (2025-12-03) - Put the PAA in the thumbnail, not just the title. (2025-12-03) - Structure the video title as exact match PAA, pipe, brand name, pipe, phone number so the number shows in the SERP or AI Overview. (2025-12-03) - If you are missing from a surface, make another asset with the exact match string rather than assuming the campaign failed. (2026-05-13) How he does it: 1. Take the PAA verbatim. (2025-12-03) 2. Use it as the blog post title, the GMB post, the image, the anchor text, the video title, the podcast episode title, and the thumbnail text. (2025-12-03) 3. For video: exact match PAA | brand name | phone number. (2025-12-03) ### Intent behind the intent The real need under the stated query. 'Are you open right now' really means 'can you come to my house.' Mike applies it to the SERP: when you search a service like metal roofing, what sits at the top under the ads and maps is not blog posts about metal roofing, it is questions, which is the intent behind the intent. What he recommends: - Craft the content to answer the real question, then put it in short consumable form on social (2024-10-25) - Sanity check the query by looking for shopping results (wrong intent) versus ads plus a map pack (right intent). (2024-10-31) - In keyword research, look for which keywords reveal where on the buyer journey the searcher is, not just volume. (2024-11-21) - Educate the buyer before they reach you so the call is closer to a referral call than a cold call. (2025-02-20) - Understand psychological and NLP buying triggers, not just rankings. (2025-02-20) - Answer every question the user actually has, including hours-type questions like 'are you open at 3am' for a towing company, because those are keywords. (2025-02) - Read the new SERP tests as Google fishing for service-level intent, which validates the service keyword approach. (2025-04-24) - Read the SERP tab order as Google telling you the intent, then produce the format it is favoring (2025-08-20) - Stop optimizing to the keyword string. Ask what the searcher actually wants and answer that. (2025-12-03) - Read the SERP layout itself as Google's statement of intent: what block ranks first tells you what users want most. (2025-12-03) - Build sites around the phone call you actually want, not around every call the phone could ring for. (2025-12-03) - Read the SERP as an instruction set, then produce the exact media format it is already rewarding (2026-07-08) - Cover all the different top terms rather than one, and use the business owner's own knowledge of what customers actually say (2026-07-08) How he does it: 1. Put a lot of information onto a short image and a 30 second to 1 minute video (2024-10-25) 2. Search the bare term (for example 'metal roofing') and note whether the SERP fills with shopping results. (2024-10-31) 3. Append the contractor or service modifier ('metal roofing contractors') and re-check. (2024-10-31) 4. If ads and a map pack appear, the intent is local and commercial. Target that variant. (2024-10-31) 5. Take the service, find the PAA questions around it, geo-modify them, and publish content covering them. (2025-02) 6. Result: GMB justification plus easier organic ranking because the query is geo-modified. (2025-02) 7. Search the term manually, note which SERP block Google puts first (forums, video, maps, images, long-form). (2025-12-03) 8. Repeat the same query with a different city and compare. The changed layout is the changed intent. (2025-12-03) 9. Write the content to satisfy the block Google ranked first, not the block you prefer. (2025-12-03) 10. [02:22:02] "What do you need to do?" [02:22:04] "You just gotta throw it out there and do it." [02:22:06] "And then cover all the different top terms" (2026-07-08) 11. Call the business owner and get the real phrasing customers use, plus the equipment and model numbers: [02:22:25] "Yo, when someone says this" [02:22:33] "Go call them, you know, like, what's up, Chris?" [02:22:38] "And then if you don't give your SEO, your marketing manager," [02:22:41] "or whoever it is, all that information" (2026-07-08) ### The blog post build (embeds, map, QR, interlinking) Mike's spec for the PAA blog post: featured image built from the template, exact match interlinking to the page you want to rank, embedded video, embedded SoundCloud and Podbean audio, map embed, and QR code. His advanced version also pulls live social feeds onto the page. What he recommends: - Do not repeat the same anchor text twice on the same page. (2025-02-20) - Put every signal you can on the page, because Google ranks pages. (2025-02-20) How he does it: 1. Featured image from the Canva template with the full PAA on it. (2025-02-20) 2. Interlink with the exact match keyword you want to rank. (2025-02-20) 3. Embed the video. (2025-02-20) 4. Embed SoundCloud and Podbean for double audio. (2025-02-20) 5. Add the map embed and the QR code. (2025-02-20) 6. Optional: RSS feeds or WordPress widgets pulling TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook onto the page. (2025-02-20) ### Merlino Magic Blog Post Mike's signature core play and the name his own team gave it: take a People Also Ask question, append the geo, publish it as a blog post, push it out as a GMB post, then syndicate the same answer as social posts, audio, podcast, images and short video. The name was coined by his main guy for a stage talk and stuck. What he recommends: - Do the whole thing, not pieces of it. Doing part of the stack is cheating yourself. (2026-05-13) - If you are not implementing it, either execute or hire Mike's white label service to fulfill it. (2026-05-13) How he does it: 1. Pick the service you want to rank for. (2026-05-13) 2. Grab a PAA for that service, harvested locally with a geo change, not scraped. (2026-05-13) 3. Add the geo to the back of the PAA. (2026-05-13) 4. Write the blog post answering that PAA (optional, you can start from the GMB post). (2026-05-13) 5. Make a GMB post about it and link the Learn More button up the silo. (2026-05-13) 6. Socially syndicate it to every platform you have. (2026-05-13) 7. Upload the audio to a podcast host and to SoundCloud. (2026-05-13) 8. Upload the video to YouTube as a long and a short. (2026-05-13) 9. Grab every embed and stack them back on the wiki, the cloud post and the blog post. (2026-05-13) ### Image SEO Mike's rule that every keyword a GMB targets should have a matching image in the profile with that keyword written on it, because Google's image AI reads the text in the picture. This is also why he auto-fails anyone who skips putting the PAA text on the image. What he recommends: - Put the full PAA question text on the image, not a trimmed version. (2025-02-20) - Every GMB keyword gets a matching keyword-bearing image loaded into the profile. (2025-02-20) - Optimize images deliberately; a member confirmed doing it helps everything. (2025-12-03) - Get one image to hit multiple entity buckets by covering multiple topics inside the single image. (2025-12-03) - Just having the keyword in the image helps to an almost absurd degree. (2025-12-03) - Make the image unique per platform rather than resizing one image, so it reads as native and converts. (2026-05-13) - Put the logo in the right spot for each platform. (2026-05-13) - For Pinterest specifically, make it aesthetically pleasing since the audience is heavily mobile and female. (2026-05-13) How he does it: 1. Use the supplied Canva template. (2025-02-20) 2. Write the full PAA question on the image. (2025-02-20) 3. Load one image per targeted keyword into the GMB. (2025-02-20) 4. Use the Canva templates Mike shared. (2026-05-13) 5. Put the exact PAA with the geo on the image. (2026-05-13) 6. Resize and reposition the logo per platform. (2026-05-13) 7. Do not carry another platform's boxing or dimensions across. (2026-05-13) ### NAP on every image Name, address, phone number, plus website. Mike deliberately adds the W because the website (or GMB link) belongs on the asset too. It is the overlay that must appear on every image he publishes, and Google's OCR has to actually read it. What he recommends: - Put the keyword on the image first, then the logo, then the NAP and website. (2024-12-13) - Put the NAP and logo on the image itself, not just alongside the post. (2024-12-13) - If you want extra keywords on an image, put the PAA visibly and place the main keyword very small and not visible to the eye. Mike explicitly says he does not suggest doing the sneaky version. (2024-12-13) - Put the website link rather than only the GMB link, because the GMB is embedded on the site anyway. (2025-02) - Change the supplied templates so your clients do not share a footprint. (2025-02) How he does it: 1. Build the images in Canva. (2024-12-13) 2. Save the finished layout as a Canva brand template attached to a brand kit so the next one is an edit, not a rebuild. (2024-12-13) 3. Verify with the Google image API scan that the OCR returns brand name, website, address, phone, and keyword. (2024-12-13) 4. Use the image templates provided in the mastermind, in different sizes, but modify them. (2025-02) 5. Verify with the image analysis tool that Google's OCR reads the NAP and website as text blocks. If it is not read properly, fix the image. (2025-02) ## THIS JOB - Business name: Northlake Bath Co. - Money service: bathroom remodeling - City, state: Madison, WI - The PAA this post answers, verbatim from the box: How much does a bathroom remodel cost? - The rest of the PAA box, one per line: Is it worth remodeling a bathroom? How long does a bathroom remodel take? What is the most expensive part of a bathroom remodel? Can you remodel a bathroom for $5,000? - Service page URL, the exact-match link target: https://northlakebath.example.com/bathroom-remodeling-madison - GMB share URL: https://g.page/northlake-bath-example - NAP line for the image overlay: Northlake Bath Co., 812 Willow Ridge Rd, Madison WI 53703, (608) 555-0142 ## WHAT TO PRODUCE Write ONLY the blog post. No preamble, no commentary, no supporting assets. TIGHT BEATS LONG. Target 800 to 1100 words total. A padded post buries the answer and loses the snippet. Every sentence either answers a question or gives a number. If a sentence does neither, delete it. Never write "costs vary", "it depends", "when it comes to", "in today's", or any throat-clearing opener. STRUCTURE, in this exact order: 1. H1 is the EXACT PAA, character for character, with the city appended so it reads as a natural sentence. Do not reword it. 2. THE SNIPPET ANSWER. The first paragraph is 40 to 50 words and answers the question directly in the first sentence, with a real number in it. The business name, the service, and the city all appear in that first sentence. Do NOT restate the question in reworded form first. This paragraph is the only thing standing between you and the featured snippet, so it is a complete answer on its own, readable with zero context. 3. A COMPARISON TABLE immediately after the snippet answer. Real figures, three or four tiers or options, one row per tier, columns that a buyer actually compares. This is the block that gets pulled into AI answers, so it carries real numbers, never ranges like "varies". 4. ONE H2 PER REMAINING QUESTION from the PAA box given above. Use each question VERBATIM as the H2, unreworded, in the order supplied. Under each, 90 to 130 words that fully answer it: specific numbers, what moves them, and the local reality for this exact city. Clearing the whole box in one post is the point, because a competitor cannot then own the question you skipped. 5. An H2 exactly "What this costs with {business}" style section, adapted to the service, holding one natural paragraph that links to the service page using EXACT-MATCH anchor text of the money service, written as inline markdown. This post exists to push authority at that page, it is not trying to rank alone. Use that anchor text ONCE on the page and never repeat it. SUBSTANCE: - Real dollar figures, square-foot costs, timelines in weeks, permit costs. - Local specifics for this exact city: permit rules, typical housing stock and age, climate factors, what local buyers actually pick. - Name the thing that moves the number most, and say by how much. Do not use a horizontal rule anywhere. ## RULES - Never use em dashes or en dashes. Use commas, periods, or colons. - Write in plain, direct language. No filler, no "in today's digital landscape" openers. - Use the real business name, service, and city given above throughout. Never a placeholder. - NEVER invent a phone number, street address, domain, email, price list, review count, or any other fact about this business. If it was not given above, leave it out entirely or write the field as [supply this]. An invented phone number or website is worse than a missing one, because someone will publish it. - Output markdown. No preamble, no closing commentary, start with the first heading. <!-- SECOND PASS: send this only after the model returns the first artifact --> Now produce the supporting assets. Do NOT rewrite or repeat the post. Output exactly these H2 sections. ## FEATURED IMAGE - Overlay text: the full PAA verbatim with the geo appended. Never a trimmed version, because Google's image AI reads the text in the picture. - NAP and website line exactly as supplied. - Filename: the full PAA in kebab case. - Alt text: the full PAA verbatim. ## BEFORE AND AFTER The one before-and-after pair that best proves this specific answer. State what the BEFORE frame shows, what the AFTER frame shows, the caption for each, and the single number to overlay on the after frame. Both frames carry the same NAP line. ## INFOGRAPHIC The one chart worth making from the numbers in the post. State the chart type, the exact labels and values, the headline that sits on it, and the takeaway a reader gets in two seconds. Keep it to five data points or fewer. ## GMB POST Under 1500 characters. The EXACT PAA is the FIRST text of the post, unreworded. Summarize the answer plainly. End by stating the button is Learn More pointing at the blog post URL. ## SOCIAL POSTS Three posts. Each uses the EXACT PAA as its title, unreworded, city appended. Each links to the GMB post, NEVER the blog post, and never to each other, because interlinking the socials leaks the juice. ## SYNDICATION SILO A markdown table: Asset, Where it goes, What it links back to. Cover blog, featured image, GMB post, socials, short video, audio and podcast. Every asset associates back to the website or the GMB or it has no ranking value.