For 4 years, Segun Olaiya labored in native search engine optimisation (search engine optimization) within the United States, serving to giant operations, together with AT&T and businesses in San Diego and Texas, enhance their visibility in on-line searches.
But he noticed that advertising and marketing know-how largely catered to organisations with a number of places, leaving smaller businesses missed.
“Most of this kind of industry, which is marketing technology, is usually focused around big organisations that have multiple locations across cities and states that want to be as visible as possible. But small businesses are not always really paid attention to,” Olaiya advised TechCabal in an interview.
He started serving to small enterprise house owners manually optimise their Google Business Profiles. Some reported receiving extra calls from customers who discovered them by way of natural search moderately than paid ads. “They were like, ‘Oh, now I get more calls,’” he recalled.
“Maybe I can actually just make this into a proper thing and then automate it,” Olaiya mentioned.
That thought led to Massive in 2026, an AI-powered native search engine optimization platform that helps businesses like eating places, clinics, salons and home-service suppliers enhance their visibility on Google. It combines automated optimisation with human account managers who monitor search rankings and evaluate enterprise profiles.
Why being on Google is just not sufficient
Being listed on Google doesn’t assure a enterprise will seem prominently when potential customers seek for its companies. Google says native search outcomes are primarily primarily based on three components: relevance, distance, and prominence.
Relevance measures how intently a enterprise profile matches a search; distance considers how far the enterprise is from the individual looking. Prominence displays how well-known it’s on-line, together with by way of buyer evaluations and hyperlinks from different web sites.
Olaiya says businesses can enhance their visibility by guaranteeing their Google Business Profiles precisely describe their companies, preserving their enterprise info constant throughout on-line platforms, and inspiring customers to go away evaluations.
For many Nigerian microenterprises, establishing a web based presence stays a problem. A 2024 Research ICT Africa report, primarily based on a survey of 718 Nigerian microenterprises, discovered that solely 13% used the web for enterprise actions. Just 0.3% had their very own web sites, whereas 6.7% had a social media presence. The report additionally discovered that 37% lacked the digital abilities to use the web productively for his or her businesses.
Yet on-line search may be an essential supply of customers. A research commissioned by Google and performed by Public First discovered that, on common, businesses surveyed in Nigeria reported that round 11% to 20% of their new customers discovered them by way of Google Search. The survey lined 140 enterprise leaders from small, medium, and enormous on-line businesses.
For enterprise house owners already occupied with operating their operations, preserving their on-line profiles aggressive provides one other duty. Olaiya says Google’s frequent adjustments to its native search priorities make it troublesome for businesses to know what to replace or enhance.
“Typically, the problem is that Google usually changes the rules. More often than not, they usually change what they really care about,” he mentioned.
He mentioned many enterprise house owners lack the time to sustain with these adjustments and work out how to enhance their visibility, so some outsource the duty to specialists to give attention to operating their businesses.
He believes this makes companies like Massive extra interesting to businesses that will moderately give attention to their each day operations.
How Massive manages native seek for businesses
Massive’s course of begins with a free visibility scan on its web site, AttemptMassive.ai. Business house owners enter their enterprise identify and a search time period potential customers would possibly use, equivalent to “barber near me.” The platform then generates a map exhibiting the place the enterprise seems in Google Maps search outcomes throughout the encompassing space.
Olaiya mentioned the scan simulates searches from 49 factors round a enterprise by default, exhibiting how its rating adjustments relying on the place a possible buyer is looking.
He mentioned the system makes use of Google information to estimate what somebody looking from every location would see.
“The Massive system goes and simulates that search across, by default, 49 points in the city,” he mentioned. “We simulate it as if somebody physically went to that physical location and then opened their phones and they search for that keyword.”
Businesses wanting to assess a wider space can improve the variety of factors to 81 or 100. Massive additionally calculates a median rating throughout the places, giving enterprise house owners an outline of their visibility within the space.
Those who need to enhance their rankings can subscribe to the platform and ebook a 30-minute name with a member of Massive’s crew. During the decision, an account supervisor evaluations their present outcomes and enterprise profile, discusses their objectives and explains the adjustments Massive recommends. Olaiya describes the association as a “done-for-you experience”, including that “we literally do everything for you”.
The platform makes use of AI to analyse enterprise profiles and establish areas for enchancment. It evaluations a enterprise’s present description and recommends adjustments that would help Google higher perceive its companies and the customers it wants to attain.
“Once a business is imported to Massive, the system itself automatically reviews the existing description and then recommends the proper description,” Olaiya mentioned.
Massive additionally checks for inconsistencies in a enterprise’s on-line info, equivalent to variations between the descriptions on its web site and social media pages. For businesses with out web sites, Olaiya mentioned the platform can routinely generate one utilizing their enterprise info and replace it as adjustments are made. It additionally recommends adjustments to be sure that the enterprise presents constant info throughout its on-line platforms.
Some duties run routinely with out requiring the enterprise proprietor or an account supervisor to intervene. When a buyer leaves a Google evaluate, Massive analyses it, considers the enterprise’s companies and communication fashion, and drafts a response. Olaiya mentioned the system can then publish the response instantly on Google with out the enterprise proprietor having to log in and reply.
However, account managers stay concerned in reviewing suggestions and dealing with points that require human judgement. Olaiya mentioned some businesses add pictures or different content material that Google might not settle for. When the system flags such materials, an account supervisor can contact the enterprise proprietor, clarify the issue, and advise them on what to change.
“We believe that a person should talk to another person instead of us just running a system that AI is talking to the person,” he mentioned.
Massive runs visibility scans each two weeks to monitor adjustments in a enterprise’s rankings. If rankings don’t enhance after two weeks, Olaiya mentioned the crew adjustments its technique. Subsequent scans may reveal declines, permitting the crew to establish adjustments that will have affected a enterprise’s place and reverse them the place mandatory.
Olaiya mentioned that after three to 4 months of optimisation, as soon as a enterprise’s profile is steady, the system turns into largely autonomous and continues monitoring its visibility with much less direct intervention from the crew.
Who Massive is constructing for
Massive targets businesses whose customers want to discover them in a specific location. Olaiya recognized 4 principal classes.
The first is businesses with bodily shops, together with eating places, gyms, salons, spas, and legislation companies. The second is service-area businesses, equivalent to electricians and lawn-care firms, which journey to customers moderately than function from a set location. The third is multi-location businesses that need customers trying to find their companies to discover the outlet closest to them. The fourth is new businesses getting into a longtime market and attempting to entice native customers alongside present rivals.
Olaiya mentioned businesses in much less populated areas may have a bonus as a result of they face fewer rivals and may serve a wider space.
“For places that are not very dense, the businesses there who happen to find Massive, for example, are at a good advantage because they have fewer competitors and they can cover even a bigger area,” he mentioned.
However, not each enterprise wants native search engine optimization. Olaiya mentioned Massive is just not designed for online-only businesses, software program firms, newsrooms or blogs whose customers don’t want to discover a bodily location or service supplier close by.
Massive earns income by way of month-to-month and annual subscriptions. Its web site lists the service at ₦18,000 ($13.37) a month per enterprise location, or ₦216,000 ($160.47) for a 12 months. The subscription contains profile optimisation, weekly Google Business Profile updates, evaluate administration, map-rank monitoring and a devoted account supervisor. Businesses may strive the complete service free for 14 days earlier than subscribing. Olaiya mentioned the corporate has greater than 20 energetic customers.
Olaiya mentioned many small businesses depend on social media to attain customers with out totally exploring how Google Search can help them entice new ones. He
sees educating enterprise house owners about native search engine optimization as an essential a part of rising Massive’s buyer base.
“One of the things that can drive the product is to educate business owners to say, ‘ You need this,” he mentioned. “We are currently bootstrapping, and it is quite limiting how far we can go in terms of reaching out to the business owners. But we are on it.”
Building Massive’s subsequent part
Massive is getting into a market with established worldwide platforms providing related native search engine optimization and location-marketing companies. Olaiya recognized Polish platform Localo, San Diego-based SOCi, a]nd New York-headquartered Yext as rivals.
He mentioned Massive is cheaper than rivals exterior Africa, which he believes permits it to serve African businesses and small businesses in different markets. Massive’s revealed month-to-month worth is decrease than Localo’s $49 Single Business plan, which falls to $39 monthly with annual billing.
However, the 2 platforms supply totally different service fashions. Localo offers software program instruments for businesses to handle their very own Google Business Profiles. Massive presents a done-for-you service with an account supervisor. SOCi and Yext don’t show comparable costs on their enterprise pricing pages, as an alternative directing potential customers to request customised info or a demo.
However, the corporate nonetheless has to persuade enterprise house owners that native search visibility is price paying for and develop its attain past its present buyer base. Olaiya mentioned he wants Massive to exhibit its worth by way of the enterprise choices customers make after bettering their visibility.
“Over the next year, I need to have at least 100 businesses who can attest to the fact that Massive has helped them expand their businesses,” he mentioned.
For him, that will imply greater than businesses showing increased in Google Maps outcomes. He wants customers to use the visibility insights to make choices equivalent to opening one other outlet or shifting into a brand new space. He mentioned such enlargement would present that Massive had made a big affect on their businesses.
