The first call is with the founding team. Mike's involvement is scoped per engagement.
Mike and Magister
If you sat in his sessions, watched the tests, or ran the playbook yourself, you already know how he works. In 2026 he co-founded Magister Digital AI with Brian Hong and Dimitry Morgan. Same thinking. Real operators on the build. Measured by the phone ringing.
STRATEGY × EXECUTIONSPEAKING ARCHIVE / 2021Michael Merlino. In the room.
LOCAL VISIBILITY / GEO-GRIDLocal Brand Manager · Published tool example
THE PLAYBOOK Built into the business.
FROM THE STAGE TO YOUR BUSINESS
2021-2022GMB Pros
THE PLAYBOOKTest. Teach. Refine.
2026Magister Digital AI
Where it started
Business owners have followed Mike since GMB Pros YouTube around 2021-2022, when he talked straight to owners and had nothing for sale. That is who this page is for.
FROM MIKE’S EVENT ARCHIVE
On stage. Year after year.
Speaking, teaching and comparing notes with the people doing the work. Original photos from Mike’s event archive.
He co-founded Magister Digital AI in 2026 with Brian Hong and Dimitry Morgan. A talk becomes an engagement: diagnosis, build, intake, and measurement in one scope. Mike's role is written into that scope. It is not a private retainer by default.
THE EXECUTION BENCH
The playbook. Put to work.
Five connected disciplines. Real tools, clear responsibilities and a single scope.
Fix the foundations. Build brand demand. Connect discovery to intake and recorded outcomes.
01THE METHOD
Does anyone search for you by name?
How this works
Businesses that people look for by name get treated differently than businesses that only show up for generic searches. The first diagnosis is how much of your traffic is people who already know you, and how to grow that number.
02THE METHOD
Foundations before tricks
How this works
Your business identity, services, and location have to be clear and consistent everywhere a buyer might find you. No advanced tactic fixes a confused foundation.
The language inside your reviews and how you respond to them matter more than the raw count. There's a discipline to both, and most businesses have neither.
Where the money is in your market rarely matches where your listing thinks you are. Targeting the actual boundaries of your city and the neighborhoods that buy is foundational, and most setups get it wrong on day one.
05THE METHOD
Measured by the phone ringing
How this works
Rankings are an input. The output that matters is a call that becomes a booked job, a signed case, or a new patient. If a channel looks good on a report but never converts, it gets cut.
06THE METHOD
Lines he won't cross
How this works
Mike is on record that he doesn't do negative SEO and doesn't report competitors' listings. His stance on links is unfashionably conservative. If a competitor beats you, the answer is to get better, not to snitch.
His early reputation included click tactics. The method he teaches and runs now starts with brand and fundamentals.
INSIDE THE ACTUAL WORK
Open the report. Follow the evidence.
Original reporting and actual aggregate data, with the dates and definitions attached.
Mike’s reported figures from recorded appearances. Not independently audited. The 2025 window was presented on a webinar connected to tools he co-owns.
Mike's one of the few people that I've actually seen his results.
Chaz Edwards / Interview context
Chaz Edwards, founder of Web 2.0 Ranker, on The SEO Vault. In the same episode, Edwards says he has never personally gotten results from the tactic Mike is best known for. He is a skeptic of the method and runs a competing agency. That is what makes the statement worth something.
You are the absolute same no matter where, and that's very, very rare.
Chris M. Walker / Interview context
Chris M. Walker, founder of Legiit, comparing how Mike presents on stage with how he is in person. What you see in his talks is what you get in a working relationship.
MAGISTER CLIENT WORK
What the work produced.
Separate client engagements. Each case keeps its own measurement window and definitions.
Choose the structure that fits the business. The responsibilities and measurement stay explicit.
AENGAGEMENT MODEL
Premium hire
Hire Mike Merlino, Brian Hong, and Dimitry Morgan as the founding team on a scoped engagement. You fund the full bench: strategy, SEO/web, paid demand (Magister paid lane), AI/CRM, and attribution. Mike's hours and depth are written into the scope.
A lighter fee up front, plus a profit share tied to booked work. When used, rev-share is usually in the 3-10% range of job value. Available, not required. Pure fee engagements are welcome. Exact % is set in scoping.
First call with the founding team. Mike’s involvement is scoped. Paid media runs through Magister’s paid lane. Exact fees, share basis and responsibilities are agreed during scoping.
READY TO BUILD
This works if you
The readiness checklist
Run a home services, medical, dental, or legal business
Will fund a real SEO and ads program instead of squeezing the small stuff
Can answer the phone when demand shows up
Will let us instrument the whole funnel, calls and CRM included
Want to be measured on booked work, not rankings and impressions
FIT CHECK
This doesn't work if you
Check the fit
Need leads this week. Nothing honest moves that fast
Want a guaranteed cost per lead before anyone has seen your close rate
Are shopping on price
Would rather attribution stayed vague so the numbers keep looking good
Are still testing whether your offer sells at all
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
From first call to a clear scope.
01THE BRIEF
Ask about working with Mike
What to expect
Use the contact form or call. Tell us the market you're in and what's not working. That's enough to start.
02THE CONVERSATION
A 45-minute call with the founding team
What to expect
No deck. We look at where your current spend leaks, your real cost per booked job, and the intake gap between the click and the calendar. You keep the findings whether or not you hire us.
03THE PLAN
A scoped plan, with Mike's role defined in it
What to expect
If the numbers support an engagement, we scope it against your close rate and average ticket, and the scope states what Mike contributes. If they don't support it, we say so on the call instead of three months in.
Local Brand Manager · Published tool example
2021
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