Street Fight Daily: Understanding the Decline of Search, Ad Blocking App Creator’s Second Thoughts
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Google’s Search Business Might Not Be as Water-Tight as People Think (Business Insider)
Just under 90 percent of Google’s total revenues in 2014 came from advertising, the majority of which were generated by search ads. How big of an impact will the steady decrease of search engine use have on the company?
The Creator of the iPhone’s Top-Selling Ad Blocker Pulled His App off the Market (Adweek)
Less than two days into becoming the iOS App Store’s top-selling paid app, ad blocker Peace was pulled by its creator. “Even though I’m ‘winning’, I’ve enjoyed none of it,” wrote developer Marco Arment in a blog post, saying he realized after the app’s explosion in popularity that it could cause widespread financial damage to publishers and other sites.
Europe’s adsquare Unlocks More Data in New ‘Marketplace’ for Hyper-Contextual Advertising (Street Fight)
For brands and retailers, it’s evident that the battle to win customers will be fought with data — lots of it. But more data could also be too much of a good thing. A new self-service offering from Berlin-based adsquare aims to help advertisers “navigate the data deluge.”
Target Wants to Turn Minneapolis into a Mini-Silicon Valley (Fortune)
Target wants to be known as a major ecommerce innovator, and it will team up next year with Techstars, a leading tech startup accelerator, for a program that will provide funding and mentoring to small up-and-coming companies specifically aimed at retail tech in Target’s hometown of Minneapolis.
Did Apple Just Solve Deep Linking? (Street Fight)
Michael Boland: One of the coolest things to come out Apple’s September product event was 3D Touch, which lets users indicate levels of intent based on how hard they press apps and links. Beyond the gadgetry of 3D Touch, one thing hasn’t been said: This is essentially deep linking, an area that will be a key battleground in local.
As Webstore Winds Down, Amazon Hands Shopify a Win (Gigaom)
The ecommerce platform Shopify announced that it’s partnering with Amazon as the latter’s preferred migration partner. The move signals defeat for the online retail giant’s efforts to compete with Shopify-like platforms.
Facebook Like and Share Buttons to Power Ad Targeting Based on Sites and Apps Users Visit (Marketing Land)
Last year, Facebook announced it would begin utilizing data about the websites and apps that users browse for ad targeting. Soon the company will begin passing browsing data from websites and apps that use Facebook Like, Share, or Send buttons (and it’s hard to find ones that don’t) into its ad systems.
Google Should Be Very Scared of What Amazon Built, According to Investor Bill Gurley (Business Insider)
During an interview at an ecommerce conference, Gurley said, “You start your searches with Amazon with Prime checked. And then the second thing you do, if that doesn’t work, is you uncheck Prime. And then if that doesn’t work, you go to Google…Google has gone from being the starting point of search to the last resort.”
Bleacher Report Deep Links Its Way to New Revenue (Digiday)
The traditional knock against mobile apps is that they err too far on the closed side of things, at least to the comparatively open mobile web. But with deep linking, which lets apps link directly to specific parts of other apps, publishers are starting to find ways to break down the walls between their apps and everyone else’s.
How Zuck’s Old TA Helped Facebook Master Mobile Ads (Wired)
In the summer of 2012, Mark Zuckerberg asked his former computer science class TA to make mobile ads profitable for Facebook. What happened over the next few years transformed the company and digital advertising.
Balancing Privacy and Personalization: The Challenge of Marketing for Micro-Moments (Forbes)
Peter Sena: To provide instant gratification, you need to know your consumers better than they know themselves. Psychology, analytics, customer journey mapping — leverage any tool you can, because intent-rich “micro-moments” can happen at any time.
Nearly Two in Three Millennials Block Ads (eMarketer)
Research suggests that a solid majority of internet users ages 18 to 34 are now blocking ads when they view digital content. Survey respondents said ads were just not the best way to reach them. Instead, they cited free content as the most effective way, followed by discounts or free trial offers by mail, and appearing high in search results.
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