News and Analysis
Conversational Commerce: The Next Frontier in Personalized Customer Journeys
In the fast-evolving landscape of e-commerce, a renewed emphasis on personalization has reshaped customer experiences. Guided shopping, propelled by tools like chatbots and quiz platforms, has become commonplace. Now, as cutting-edge AI and machine learning technologies come into play, a new frontier emerges in the form of conversational commerce. But what exactly is conversational commerce, […]
AppsFlyer Fortifies Privacy-Focused Analytics with devtodev Acquisition
The recent acquisition of devtodev by AppsFlyer, a global leader in marketing measurement, attribution, and data analytics, has sent ripples through the industry. In a discussion with Oren Kaniel, AppsFlyer CEO and Co-founder, he shed light on the significance of this acquisition, emphasizing how it positions AppsFlyer as the pioneer in analytics within the newly […]
The 3 Technologies MULO Restaurant Businesses Need Today: A Chat with Eric Seymour
Eric Seymour is the VP of Channel Programs at me&u. The company provides tech-powered ordering to restaurants. He believes strongly that the right technologies, combined with the best possible human-customer interaction, can help solve many of the problems multi-location (MULO) restaurants face today in terms of service and satisfaction today. What are the top three […]
Commentary
Privacy versus Paid Content: What Are We Willing to Sacrifice?
To the naked eye, technologies and laws allowing consumers more control are absolutely and unequivocally good. Who would oppose privacy protection laws and self-imposed regulations apart from those who are exploiting the lack of privacy, right? But what is the end goal we are trying to achieve, and what is the price we are “paying” in the process?
Snap Scan Shines New Light on the Company’s Local Discovery Ambitions
Snapchat’s ambition to become a socially fueled local discovery engine recently got a boost with Snap Scan, a visual search tool that makes the world searchable and shoppable. Connecting dots over several years, Snap’s geo-local efforts include Geofilters, Snap Map, Local Place Promote, and Local Lenses.
3 Steps Brands Can Take to Build First-Party Data Practices
Brands must ensure that the first-party data they are assembling is properly permissioned, meaningfully collected across channels, unified, and organized. Getting started comes down to breaking down these goals into manageable projects and timelines that ensure first-party data sets are unlocking all the doors by 2023.
Latest Posts
Google Local Search Trends III: Socialization
In this third of four installments in my series on recent and ongoing trends in local search, I want to focus on signs that Google’s local platform — comprising Google My Business, Google Maps, and the local component of Google Search — has become, under our noses, a massive social network. Google has achieved this status not through traditional methods of connecting users to each other, but by allowing and encouraging users to share their experiences, questions, and opinions about local businesses in a variety of forms and at a massive scale.
Yelp Introduces Guest Manager, A Front-of-House Operations Tool for Restaurants
Yelp today introduced a new, comprehensive solution for restaurants to manage their front-of-house operations. With online searches for takeout remaining above pre-pandemic levels, the new Yelp Guest Manager is being billed as a comprehensive solution that brings together many of the digital tools restaurants have been using to manage digital ordering, reservations, takeout, guest loyalty, and table management.
Broadening Local: Expert Roundup
A trio of local search experts expound on the latest in the industry. Claire Carlile proposes Google My Business as a CMS and covers how businesses should approach the channel; Miriam Ellis explores the increasingly blurred lines between different categories of sites and businesses; and Damian Rollison delineates the major trends shaping the trajectory of local search, especially on Google.
Now’s Not The Time To Cut Back On Marketing. Here’s What To Do Instead
Businesses that withdraw from marketplace visibility have a much harder time, and find it far more expensive in the long run, to regain customers once they start re-engaging, with market share declining even after they resume advertising. So, while cutting back marketing spend can help address some short-term bottom-line issues, it will create significant challenges to long-term sustainability.
New Year, Same Challenge: Content is the Key to Another Digital Holiday Season for Retailers
With the Delta variant bringing a second unwelcome wave of apprehension and disruption, the vision we all looked forward to a year ago — the return to a normal holiday season — is dissipating before our eyes. Online shopping will be the main go-to again this time around, with businesses and consumers facing many familiar, and a few unfamiliar, factors this year.
How Apple’s Latest Privacy Changes Will Affect Email Marketing
Last week, Apple rolled out iOS 15, which brought more privacy changes that could undermine tracking and disadvantage digital marketers. Most notably, the company’s Mail Privacy Protection policy will ask iOS device users whether they want to “protect” their mail or not, preventing marketers from determining whether consumers who “protect” their email opened messages.
Privacy versus Paid Content: What Are We Willing to Sacrifice?
To the naked eye, technologies and laws allowing consumers more control are absolutely and unequivocally good. Who would oppose privacy protection laws and self-imposed regulations apart from those who are exploiting the lack of privacy, right? But what is the end goal we are trying to achieve, and what is the price we are “paying” in the process?
Snap Scan Shines New Light on the Company’s Local Discovery Ambitions
Snapchat’s ambition to become a socially fueled local discovery engine recently got a boost with Snap Scan, a visual search tool that makes the world searchable and shoppable. Connecting dots over several years, Snap’s geo-local efforts include Geofilters, Snap Map, Local Place Promote, and Local Lenses.
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Streets Ahead: ChatGPT, AI-Generated meta descriptions and AI Mode