News and Analysis

Google Is Using AI to Improve Business Listings — Here’s How

Share this:

Google said it would be using artificial intelligence and machine learning to build a self-updating Maps product that predicts when business hours are likely to be wrong and updates listings automatically using AI-generated predictions.

New Hires at Publica, January Digital, Vibrant Media

Share this:

The monthly Street Fight new hires roundup features movers and shakers in adtech, martech, e-commerce, localized marketing, location intelligence, and more. This month’s roundup features new hires at CTV ad platform Publica, digital analytics company January Digital, and contextual marketing firm Vibrant Media.

5 Ad Tech Platforms for Supermarket Chains

Share this:

In a move that’s been a long time coming, supermarkets are finally switching from print to digital advertising en masse. Printing circulars and paper coupons are being replaced by sponsored search and display ads as supermarkets both boost their own advertising spend and set up retail media networks to allow brands to better reach their shoppers. Amazon paved the way for grocers to advertise online with its acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017, but continued growth in 2022 is due primarily to surging demand for last-mile grocery delivery via mobile apps like Instacart and DoorDash.

Commentary

Believe the Hype: The Pragmatic Value of Location-Based Analytics, Audiences, and Attribution

Share this:

After 25 years of framing technologies by level of maturity and adoption, the Gartner Hype Cycle has finally placed location intelligence for marketing where it belongs — in the trough of disillusionment. Sounds like a lousy place to be, but it’s actually the opposite. Why? The trough of disillusionment is the stage right before the slope of enlightenment. Let me back up and explain.

Combating Ad Fraud with Cutting-Edge Tech

Share this:

It’s no secret that ad fraud is a major hurdle for digital advertisers, sapping billions annually from marketing budgets. As digital advertising continues to receive higher cuts of marketing budgets, the pressure on ad platforms to deliver legitimate and high-quality campaigns to their customers has never been greater. At the same time, marketers must be increasingly aware and choosy in how and where they run their digital campaigns in order to avoid the perils of ad fraud.

There are plenty of ad traps out there, but savvy marketers and publishers alike can implement a number of digital checkpoints to not only keep ad fraud at bay, but also optimize what is working and maximize profits for both parties. 

Building Customer Loyalty: Is Texting the Answer?

Share this:

In today’s fast-paced world, we depend on our phones to help us get things quickly and easily. So, is texting the answer to building customer loyalty? Short answer: yes. Long answer: also yes, but it matters how you use it.

For appointment-based businesses, efficiency and simplicity are key to keeping customers engaged and coming back for more. Integration with online booking, improving gift card sales, and managing scheduling requests are three simple avenues that can have a big impact on building your business’ customer loyalty program. 

Latest Posts

Performance Partnerships: A Better Way to Define Affiliate Marketing

Share this:

Performance Partnerships can only exist within a CPA model because the partners win and lose together. This isn’t the case with many of the other channels labeled as performance marketing. Performance Partnerships include everything that people want in their affiliate relationships and exclude all that is undesirable.

Street Fight Daily: How to Target Customers Without Being Creepy, Keys to Brand Success with Voice

Share this:

TOP LOCAL TIPS AND STORIES… The Line Between Cool and Creepy: How Much Personalization is Too Much?… IBM Says Data and Utility Are the Keys to Brand Success in Voice… Google Has Asked Ad Tech Firms to Guarantee Broad GDPR Consent, Assume Liability…

As Polls Eagle-Eye News Media, Their Own Work Merits a Close Look

Share this:

On accuracy, news organizations across the board have to address more forthrightly the public’s concerns about the truthfulness of what is presented. Those concerns do not appear to be as great as expressed in the Gallup/Knight numbers, which exaggerate a widespread talking point about growing distrust in the news media.

Street Fight Daily: A Glossary for SEO, Why Brands Favor Hybrid In-House Marketing

Share this:

TODAY’S LOCAL HEADLINES… The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Conquering SEO: The Glossary… Why Brands Favor Hybrid In-House Marketing… MediaMath Has $180 Million to Spend on Acquisitions—What’s Next?…

Google Announces Machine Learning-Based Ads Designed for Foot Traffic, Attribution, Personalization

Share this:

Google announced on Tuesday a suite of new machine learning-backed ad tools that promise to keep its brand partners happy at a time when digital advertising faces unprecedented brand safety concerns. Among the tools is one explicitly designed to maximize foot traffic.

Street Fight Daily: Google Announces Huge Local Ad News, How Apple Can Use Maps Rebuild to Compete in Local

Share this:

CUTTING-EDGE POSSIBILITIES AND POWER PLAYS IN LOCAL… Google Announces Machine Learning-Based Ads Designed for Foot Traffic, Attribution, Personalization… 10 Ways Apple Can Rebuild Maps to Become an Innovator in Local…

10 Ways Apple Can Rebuild Maps to Become an Innovator in Local

Share this:

As Apple relaunches Maps, I’m eager to see underlying map data improve, but I’d be even more interested if I knew Apple had a roadmap to improve the local data layer. Here are some things Apple should do if the company truly wants to move beyond its second-place status in local.

Heard on the Street Episode 7: Defying the Hyperlocal Graveyard, with NextDoor

Share this:

One of the imperatives for fledgling sites with hyperlocal aspirations that NextDoor co-founder and chief architect Prakash Janakiraman points to is dedicated focus on neighbor-to-neighbor communications and engagement. Though not as big or culturally embedded as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, NextDoor is exclusively devoted to local community interaction.

How AR Will Fundamentally Change Search, Participating in an ‘Internet of Places’

Share this:

Online-to-offline (O2O) commerce is one area where AR will find a home. Just think: Is there any better technology to unlock O2O commerce than one that literally melds physical and digital worlds? AR can shorten gaps in time and space that currently separate those interactions (e.g. search) from offline outcomes.

Street Fight Daily: Prime Day, Amazon’s Power, and Local; Google’s Mobile Speed Update and SMBs

Share this:

BIG MOVES AND TOP TAKES IN LOCAL… Prime Day Showcases the Power of an E-Commerce Empire—And What It Means for Local… Why Google’s Mobile Speed Update Smells Like Trouble for Small Businesses… Simpli.fi Reaches Next Level in Precise Location Targeting…