News and Analysis
SMBs Seek Speedy Relief to Recover in 2021
The Biden administration is pledging $15 billion in grants to help businesses, and $35 billion for small business financing programs, as part of its new American Rescue Plan. But many grants and recovery programs have long timelines, and business owners are saying they need more immediate support.
Commentary
How Reddit and Local Media Consortium Upvoted Each Other and Became Partners
But Reddit and the LMC each has something that the other wants. Reddit would like to tap into the LMC’s huge pool of 470 million unique visitors and turn many of them into subscribers. LMC publishers wants to learn from Reddit how to make their readers more engaged. Now, old media and new media are teaming up.
3 Tips for Managing Local Services Ads
Google expanded Local Services ads to the San Diego area in November 2016 and has been rapidly expanding this platform across different verticals and markets in the USA over the last two years. If you’re considering running Local Services ads, here are three things to know before getting started.
Latest Posts
After Fits and Starts, Collaborative News Is Finally Making Headlines
For years, there’s been a lot of earnest talk about digital news sites collaborating to produce editorial content that had more value for users — and to help the collaborators make their often-precarious operations sustainable. But the talk produced as many fits as starts. That’s changing, and for the better.
Street Fight Daily: Updates from Google I/O, Walmart’s Online Sales Jump Sharply
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… I/O 2017: Everything Coming to Google Assistant… Following Jet Acquisition, Walmart’s Online Sales Soar as It Pursues Amazon… Twitter’s New Privacy Tools Let Users Control How Advertisers Target Them…
How SMB Networking is Driving More Referral Marketing
Many small businesses have picked up on referral marketing options, but word-of-mouth referrals are an ancillary benefit of networking with other local business owners. “The entire business community needs a way to connect and have ongoing dialogue,” says Ro Prakash, co-founder of Townsquared.
Street Fight Daily: D.C. Taxis to Replace Meters with Square, Instagram May Allow Search by Location
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Square Will Replace Meters in D.C. Taxis, Potentially Fueling Data Collection and Local Commerce… Instagram May Allow Users to Search Publicly Shared Stories by Location… Web-Retail Startups Turn to Bricks and Mortar for Growth…
Why TGI Fridays Is Thinking About Marketing Like a Startup
While marketers always try to understand trending topics among customers, for a national restaurant chain it also means finding ways to listen and react quickly at the local level. Sherif Mityas, who will speak at Street Fight Summit, says his company is working to connect more personally with the chain’s customers.
Charting Google’s Shifting Priorities in the New Local Search Survey
For many years, Physical Address in City of Search was the most important ranking factor, but it has now been overtaken by Proximity of Address to the Point of Search (Searcher-Business Distance). As such, the canonical local search use case has become a mobile user searching for a business nearby his or her current location.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Suffers Data Collection Setback Abroad, Pitfalls of Location Tech for Brands
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Gets Slap on the Wrist from 2 European Privacy Regulators… Brands: Prioritizing Location-Based KPIs Can Have Its Drawbacks… Uber Won’t Be Forced to Stop Developing Self-Driving Cars During Its Lawsuit with Alphabet…
The Current State of Google Maps — Fake News, Fake Reviews
“It’s incredible to me that given all of Google’s focus on new local products that they are still getting some of the basics wrong,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “People who rely on Google more and more to find local businesses need to know that the fundamental metric of the business quality, reviews, is fair and well policed.”
Friends Don’t Let Friends Dial Drunk — There’s a ‘Mode’ for That
Drunk Mode is an app that helps users navigate their inebriation — and avoid making embarrassing calls at 2 am. (I’m looking at you every 22-year-old.) CEO Josh Anton, who will be speaking at Street Fight Summit, developed his suite of location-based apps after getting one of those late-night phone calls from a friend.
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Authentic Storytelling: Real-Life Scenarios Showcase Brand Values and Build Trust