News and Analysis
Yelp Revamps its Business Control Center and Releases Other Pandemic-Adaptive Features
The announcement follows massive layoffs at the company as advertising plunged along with SMB revenue in the face of coronavirus-fueled lockdowns. But a recent Brandify survey showed Yelp remains a massive presence in the local digital marketing space: 64% of US consumers are somewhat or very likely to turn to Yelp when searching for restaurants, second only to the leader across verticals, Google.
Yelp’s new features will prove especially helpful for businesses in the months, if not years during which Covid-19 continues to affect everyday habits, but a number of the changes align with digital marketing best practices that will serve Yelp clients well beyond the next 12 months. Below is a rundown.
Street Fight’s May Theme: Local Commerce’s Recovery Playbook
In our own reporting and analysis (and through the words of our contributors) this month, we’ll define the playbook for local re-entry. As business ramps back up, what will best practices be for local staples such as search marketing and reputation management?
We’ve already covered how businesses are digitizing to adapt to the challenges of commerce in a time of social distancing, embracing curbside pickup, social advertising, pop-up distribution centers, online classes, and retail tech. With an even longer-term view, we’ll examine how this period of uncertainty will shape the future of local commerce.
AARP Launches Platform Empowering Neighbors to Assist Each Other during Pandemic
Built by the team at AARP Innovation Labs over the course of just a few weeks, the Community Connections mutual aid aggregation platform gives volunteers and people in need a place to connect. It features a searchable directory of local mutual aid organizations, which are typically informal groups that provide key daily services, such as picking up groceries and delivering medications to people who are at high risk for contracting Covid-19. People can access the platform to find volunteer groups nearby, with links to those groups’ websites and locator maps.
Latest Posts
How Should SMBs Track ROI From Local Search?
It’s likely that many local merchants misunderstand the importance of using tracking metrics to inform their marketing practices, or they feel overwhelmed at the thought of adding yet another task to their overcrowded plates. To find out how these business owners could be doing a better job of tracking local search metrics, we asked top experts in the field.
Street Fight Daily: Keeping Up With Mobile Shoppers, Google’s Mobile-First Index
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook, In Cross Hairs After Election, Is Said to Question Its Influence… FAQ: All About Google’s Mobile-First Index… How Walgreens’ App Update Will Leverage Beacons to Improve the In-Store Experience…
LBMA Podcast: Instagram, Netflix, LiveNation & LetGo App
This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Aubriana Lopez. On the show: GM + IBM & Mastercard, AliPay coming to U.S., Staples Easy Button, Shell + NavAds, Lyft and JetBlue, Google pilots with Myer, and Custom Curated Experiences.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Buys CrowdTangle, PlaceIQ Teams with Nielsen Catalina
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Buys CrowdTangle, a Social Analytics Tool for Publishers… PlaceIQ Teams with Nielsen Catalina Solutions on Detailing the CPG Purchase Path… Google’s Tiny Radars Tweaked to Identify Everyday Objects in a Home…
Imagining a Local Search Pathway for Snapchat
Snapchat may be considered by many to be “the next Facebook,” but its approach to social media and interactions couldn’t be more different. From its emphasis on moments to the uneasiness the founders have with ad personalization, the company is certain to blaze a trail all its own the the local space.
Street Fight Daily: Yahoo Says Verizon May Ditch Deal, Branded Content on Mobile Sees Success
roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Raises Possibility Verizon May Back Out… Click-Through-Rates for Branded Content on Mobile Double That on Desktop… LinkedIn Makes It Easier for Businesses to Send Sponsored Direct Messages….
Mobile 1.0 Had Its Own Uber: Recalling the Birth of the Future
Somewhere in the nascent days of flip-phones, when I headed up AOL’s mobile products division, we came across a little company with an ambitious goal: let people hail a cab or black car virtually using their cellphones. The company, Qsent, had been working on a mobile-phone version of a service called iQtaxi.
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Scaling Seasonal SEO Across Locations With AI Insights