News and Analysis

6 Trends to Watch in Holiday Search Marketing

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With fewer than two months to go until Christmas, retailers are already kicking their holiday search marketing tactics into high gear. Holiday sales this year are expected to increase roughly 4% over 2018, according to the National Retail Federation, and consumers are expected to be especially price-conscious. How will the retail industry respond to the changing dynamics in search marketing?

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest trends expected to influence holiday search marketing this year, from tactics for extending the local reach of holiday campaigns and how those tactics convert customers at the point of decision to newer products like Local Inventory Ads, which allows marketers to feed store-level inventory into Google search.

In Fitness Industry, Vertical Platforms Cater to Specialized Operations

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Online appointment booking platforms are a dime a dozen, used by businesses in a huge range of industries. But among fitness businesses, specifically, general use booking platforms aren’t very common. That’s because fitness businesses are more likely to use vertical-specific tools designed to meet the needs of specialized operations.

Perhaps more so than any other industry, health and wellness has shown a great desire for verticalized technology solutions. Although verticalization isn’t limited to the health and wellness industry, fitness studios and related businesses are much more likely to use technology platforms designed specifically for their industry.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash Fight Gig Economy Law in California

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Ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft are teaming up with restaurant delivery service DoorDash to fight California’s AB 5, a law that would force gig-economy companies that survive on contractor labor to register their drivers (or dashers) as employees and offer them benefits, Vox reported.

The coalition, the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services campaign, is attempting to place a referendum on the 2020 California ballot that would give voters the choice to exempt ride-sharing services from the law. That would presumably include DoorDash, which is not a ride-hailing service but essentially iterated Uber’s business model, employing drivers to escort food instead of passengers from A to B on demand.

Commentary

Foursquare Data Shows Up Today in More Places Than You’d Think

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It’s remarkable to see how often Foursquare data is popping up today in the apps that garner the most consumer traffic and press attention. These votes of confidence would seem to solidify Foursquare’s position as the forefather of natively digital location data.

Report: Matching Up With Local Merchants’ Marketing Objectives

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Our analysis of local merchants shows that SMBs are spending more money on digital marketing — particularly social media and email — because they find those channels most effective. But there appears to be some missing links between new customer acquisition and their favorite tactics.

Is Your Local Dealership Prepared for a New Era of Car Buying?

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The automotive space is extremely competitive and with automotive sales down 13.2 percent, the competition could not be fiercer. In order to remain afloat in today’s challenging sales environment, auto marketers need to rethink how they get high-intent buyers to their stores.

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Mihm & Blumenthal: How Google’s Monetization Shift Will Impact Local Search

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In this new feature, local marketing gurus David Mihm and Mike Blumenthal kick around some of the biggest ideas affecting the local search ecosystem and the broader industry. This edition looks at the latest changes from Google and how local marketers should react.

Case Study: Sailing Company Leverages Online Reviews to Maximize Sales

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Online reviews can make or break a business in the tourism industry, which is one of the reasons why Kai Kanani Sailing Charters is pulling out all the stops to drive a higher volume of reviews on third-party websites like Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor..

Street Fight Daily: Verizon Acquires Yahoo, Retailers Leverage Instagram for Loyalty

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Cuts $4.8 Billion Deal to Sell Core Business to Verizon… How Retailers Like Michael Kors Are Turning Instagram Into a Customer-Loyalty Vehicle… Retail Emails Lead to Quick Sales…

Street Culture: Promoboxx Links Incentives to Achievements

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CEO Ben Carcio said that it dawned on him one day that his employees would probably enjoy the perks of the job more if they were linked to company goals. One of the most recent incentives that the Promoboxx team earned was half day Fridays for the summer after hitting a revenue goal during the first week of June.

Professional Dog Walker Exercising Dogs In Park

6 On-Demand Platforms for Pet Care

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Pet care is a $62.75 billion industry, and premium services, like full-service pet hotels and in-home dog sitting, represent one of the largest areas for growth. Here are six examples of on-demand pet care startups catering to young, busy professionals and the animals they love.

LBMA Podcast: UberMedia, JC Penney, L’Oreal, and Localz

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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: Pokemon Go, Yahoo! Japan + AdMax, Peerless-AV + Volta, NEC’s Neoface, SenionLab, PlaceIQ + Oracle, and IKEA Canada.

Street Fight Daily: Bots Boom on Facebook, Tinder-Like Interface Takes on Retail

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Bots Take Over Facebook… Twitter’s User Base to Grow by Double Digits This Year… Sephora is Driving Mobile Sales with Tinder-Like Features…

Could the ‘Smart Home’ Be the Next Big Opportunity in Local?

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We can now make a taxi, a pizza, or a plumber appear with nothing more than clicking a button or speaking a phrase. And convenience-hungry consumers not only want more, they’re expecting it. Smart home technology is now on deck to deliver on that expectation.

Leader of Reuters Institute’s Bleak News Report: ‘We Can Do It’

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A recent report had mixed emotions about the future of community news. So should publishers despair, or is there promise of sunlight behind the lowering clouds? We spoke with Nic Newman, digital strategist at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and author of the report, to find out more.

Sponsored Content: Enterprise Totally Trounces Hertz in a Battle for Local Marketing Presence

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Vehicle rental companies Enterprise and Hertz battled their branding strategies in a Brand Battle that analyzed data accuracy, local search and advertising, reviews, and social engagement. In an industry where service can make all the difference to customers who are often stressed and rushed, Enterprise influenced its consumer base in positive ways, supporting loyalty and growth…