News and Analysis
Report: Reviews for Local Businesses Are Essential. Ratings Below 4 Stars Are Deadly
If it had not already been clear that building up a significant inventory of positive online reviews is key to attracting new customers to a business, let doubt linger no further.
A whopping 52 percent of consumers ages 18-54 “always” read reviews when searching for local businesses, and only 53 percent will consider a businesses with fewer than four stars, according to survey of 1,005 US-based consumers by marketing platform BrightLocal. Eighty-two percent of consumers overall read online reviews.
Connected Consumers Are More Demanding Than Ever – How Retailers Are Adapting
As the omnichannel approach to retail takes off, industry insiders are beginning to wonder whether giving shoppers what they want, when they want it, across any connected device, is causing consumers to develop unrealistic expectations about the types of experiences and services their favorite stores can provide.
Report: Holiday Shoppers Prioritize Speed in Retail Experience
Among the survey’s most surprising findings is how quickly shoppers are willing to abandon their favorite retailers when those stores don’t have the items they want. Aptos found that 47% of shoppers will start looking elsewhere if their favorite retailer runs out of an item they’re looking for during the so-called Golden Quarter. Additionally, Aptos found that more than half of consumers (60%) say they will abandon their baskets if they find their items for cheaper elsewhere.
Commentary
Parsing Google Fred and Other Quality Updates: How to Prepare or Recover
If you are involved in any form of SEO, you know how daunting it can be to keep up with Google algorithm updates. From the Mobile First Index to the Owl update to Google Fred, the tide is always shifting. It is important to step back a moment and take a look at what Google is trying to do.
How Using Wearables Data Can Strengthen Brands’ Outreach
Wearables have the ability to become a conduit to exciting new revenue streams, but it’s up to marketers to take advantage of the data these devices generate, and to create a marketing ecosystem that evolves through contextually-based experiences that matter to the consumer.
Why Voice Search Is the Future
Voice presents tremendous opportunities for location marketers to build their businesses, too. Companies such as Domino’s Pizza and Starbucks are tapping into voice to drive commerce, but the best way to capitalize on voice is to let consumers define your approach.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Google May Make Billions on Maps’ Local Ads, Uber IPO Coming No Time Soon
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Thanks to Local Ads, Google Maps Could Produce $1.5 Billion in New Revenue… Uber CEO Says Company Will Go Public ‘As Late As Humanly Possible’… The Bezos Effect: How Amazon’s Founder is Reinventing The Washington Post…
#SFSW16: What VCs Are Looking for in Local Startups
The pace for venture capital funding has slowed and deals that once took days to close now take months, but Hunter Walk (Partner, Homebrew VC) and Eric Feng (General Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers) say it’s still an exciting time to be involved in local tech.
#SFSW16: Identifying the Location ‘Currency of Local’
“The way we categorize data is it’s probabilistic,” said Juice Mobile CEO Neil Sweeney at Street Fight Summit West. “If you are acquiring or buying location from bid stream data, your location is inferred and inherently flawed.”
Street Fight Daily: Foursquare’s Swarm Offers Check-in Rewards, Yahoo Debuts Chatbots
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Foursquare’s Swarm Now Rewards You for Check-Ins… Yahoo Enters the World of Chatbots… Google is Bringing New Ad Types to AMP…
#SFSW16: Location Solves Data Glut Says HERE Exec
Goubert says one of the biggest questions that comes up when people start talking about data is, is more always better? “We all love data because we think data is the oil of the next industry,” he said. “We all want more.” But collecting data for the sake of collecting data is a common mistake, and Goubert said the first step in solving most big data dilemmas is to add a location angle…
#SFSW16: Loyalty is Back, and It’s Big, But It’s Not Cutting-Edge
“The premise of our business is that in the past you walk into your local business and everybody knows who you are. It is a very familial relational space,” Ho said. “Our goal is to help these business owners treat every single [customer] as a unique individual. Not long from now it’s either going to be like Minority Report or like Cheers. We want it to be like Cheers.”…
#SFSW16: YP’s Biggest Competitor? SMBs’ ‘Guy’
Fragmentation is changing the local marketing industry, with smaller sellers encroaching on a space that was once reserved for large national agencies. At Street Fight Summit West, YP CEO David Krantz said the influx of competition is making it tougher to sell bigger advertising services.
#SFSW16: Yelp Announces New CPC Program
Ten new partners in one week, a “Twitter firehose for local analytics,” and an appearance at Street Fight Summit West 2016. The new programs are helping to further Yelp’s mission to make the local marketing ecosystem less daunting for merchants…
Survey: Some National-to-Local Marketers Still Need Convincing on Digital Effectiveness
Street Fight surveyed over 200 managers and decision makers at big companies in retail, financial services, and other industries. We asked them about spending patterns, perceived effectiveness, pain points, etc., around their local marketing and advertising efforts.
#SFSW16: Why the ‘Gig Economy’ Is Not the Future of Work
In a morning keynote at Street Fight Summit West in San Francisco on Tuesday, Thumbtack CEO Marco Zappacosta discussed the challenges facing skilled professionals and long-term trends within the service sector.
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AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature