News and Analysis
3 CRO Techniques That Actually Convert Visitors
The web is filled to the brim with quick conversion rate optimization tips. These include changing the color of your CTAs, making headlines catchier, and changing the background image of your landing page, among many others. While these strategies have shown results, there are a few effective CRO techniques that are often overlooked. In this article, I discuss less common CRO techniques that have the potential to drive significant results.
Mobile Video Struggles Persist While Tolerance for Them Decreases
It looks like the quality mobile content experts say we can expect from 5G will be much appreciated by consumers. Mobile video is more popular than ever, among both consumers and digital advertisers, but the medium is plagued by slow load times and suboptimal ads. That’s per a new report out from mobile video vendor Panthera.
6 Pure-Play Online-to-Offline Attribution Platforms
In a pure-play model, vendors focus exclusively on a certain number of core competencies. Not only does this help those companies to differentiate themselves from firms with broader offerings, but it also gives brands confidence that the vendor is an expert in the market. As online-to-offline attribution takes off, pure-play vendors are taking the lead in innovation, finding new ways to connect digital campaigns to foot traffic and in-store sales. Here are six vendors making a difference in the space right now.
Commentary
Snapchat, Uber, and the Implications of Machine Learning
Machine learning and predictive analytics need to meld seamlessly with core app functionality. The technology needs to “just work,” without steep learning curves or frustrating dead ends. So I’d expect any company who experiments with machine learning for local search to start with a simple set of problems and hone the user experience.
The Accelerating Consolidation of the Digital Ad Market
“The flow of dollars from businesses of all sizes has clearly been away from lower-performance niche platforms into boosted Facebook posts,” writes David Mihm. “We can debate the value of that activity, but relative to the questionable/delayed/opaque performance of so many digital ad products, Facebook seems to have found a sweet spot.”
Latest Posts
LBMA Podcast: Proxfinity, Estimote, Carrefour and Basket
On the show: Real holograms thanks to Kino-Mo; Samsung’s TipTalk lets you talk into your finger; Down with walkie-talkies thanks to Theatro; Microsoft’s Skip means no lineups at Gerrity Supermarkets; PlaceIQ trumps that with $25M; Microsoft is acquiring InMobi; InMarket puts beacons in every RiteAid store. Our App selection is Basket from Andy Ellwood.
Street Fight Daily: UberRUSH Now Delivers Your Nordstrom Orders, Facebook’s Mobile Dominance
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… UberRUSH Now Delivers the Same Day from Nordstrom and Other Big Retail Stores (TechCrunch)… How Facebook Turned Its Greatest Weakness Into Its Greatest Strength (Forbes)… Amazon Sales Soared 22% in Holiday Quarter, but Profit Fell Short (New York Times)…
Street Fight Daily: Inside Yahoo’s Restructuring, Sharing Economy Goes Small
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Restructuring Begins Slowly With Stealth Layoffs and ‘Invest/Maintain/Kill’ List (Recode)… Consumers and Mobile Pay: We’re Aware of It, But We Don’t See the Benefit (GeoMarketing)… Is the Future of the Sharing Economy Small-Scale? (Pacific Standard)…
Taking ‘Local’ Right Down to the Keystroke
A new group of companies are finding ways into local services by getting in between consumers’ desires and fulfillment of their desires at the core level: where their thumbs are hitting the glass. Startups like PopKey and Slash have found what feels like a Trojan Horse into our stream of communication.
Street Fight Daily: Waze Partners With Lyft, Craigslist Competitor 5miles Now Valued at $300M+
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Waze to Scoop up More Data through New Partnerships (Wall Street Journal)… Mobile App 5miles Raises $30M at a $300M+ Valuation to Rival Craigslist in Classifieds (TechCrunch)… Bootler Brings Comparison Shopping to Food Delivery Services (Chicago Tribune)…
As Local Search Behavior Evolves, Marketing Spending Will Follow
Merchants and marketers have to be findable and present useful information regardless of the searcher’s context. And that’s where the mechanics of local search marketing get messy. It feels like a great opportunity for tools and managed services that help break down those silos, and measure effectiveness across or between them.
The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation