News and Analysis
Brandify, PlaceIQ, Simpli.fi Among 2019 LSA Ad-to-Action Award Finalists
The Local Search Association announced this week a slate of 20 finalists for its annual awards celebrating the best in local and online-to-offline marketing. Among more than 80 submissions, the finalists have been recognized for their outstanding work in such categories as reputation management, SMB software, and local search.
While Sales Growth Rate Slows, Amazon Marketplace, Cloud, and Ad Businesses Point to Long-Term Prosperity
For brands hoping to compete with Amazon (and potentially looking on with relief at a sign of fallibility from their digital rival), the company’s earnings report brings the news that Amazon Marketplace, where third-party sellers can reach customers, is doing more than twice as much in sales as Amazon’s first-party retail platform. Marketplace is troubled by bad practices and fake reviews, and its prosperity suggests the growing challenge for brands to get customers to even go to their sites at a time when Amazon is essentially the homepage of the commerce-oriented Internet.
As Voice Gets Established, Brands Grapple with Implementation
Consumer demand for voice technology has never been greater, and industry heavyweights like Google and Amazon are gearing up for a platform war as they work to integrate voice assistants into virtually every area of the connected consumer’s life. But behind the scenes, many brand marketers are struggling to connect the dots and design campaigns around a technology they don’t fully understand.
Commentary
As Gannett Acquires ReachLocal, Some Lessons From Its U.K. Exit
As news filtered out earlier this week that media giant Gannett had bought ReachLocal for $156 million, it capped off several years of speculation in the local marketing industry about where the public company would end up. As a former ReachLocal employee (2010-2014) now living in Norway, I’ve watched the company as it has faced steep challenges […]
Are Community Networks the Final Frontier for Local Publishers?
What if local publishers changed their strategy to focus exclusively on engaging and connecting their community at large? It still requires the great content that they create daily, but also a powerful and relevant search experience for users, more calls to action, and a more native and engaging mobile experience.
Latest Posts
Do You Bing? If Not, It’s Time to Start
Microsoft recently announced that Bing turned its first profit since being launched in 2009. The company continues to extend its reach, grow its share of the search market, and add features that make it a stronger commerce tool. The question businesses should be asking is not whether Bing will catch up to Google, but whether they view Bing as a critical publisher to improve the reach of their location data.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Food Delivery Expanding to More Major Cities, Google Maps Goes Offline
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Plans to Roll Out Restaurant Delivery in Cities Across the Country (Recode)… Google Maps Is Adding Offline Navigation and Search (The Verge)… Brand Advertising in Programmatic Era Fattens Margins for Big E-tailers (Ad Age)…
Dealmakers: Growth Hacking with Sales Automation Technology
We tend to think of fragmentation as a major hurdle, but it means opportunities as well — to leverage content, data, and analytics to create an efficient, effective lead pipeline. Investors are turning their attention to this opportunity, pouring money into and acquiring companies that facilitate sales and marketing automation. What distinguishes the companies receiving investment dollars this year is that they uniquely embrace the concept of “growth hacking.”
6 Tools Restaurants Can Use to Accept Mobile Orders
The mobile ordering landscape is quickly evolving, with increases in consumer demand fueling the growth. Even independently owned restaurants with just one or two locations are feeling the push to offer their customers mobile ordering. Here are six platforms restaurant owners can use to meet the demand.
Street Fight Daily: Google and Flipkart Partner to Eliminate Apps, Groupon’s Ideel Takes a Hit
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… With a Mobile Website Like An App, Flipkart Takes a Swipe at Apple (New York Times)… Groupon Site Ideel to Pack Up and Ship Out of New York (Crain’s New York Business)… Legacy Retailers Struggle to Ramp Up Mobile Marketing (Ad Age)…
#SFSNYC VIDEO: Smartphones Will Make the Connected Store a Reality
Implementing technology in retail environments as means of “saving” brick-and-mortar stores has been a consistent theme in recent years. But consumers have sent a clear message that the connected store can’t be about technology for technology’s sake. Smartphones’ increasingly central role in the shopping process, from research to purchase, makes them the logical link between connected shoppers and connected stores.
Franchises Make Scale Profitable for TAPinto.net’s Two-State Network
TAPinto.net has taken its New Jersey-centered franchise model for community news to adjacent and competitive Westchester and Putnam Counties in New York State’s heavily suburban Lower Hudson Valley. In this Q&A, founder and CEO Mike Shapiro explains how he’s been able to scale his seven-year-old community network through franchising, and do it largely through self-financing.
Street Fight Daily: A Deep Dive into the Yahoo-Google Partnership, Square’s IPO Struggles
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… What Does Yahoo’s New Google Partnership Mean for SEO’s Future? (Search Engine Land)… Square, Facing a Chilly Market, Persists in Pursuing IPO (New York Times)… Pinterest Sharpens Its Visual-Search Skills (Wall Street Journal)…
Openings and New Hires at Groupon, Rocket Fuel, and Xaxis
Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s column, Groupon appoints another new CEO, Xaxis spinoff Light Reaction gains a vice president of global operations, and programmatic leader Rocket Fuel adds political veterans in anticipation of new online ad spending for the 2016 election cycle.
DC Startup Fundrise Is Redefining How We Invest in Real Estate
Major real estate development projects like Manhattan’s 3 World Trade Center cost billions, and budget overruns often delay construction. Enter Fundrise: The company’s technology opens doors for individuals who want to invest in local real estate developments, but maybe don’t have millions of dollars lying around. Fundrise has seen 1,500 percent growth in deal volume since May 2014.
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