News and Analysis

Google Appears to Test Netflix-Like Personalization Score for Local Businesses

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Just as Netflix displays match scores in the arena of entertainment, showing users a percentage indicating how likely they are to enjoy a new film or TV show, Google appears to be testing a feature that shows searchers how likely they are to enjoy a local business.

How Savvy Brands Are Getting Mobile Offers Into the Hands of Consumers

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“For brick-and-mortar businesses, the focus on driving foot traffic through mobile couponing is even more important due to the convenience of online shopping. We see mobile coupon platforms becoming ubiquitous and affordable for even small businesses to create, design, and distribute their own coupons,” Katie Wilson, CEO of TapOnIt and a digital advertising veteran, tells our senior editor Stephanie Miles.

Urban Airship Acquires Accengage, Becomes World’s Largest Mobile Customer Engagement Company

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Urban Airship, which serves Fortune 25 brands such as Adidas, BBC, and Vodafone, indicated that it would use the combined resources now at its disposal to expand the technical capabilities of its slate of mobile solutions. It will also take advantage of Accengage’s native expertise in the European market, particularly at a time when increased regulation on both sides of the Atlantic is underscoring the importance of strong policy and PR teams.

Commentary

How Data Is Poised to Significantly Transform Local Marketing

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It is becoming clear that this is the year when our industry effectively leverages data integration across the marketing ecosystem. One significant aspect of this industry evolution is the injection of physical-world data with other data sets, as well as mobile. Mobile data is the glue that connects all data with the broader ecosystem.

Making Sense of Google’s Changes that Just Blew Up Online Ads for Local Businesses

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There’s really no way to overstate what a massive change Google’s ad reconfiguring is for everyone in the SEM industry. But it’s going to have a more profound — and even devastating — effect on locally-oriented businesses who had relied on Adwords as a key marketing tool.

How the Google My Business API Changes the Local Ecosystem

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The move is a good thing for business owners but even more so for Google itself, which in providing a better means to gather data from business owners will improve the freshness and accuracy of its data.

Latest Posts

How Local Businesses Can Leverage Content Marketing

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Content marketing is on the rise: 69 percent of B2C marketers are creating more content now than they did a year ago, according to the Content Marketing Institute. Using blogs, videos, infographics, and other content to attract the interest of customers can be an effective option for small or local businesses. But time and resource constraints mean local businesses need to approach content marketing in a smart and strategic way.

Better Use of Data Could Dramatically Alter Local Digital Sales

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Data is a core principle of digital marketing today, yet when it comes to local, big data has not penetrated very deeply where the sales process is concerned. All of that is about to change with the appearance of multiple companies trying to put data at the center of the way digital marketing is presented and sold to local businesses.

Street Fight Daily: Groupon Will Cut 1,100 Jobs, LivingSocial is Planning a Comeback

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Groupon to Cut 1,100 Jobs, Pull Out of 7 Countries (Chicago Tribune)… The Resurrection of LivingSocial (DCInno)… The Commoditization of Ad Tech — How the Cross-Device Landscape is Going to Get Worse Before It Gets Better (Medium)…

5 Tools for Measuring Social Marketing Results

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Social media has become an essential part of the local marketer’s playbook. But with so many platforms and networks to choose from, and so many metrics to measure, it’s challenging for small business owners to know what they’re getting in return for their budgets. Here are six platforms with advanced tools for measuring results on social spending.

Report: Breaking into the Inbox with Successful Pitches to Local Merchants

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A new report from Street Fight Insights found that when being pitched a new product or service, local merchants want information on costs, a clear explanation — backed up by case studies — of how the product or service will benefit their business, and all their questions or concerns addressed.

Street Fight Daily: Starbucks Launches Mobile Ordering, a Recap of Google’s Local Search Updates

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Never Wait in Line Again: Starbucks Rolls Out Mobile Ordering Nationwide (Mashable)… The New Google Local Search Display (Search Engine Land)… Postmates Unveils Revamped Platform, Announces 4 Million Deliveries (TechCrunch)…

Europe’s adsquare Unlocks More Data in New ‘Marketplace’ for Hyper-Contextual Advertising

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For brands and retailers, it’s evident that the battle to win customers will be fought with data — lots of it. But more data could also be too much of a good thing. A new self-service offering from Berlin-based adsquare aims to help advertisers “navigate the data deluge.”

Did Apple Just Solve Deep Linking?

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One of the coolest things to come out Apple’s September product event was 3D Touch, which lets users indicate levels of intent based on how hard they press apps and links. Beyond the gadgetry of 3D Touch, one thing hasn’t been said: This is essentially deep linking, an area that will be a key battleground in local. 3D Touch could preempt the deep linking dilemma by peeking deep within other apps — a lighter and more elegant solution I’m calling “deep previewing.”

Street Fight Daily: Understanding the Decline of Search, Ad Blocking App Creator’s Second Thoughts

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google’s Search Business Might Not Be as Water-Tight as People Think (Business Insider)…The Creator of the iPhone’s Top-Selling Ad Blocker Pulled His App off the Market (AdWeek)… Target Wants to Turn Minneapolis into a Mini-Silicon Valley (Fortune)…

Raise Report: Lightspeed, Chef, CartoDB Land Big Rounds

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Every two weeks we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. In this edition, new investments include rounds for Lightspeed, Chef, CartoDB, and Fundera.