News and Analysis
Google Updates Search to Recommend Local Events Based on User Interests
Google is bringing the personalization zeitgeist to local event recommendations. The company reported on its blog Thursday that it is releasing a series of new features that will make it easier for users to find essential information about events of interest to them right on search engine result pages.
Commentary
Hyperlocal Retail ROI: Identifying Low-Hanging Business Objectives
Understanding where, when, and why consumers visit a location is invaluable data when it comes to driving sales and improving customer experience. Identifying the most valuable metrics amongst the vast data that can be generated with indoor analytics is often an overlooked, but critical first step in implementing these solutions…
The Shifting Line Between Free and Paid Local Marketing Services
The manipulation of organic reach on Facebook is one of many examples of the shifting boundary between free and paid local marketing services. In “pure” local search, that boundary has tended to be relatively clear: look for a local business in your typical IYP and you’ll see sponsored listings at the top of the results page, followed by organic results. But that boundary is likely more clear to those of us who know what to look for than it is to the general user…
Latest Posts
Will The On-Demand Economy Loosen Google’s Grip on Local?
Over the past decade, Google has controlled the way we find and interact with local businesses with an indomitable grip. But will a shift away from the information-based businesses — namely, search and advertising — to more transactional models lead to a change? According to speakers at a BIA/Kelsey event yesterday, that’s a distinct possibility…
YP Study Touts the Effectiveness of Its Search Products
Earlier this week, the 100+- year-old company released new research that found adults who use YP to search online are more engaged in several key ways compared to other searchers. Street Fight spoke with YP’s CMO Allison Checchi recently, who said that the company’s deep roots in local search help drive that behavior.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Launches Grubhub Competitor, On-Demand and Google
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Amazon Has Launched A GrubHub Rival For Food Takeout & Delivery (TechCrunch)… Apple Mass Transit System For Maps Detailed In New Patent (Apple Insider)… Uber Saw a Small Dip in Growth During Its Bad Press Week (Recode)…
Are Community News Sites and Investors Ready for Each Other?
Venture-capital and angel investors have been avoiding digital community news — but there’s no mystery about why. There are some profitable one-offs, but most investors aren’t interested in one-offs. They want to put their money in the possibility of a good-sized payoff. That will only come with community news that is part of a network…
Street Fight Daily: Beacon Tech Tightens Security, SnapChat’s Local Filters
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Bluetooth Low Energy Gets New Security Features (GigaOm)… Snapchat Opens Geofilters So Anyone Can Submit Location-Based Artwork (TechCrunch)… Goldman Is Helping Uber Raise Money From Rich People (Bloomberg View)…
WeddingWire CEO: Building Technology For The Ephemeral Consumer
The ephemeral quality of the wedding consumer creates a fascinating dynamic for technology companies that serve the market. Last week, Street Fight caught up with WeddingWire CEO Tim Chi to talk about the changing opportunity for vertical marketplaces, and the role of software in building relationships with merchants…
Hyperlocal M&A in 2015 — Here’s What Some Potential Acquirers Are Looking For
With the new year just around the corner, corporate development teams are undoubtedly gearing up for 2015 acquisitions. The local technology industry saw plenty of M&A activity in 2014 and remains poised for another busy year as established firms look to stay on top and a new batch of public companies come into capital…
Street Fight Daily: The Classifieds Wars, Uber Expands Delivery
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Documents Show How Ebay’s Meg Whitman And Pierre Omidyar Conspired To Steal Craigslist’s Secrets (Pando)… Uber Expands Grocery Delivery Pilot, Renames It UberEssentials (The Next Web)… The Post-Google Local Survival Guide (Search Engine Land)…MA roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Documents Show How Ebay’s Meg Whitman And Pierre Omidyar Conspired To Steal Craigslist’s Secrets (Pando)… Uber Expands Grocery Delivery Pilot, Renames It UberEssentials (The Next Web)… The Post-Google Local Survival Guide (Search Engine Land)…
How Jim Brady’s Billy Penn Tailors News to Philly’s Millennials
BillyPennDigital local news pioneer Jim Brady launched mobile-focused Billy Penn in Philadelphia a month ago. Brady, joined by other Billy Penn staffers, talked with Street Fight recently about what the site is doing to stand out in a major metro market that has more than 70 websites covering local news…
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