News and Analysis

Report: Advertisers Spending More on Search and Amazon, While Social CTRs Drop

Share this:

Digital marketing software provider Marin Software has released its Q2 Benchmark Report, and the findings confirm the hype about advertising spend on Amazon: It’s on the rise, while social click-through rates decline and search spend remains a major priority for brands.

Street Fight Daily: Google Fined Record $5 Billion by EU; What Consumers Prefer in Loyalty Programs

Share this:

TODAY IN DIGITAL MARKETING… Google Fined $5.1 Billion by EU for Monopolizing Mobile Search via Android Practices… Hard Data on the Choices that Make or Break Loyalty Programs… Report: Advertisers Spending More on Search and Amazon, While Social CTRs Drop…

Street Fight Daily: Attribution Remains Top Challenge for Brands, Nextdoor Partners with HouseCanary

Share this:

PARTNERSHIPS, ACQUISITION, AND PERSISTENT INDUSTRY PROBLEMS… Proving Local Attribution and ROI Remains a Top Challenge for Multi-Location Brands… Nextdoor Partners With HouseCanary, Adding Real Estate Functionality to its Social Network… Salesforce Will Acquire Data Integrator Datorama for a Reported $800M…

Commentary

As Digital Ascends, Is Legacy Media Becoming a ‘Sinkhole’ for Marketers?

Share this:

One of the most insightful studies released this year by Boston Consulting Group found that the 23 million small businesses in the U.S. allocate only 3% of their advertising spend to digital. Larger companies spend more, but digital still comprises only 15% of their marketing budgets. Meanwhile, it’s clear that the effectiveness of digital media has surpassed that of legacy — and it’s no longer even close. So marketers are spending the vast majority of their budgets on media that consumers are no longer engaging with…

How Reviews and Ratings are Driving Local Search

Share this:

Despite the tremendous amount of press we have seen on fake reviews, ongoing interest in reviews by consumers and local search providers make it clear that these services aren’t going away. As platforms give reviews more importance and improve their ability to filter out fake ones — and government officials crack down on dishonest practices — consumer trust and use of reviews can only be expected to grow. This trend will continue to increase the impact they have on local businesses…

Finding the Balance Between Relevance and Reach in SMB Content

Share this:

It’s simple enough to say that creating great content or a great platform should be enough to bring users to your door; but if they have no idea you exist, getting the word out effectively is both a matter of reaching your intended user base and staying within the confines of an algorithmically defined concept of quality content. For small and medium-sized businesses, the challenge is to be present and available to customers and potential customers in multiple online venues in a way that conserves effort while remaining effective…

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: LivingSocial Losses Grow, Yelp’s European Push

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyLivingSocial Losses Grow To $32M In Third Quarter (Washington Business Journal)… Yelp’s European Push Continues As It Snaps Up French Review Site Cityvox (TechCrunch)… Apple Pay Registered One Million Credit Cards in First 72 Hours (Recode)…

Is Apple Pay Set to Power On-Demand Local Services?

Share this:

Apple Pay’s value as a conduit for local on-demand will be determined by how many apps consumers transact with daily or weekly. If the answer is many, its value as a single entry point to all those apps and services will be validated…

Openings and New Hires at CivicScience, Urban Airship, Gimbal

Share this:

Every two weeks, Kelly Benish — who knows practically everyone in hyperlocal — covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s edition, new jobs and hires at Manta, Stubhub, PLaced, and Colony Logic…

Street Fight Daily: Retailers Disable Apple Pay, Yelp Buys German Competitor

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyApple Pay Is Disabled by Rite Aid and CVS as a Rival Makes Plans (New York Times)… Yelp Buys Restaurant-Kritik To Expand Its Presence In Germany (TechCrunch)… Why NFC In The iPad Air 2 Is A Big Deal For Small Businesses (GigaOm)…

The Power of Visual Appeal in Local Search

Share this:

Images are more compelling to the average user than any other medium of communication. Though users may visit local search sites and apps with the conscious intent of seeking out text-based information such as phone numbers, hours, and addresses, visual content encountered along the way may have a greater influence than textual information on deciding which businesses to visit…

In New App Marketplace, Signs of the Square’s Future

Share this:

The company launched its Square App Marketplace yesterday to allow third-parties to develop applications that integrate directly into its point-of-sale product. The move marks an important step in Square’s evolution as it shifts focus from consumer-facing payments to an arguably much larger business software market…

LBMA Podcast: SideSwipe’s Gestures, TomTom Opens Up

Share this:

On the show: FritoLays hands out samples in bus shelters; Pinpoint offers location-based audio game; Geofeedia and Adnear raise; TomTom opens up; Chico’s embraces RFID; Loopd brings beacons to conferences. Plus, what happened to Hailo and why RFID in a world of beacons…

Street Fight Daily: Etsy’s New Card Reader, Uber Delivers Flu Shots

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…Etsy Introduces Credit Card Reader to Go Beyond the Web (Recode)… Uber Delivers Flu Shots: How On-Demand Tech Can Actually Do Good (Wired)… Will The Check-in Survive? Foursquare’s Controversial Relaunch, By The Numbers (VentureBeat)…

Paid Placement Helps GrubHub Pad Its Bottom Line

Share this:

Grubhub posted better-than-expected earnings Thursday sending shares up slightly in early trading. The online ordering company, which hit the public markets earlier this year, saw revenue and profit inch up slightly in a seasonally less active third quarter due in part to the adoption of a new auction-based commision model…

Lord and Taylor Plans to Install Bluetooth Beacons in Stores Nationwide

Share this:

Here’s some good news for the beacon community. A month after Macy’s announced an ambitious plan to roll out Shopkick devices to over 4,000 locations nationally, Lord and Taylor appears to be following suit…