News and Analysis

Simpli.fi Reaches Next Level in Precise Location Targeting

As of this morning, advertisers using Simpli.fi’s programmatic advertising platform will have access to Addressable Geo-Fencing, a solution that Simpli.fi’s vice president of marketing Ryan Horn says is the next logical step in the localization and personalization of programmatic advertising.

Prime Day Showcases the Power of an E-Commerce Empire—And What It Means for Local

Prime Day underscores Amazon’s power in the retail market because it compels the over 100 million consumers who pay for that service to make the most of their investment by purchasing directly from Amazon. Local businesses are hardly in a position to compete.

Why Google’s Mobile Speed Update Smells Like Trouble for Small Businesses

The murky guidelines surrounding just whom and how many people and sites the mobile speed update may affect—and how exactly businesses in the line of fire are to amend unsatisfactory practices—spells potential trouble for small businesses.

Commentary

Stuck in the Middle: Why Should ‘Local’ Mean ‘San Francisco?’

I’m pretty well immersed in Dallas’ start-up community, and I’ve noticed a sea change in the last couple years. We may not have the flashy, high-profile buzz-making scene that you’ll find in Silicon Valley (or Alley), but investments are happening. I think that’s partly because we’ve had to make it without the mutli-million dollar seed rounds and gut through on wits and angel investment…

6 Strategies for Patching Up Patch

To meet the promise he made to shareholders, AOL’s chief executive Tim Armstrong is in the process of cutting staff and other costs at Patch in the hopes that his network of hyperlocal sites will be profitable by the end of 2013. But just making short-term cuts to hit profitability might not be the optimum choice. Patch also has to plant seedlings for mid- and long-term benefits that the company can reap 6-12 months from now…

Local Search Needs a Standard Business Listing

Search engines are the preferred medium for local search — Moz’s David Mihm estimated that about 7.5 billion searches a month have local intent — and business listing information is the foundation on which these local queries are served. Whether you’re a listing publisher, data aggregator, consumer or local business, a verifiable business listing that complies with a standard will help everyone win in local search…

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Moves Against Click Bait, Location Tracking Widespread

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyFacebook Takes Steps Against ‘Click Bait’ Articles (New York Times)… For Sale: Systems That Can Secretly Track Where Cellphone Users Go Around The Globe (WashingtonPost)… Uber CEO Pounces on DUI Arrest of California Lawmaker (Wall Street Journal)…

How Marketers Can Use Mobile to Shape a Back-to-School Strategy

It’s that time of year again — time to get ready for school. This presents marketers with a huge opportunity to implement a back-to-school strategy, especially when it comes to mobile. According to a new report from Thinknear, 40% of customers spend at least an hour planning for back-to-school shopping on mobile…

The Art of Local Marketing: Becoming Selfie-Aware

The jury is still out on the new Foursquare’s scalability and I’ve grown to like it. But it’s no Yelp killer. For one thing, Yelp has 1000+ local ad sales reps — one of its biggest and most underrated assets. I’ve long been bullish on Yelp for that and other reasons. And in the past month, a few things have shed more light on Yelp’s potential direction…

Street Fight Daily: Amazon’s Local Ambition, The On-Demand Obsession

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyPredicting Amazon’s Secret Plans in Physical Retail (Recode)… On-Demand Beauty Apps Are on the Rise (Wall Street Journal)… Airbnb To Reveal Names Of 124 Hosts To New York’s Attorney General (Fortune)

Case Study: QSR Chain Drives Revenue With Hyperlocal Tools

When it comes to selecting which hyperlocal platforms he’ll adopt at Mixt Greens, co-founder David Silverglide is clear on what he’s looking for: “It needs to be driving incremental revenue. It can’t just be trying to siphon off our existing customer base in a different way, or shifting them to a new platform…”

LBMA Podcast: Amazon’s Local Register, Dealmaker Media’s CEO

On the show: Verve Mobile’s programmatic direct platform; VMBeacon brings mannequins to life; Cucalu confounds; Yahoo buys it’s 31st mobile company, Zofari; Glympse works on your wrist; and Gilbarco-Vedder Root teams with Verifone at the gas pump…

Street Fight Daily: Ebay Considers Paypal Spinoff, Square Launches Analytics

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyEBay Considering PayPal Spinoff (Reuters)… Square Goes After Small Businesses With New Suite of Analytics Tools (Mashable)… Majority Of Digital Media Consumption Now Takes Place In Mobile Apps (TechCrunch)…

These Local Tech Founders Cashed In — Here’s Where They Are Now

Golden handcuffs hurt less than real ones, but most entrepreneurs flee an acquirer as soon as the oft-required two year stint runs out. Street Fight took a look at some of the local tech entrepreneurs who sold out in recent years to see where they are now…

Happenings Media Makes Lifestyle Content Pay — In Audience and Revenue

Sisters Tina Paparone and Angela Giovine are the founders of Happenings Media, which, in five years, has developed into an impressive network of digital lifestyle magazines. Street Fight recently caught up with Paparone to talk about how the duo bootstrapped their operation into a growing network of 23 magazines across the country…

Nimble Commerce to Power E-Commerce for Second Street

NimbleCommerce and Second Street have announced a partnership agreement where Nimble will become the e-commerce platform and network for Second Street’s media customers…