News and Analysis
Street Fight Daily: Google Positions Itself to Challenge Amazon on Voice, New Directions in Loyalty
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Ad Buyers Say Google’s YouTube and YouTube TV Integration Will Help It Rival Amazon on Voice… Waze Ads Head Suzie Reider Sets Her Sights on QSR, Retail, and Fuel… You Don’t Need a Paywall If You Have Cool Ads, Outline CEO Josh Topolsky Says..
Commentary
Why Local Online Publishers Should Also Be Designing Merchants’ Sites
One of the most sustainable sources of income for local digital publishers ought to be web design and hosting for their local customers. Web design and hosting has counted for 20% of my company’s total annual revenue for the last five years. It’s a natural fit for publishers in so many ways, and yet I see very few who offer it. They’re missing out big time…
Defining the Local Coefficient: A Conversation with Yelp
A growing chunk of physical purchases are influenced online. And the path to purchase increasingly weaves between different screens. But for conversions, it’s all about offline. The question is how long this will remain to be the case. Out of sheer curiosity, Yelp VP Mike Ghaffary ventured to quantify this…
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Uber Looks to Driverless Cars, Datalogix Raises $45M
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber CEO: Self-Driving Cars Are the Future, Drivers Are Not (Recode)… Datalogix Raises $45M to Help Advertisers Track Offline Purchases (Adage)… Payments Firm Swipely Raises $20M More As Its Processing Tally Crosses The $2B Mark (TechCrunch)…
New Listing Services Will Help Local Data Go Digital
Somewhat unexpectedly, 2014 has seen a profusion of companies entering the listing management arena, many of them veterans of related disciplines. Those of us with long experience in the space are not surprised that others would see the value in helping businesses get found on local search sites and apps. But why the sudden surge of activity?
Street Fight Daily: Square Adds Loans, Foursquare Declares Search Broken (Again)
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Square Expands into Small Business Loans (Financial Times)… Foursquare Declares Local Search (Yelp And Google) Broken, Vows Fix With Personalization (TechCrunch)… The FTC Condemns the Data Brokerage Industry’s Collection Practices (Pando)…
Why Airbnb Is Interested in Local Search
Over the past few years, Airbnb has quietly pushed to bring the sense of authenticity implicit in apartment sharing beyond the walls of the host’s home. Street Fight recently caught up with Lenny Rachitsky, a product manager at Airbnb and previously the founder of Localmind, to talk about the role of local discovery in Airbnb’s product…
Syndicated Commerce: Bridging the Gap Between Content and Commerce
When done right, ecommerce is one of the most lucrative options for publishers challenged not just with creating compelling content, but also with generating revenue through content-based display advertising. The publishers who adapt to the trends of ecommerce will thrive and become leaders in the new economy. Those who don’t will become unsustainable and disappear…
5 Ways Hyperlocal Technology Can Save Malls from Extinction
Given their position in the marketplace, hyperlocal vendors are uniquely able to help physical stores fight back against the changing tide. By using features like geo-targeting, indoor tracking, and mobile messaging, brick-and-mortar retailers can band together and increase their chances of survival. Here are five ways that hyperlocal technology can potentially save shopping malls from extinction…
Street Fight Daily: Intuit’s Buying Spree Continues, Google Eyes Skybox
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Intuit to Buy Bill-Payment Service Check Inc. for $360 Million (Wall Street Journal)… Google Close To Snapping Up Satellite Startup Skybox Imaging For $1B+, Say Sources (TechCrunch)… Investor Talk on Uber’s Valuation Hits as High as $17 Billion (Wall Street Journal)…
Watch Out Yelp and Foursquare — Facebook Starts Flexing Its Local Muscles Again
During a presentation at Internet Week in New York on Thursday, Justin Moore, an engineering manager at Facebook, offered a full-throated pitch for the company’s local data initiatives. Moore, a former Foursquare engineer who joined Facebook in early 2012, says a team in the company’s New York office has spent the past two years turning the 32 billion pieces of location-tagged content, which have been created on the social network, into a sprawling database of places that spans the globe…
Openings and New Hires at Telmetrics, OPA, Square, and Pro.com
Every two weeks, Search Influence’s 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 hires and jobs at PayPal, Signpost, Search Influence, Angie’s List, LiveIntent, hibu and more …
Why TV Remains the Heartbeat of Local Connection