News and Analysis

Street Fight Daily: Adobe Buys Magento, Inside Google’s Rise to Digital Ad Dominance

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Adobe Buys Magento to Become Digital Ad Design Powerhouse… How Did Google Get So Big?… Some Companies Shrug Off GDPR…

Macaroni Kid Leverages Local Influencers to Connect Brands to Consumers

“Our secret sauce is our ability to connect brands with consumers on a local level, via authentic local influencers,” says Macaroni Kid co-founder Eric Cohen. “Other media outlets can plug into an algorithm to target an audience. We have local moms telling other local moms the scoop as they hand out samples.”

Street Fight Daily: Square Embraces Sales and Moves Beyond SMBs, The Staying Power of Email

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… As It Grows, Square Deploys Sales Force to Acquire SMB Customers & Bigger Brands… Selling to Multi-Location Brands: Building on Omnipresent Email… Microsoft Acquires AI Company to Make Cortana and Bots Sound More Human…

Commentary

Can Businesses Use Hyperlocal to Leverage Customers’ Politics?

There has been significant coverage about the differences in Democrats and Republicans, but to date there hasn’t been any analysis on real world activities associated with political affiliation. From grocery stores to restaurants, from retailers to gas stations, voting Democrat or Republican plays a part in which establishments we step foot in and which ones we don’t…

A Quick Guide to SMB Success on Mobile

Less than 5 percent of local businesses have a website optimized for mobile devices. In some cases, a company’s site isn’t even “findable” through searches on mobile devices. Worse, consumers, when they do find the local business’s website, can only see a desktop-specific version. Here are a few tips to help demystify mobile for business owners and help them get started right away…

How Mobile’s Demographic Shift Impacts Local

It seems that young people in the 18-24 demographic spend, on average, more time on mobile devices today than they do watching television. It also appears that mobile usage is far ahead of “playing games and computer use for leisure.” What does this mean for the future of local search and local media? I would say it’s not unlike the lessons the Republican Party was forced to confront in the aftermath of its recent election defeat…

Latest Posts

LivingSocial Sells Remaining Assets in Southeast Asia for $18.5M

Three months after selling its Korean deals business TicketMonster to Groupon, LivingSocial has divested the remainder of its assets in Southeast Asia. The company announced Tuesday afternoon that it has sold the its assets in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines to iBuy, a Singapore-based ecommerce company, for $18..5 million dollars in cash.

With New Product, ReachLocal Looks to Turn the Corner on SEO

ReachLocalAmong the many cutting-edge innovations in local marketing, search engine optimization is getting to be old hat; in fact, its age and relative familiarity can result in a widespread lack of interest and dedication to using SEO as a primary marketing tool. But ReachLocal is looking to assert SEO’s continuing relevance and lasting power with its new product, ReachSEO…

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…

5 Platforms to Send Consumers Visit-Triggered Mobile Surveys

The customer satisfaction surveys that most people are used to seeing on tabletops and cash wraps are undergoing an upgrade as hyperlocal vendors add location-based features to aid in the data collection process. “Intercept-style” surveys can be sent to customers at key moments in the purchasing process, like when they arrive at a store or after they’ve made a purchase…

Street Fight Daily: More Departures Hit Clinkle, Square Accepts Bitcoin

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology
More Exec Departures Hit Payments Startup Clinkle (Recode)… Square’s Online Marketplace Starts Accepting Bitcoin(GigaOm)… Mobile Q&A App Jelly Now Lets You Ask Location-Based Questions Routed To Nearby Users (TechCrunch)…

After Bust, LivingSocial Looks to Boom Again

LivingSocial isn’t quite the rocketship it was a few years ago. But, after a year of pulling back, and with a change in leadership in the works, the company is looking for a second wind. Street Fight recently caught up with Doug Miller, chief revenue officer at LivingSocial, to talk about where the company went wrong, how it plans to get back on track, and what wave it looks to ride next…

6 Ways to Use Local Booking Platforms for Marketing

When used strategically, hyperlocal booking platforms can do more for a business than just help schedule services and manage client appointments. In many cases, merchants with online booking portals are able to rely on these products for customer acquisition and retention, as well…

Street Fight Daily: CBS Outdoor Goes Public, Alibaba Invests in Retail

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyCBS Outdoor Shares Rise in First Day of Trading (Wall Street Journal)… Alibaba Invests $692 million in Chinese Department Store Operator (Reuters)… Uber’s Biggest Problem Isn’t Surge Pricing. What If It’s Sexual Harassment by Drivers? (Daily Beast)…

How a Connecticut Network Helps ‘Indie’ News Sites Bridge Revenue Gap

Networks of independent community news sites are growing up and expanding out, and one of the biggest is the three-year-old Independent Media Network, which provides multiple layers of services — in advertising, editorial, business and tech — to more than a hundred community and other news operations in Connecticut…

Openings and New Hires at xAd, Kenshoo, PayPal and Local Market Launch

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 Microsoft, Mediative, hibu, Angie’s List and more…