Google Antitrust: Is It Enough for Yelp?

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Mihm to Blumenthal: I’m not averse to the idea of the government regulating Google’s practices in Maps or local search, but it feels like rewarding Yelp in particular is not going to bring consumers any particular benefit, nor will it meaningfully benefit small businesses, as Elizabeth Warren seems to indicate is a primary goal of her plan.

If anything, Google has gone out of its way to help small businesses compete in its search results with the introduction of the local pack and the Venice update, whereas small businesses continue to rate Yelp as poorly as any company in tech.

Who’s Winning the Reviews Race? How Do We Define Winning?

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In their latest Street Fight conversation, Mike Blumenthal and David Mihm examine the state of the local reviews space and assess the reasons for Google’s dominance. “For me, the question of the future is whether Google’s behaviors will impact the remaining vertical sites over the next 10 years,” Mike writes.

Voice-Readiness Study Indicates Vast Majority of Businesses Fail Basic Listings Test

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It only takes listing correct and comprehensive information on Google, Yelp, and Bing for a brand or small business to earn 90% on location management solution Uberall’s voice search readiness test. Yet only 4% of the businesses in the company’s latest study, which examined the voice preparedness of 75,000 listings, had correct info on all three of those major directories.

Google Appears to Test Netflix-Like Personalization Score for Local Businesses

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Just as Netflix displays match scores in the arena of entertainment, showing users a percentage indicating how likely they are to enjoy a new film or TV show, Google appears to be testing a feature that shows searchers how likely they are to enjoy a local business.

Voice Search Readiness in 2019 and Beyond

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Bernadette Coleman: 2019 is here. While the focus in recent weeks has been predictions on the digital marketing trends that are expected to emerge this year, I would argue that one of the most important measures brands need to take in 2019 is to implement a full-scale voice search readiness strategy, if they have not already.

Consumers’ Reliance on Online Reviews, Evolving Rapidly, Is Reshaping Local Search

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Recommendations gradually exchanged in person are now flooding webpages, most notably Google’s SERPs. Twenty-seven percent of consumers are now reading reviews of local businesses every day, marking a staggering jump from just 12% in 2017, according to a recent report.

LBMA Podcast: Amazon’s Search Re-Targeting, Target’s Use of Runerra

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Listen to This Week in Location Based Marketing, a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan & Aubriana Lopez. On the show: Amazon’s search re-targeting, Target using Runerra, Intraposition raises $1.5M, Buick integrates Yelp, Walmart goes with maps and faster checkout, Macy’s invests in VR roll-out.

How Content Partnerships Have Made Yelp a Data Amplifier

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Damian Rollison: It became clear to me, during Yelp’s presentation at the recent Brandify Summit, that the company has become a data amplifier. Here I’m making use of Gib Olander’s helpful term for companies whose data finds its way into a multitude of consumer-facing channels. In this column, I break down the significance of that state of affairs for hyperlocal marketing.

Street Fight Daily: Boosting Sales with Google My Business; Battle Over Yelp Reviews May Go to Supreme Court

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING AND MEDIA… Heard on the Street, Episode 14: Boosting Sales with Google My Business… Battle Over Negative Reviews on Yelp Could Go to Supreme Court… Apps Downloaded on Millions of Android Phones Tracked Users in Ad Fraud Scheme…

Street Fight Daily: Facebook to Cut Off Third-Party Data Oct 1, Amazon Wants to Monopolize the Smart Home

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING AND MEDIA… Ad Buyers Prepare for Headaches as Facebook Cuts Off Third-Party Data… Report: Voice Tech Not Meeting Consumer Expectations… Amazon Announces Slew of Voice-Activated Products, Leading the Way on Voice…

Yelp, Google Reviews, and Antitrust

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Forcing Google to split Maps-related business into a standalone “geo” unit would foster a more diverse technology ecosystem. But as far as Google’s review practices are concerned, regulators should not be convinced by an irrational argument that indexation of Google reviews has any bearing on the harm created for, or benefit gained by, consumers.

Street Fight Daily: Integration of Listings & Reputation Management; Google Reviews, Yelp, and Antitrust

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING AND MEDIA… Latest Local Marketing Merger Aims for Scale in Critical Listings Management Sector… Yelp, Google Reviews, and Antitrust… Oath Integrates Its Ad Tech Assets—But What About the Verizon Data?…

Street Fight Daily: Uber Cash Burn Narrowing En Route to IPO, CallRail Engages User Base to Drive Product Dev

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING… Uber’s Losses Continue, But Narrow, In Its March Toward an IPO… At CallRail, Community Forums Prove Valuable for Product Development… How Yelp’s Revamped Ad Biz Powered a Great Quarter…

Street Fight Daily: Best Practices in Reputation and Review Management, Ad Tech Consolidation

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING… Survey: Identifying Best Practices in Reputation and Review Management… As Duopoly Reigns, Ad Tech Industry Consolidates… Happy Returns Expands Into College Market…

As Local Search Enters the Voice Era, Three Content Channels Dominate

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You’re well covered today on the three top voice platforms if you have strong listings on Google, Apple, and Yelp. If you want to do even more, make sure your Bing listings are up to date for Cortana (note that Yelp reviews show up here as well), and submit your listing info to Here and Foursquare in order to be found in Samsung’s Bixby interface.  

Street Fight Daily: How Businesses Can Prepare for Voice-Driven Commerce, Google Pursues OOH in Big Way

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING… As Local Search Enters the Voice Era, Three Content Channels Dominate… Google’s Targeted Ads Are Coming to a Billboard Near You… DexYP (and Other Publishers) Transition to Digital, But Limited Revenue Suggests Bleak Long-Term Prospects…

Street Fight Daily: Investors to Buy Dun & Bradstreet, Yelp Soars on Ad Biz Growth

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING… Investors to Buy Dun & Bradstreet in Multi-Billion Dollar Deal… Yelp Shares Surge on Ad Biz Growth… Hires and New Openings at Dream Local, Adsquare, PubMatic…

Street Fight Daily: Agencies Adapt to Amazon, Local News Sites Awash With Ad Fraud

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TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING… Hacking Amazon: Agencies Create Workarounds for an Emerging Ad Giant… Local News Publishers Still Mired in Ad Fraud, New Pixalate Data Shows… More than 1,000 U.S. News Sites Are Still Unavailable in Europe Post-GDPR…

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Feels the Impact of Its Scandals; GrubHub Acquires LevelUp

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TOP STORIES IN DIGITAL MARKETING… At Last, Facebook Feels the Impact of Its Errors… GrubHub Acquires Payments and Loyalty Company LevelUp for $390 Million… Top Lesson for News Sites in SF Innovation Tour: Identify Users and Win Them Over One by One…

Street Fight Daily: Mobile Coupons On Verge of Overtaking Paper, Smart Speakers Capture Media’s Attention

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TODAY IN DIGITAL MARKETING… Mobile Coupons Are About to Overtake Paper—Here’s How Retailers Can Capitalize on That… For News Publishers, Smart Speakers Are the Hot New Platform… Ohio Car Dealership Sees Early Success with Location-Targeted Mobile Ads…