LSA Insider

May 9, 2018

Daily News: Google Duplex, Mobile-First Indexing & Advertising, Local TV Ads & Mobile Geotargeting

Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more. Google Duplex: AI Machines Make Calls for Consumers to SMBs (May 9, 2018) LSA Insider: “During the keynote at Google’s developer conference yesterday there was an array of announcements. Perhaps the most interesting —…

Contributed by: Courtney Dobson

May 9, 2018

Google Duplex: AI Machines Make Calls for Consumers to SMBs

During the keynote at Google’s developer conference yesterday there was an array of announcements. Perhaps the most interesting — and certainly unexpected — among them was “Google Duplex.” It’s a Turing test defying use of AI to enable machines to talk to humans over the phone. Google CEO Sundar Pichai cited an unsourced statistic, which…

Contributed by: Greg Sterling

May 9, 2018

Study: 79% Research Online Before Making a Large Purchase In-Store

Online channels have transformed the way consumers discover and research products, easing the process and subsequently allowing them to make more informed purchasing decisions. Now more than ever, consumers are taking advantage of the ability to compare and review products within the palm of their hands. A recent survey of 500 consumers from Netsertive, revealed…

Contributed by: Courtney Dobson

May 8, 2018

Daily News: Google Image Search Updates, Effectiveness of Ad Retargeting, Voice-First Future

Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more. Gen-Z Will Account for 40 Percent Of All Consumers By 2020 (May 8, 2018) GeoMarketing: “As with Millennials, the Gen-Z adults of tomorrow are too multitudinous and diverse to assert that they are alike…

Contributed by: Courtney Dobson

May 7, 2018

Daily News: Location Marketing Roll-Up, Local SEO Services Market, Social Media Marketing Truths

Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more. Why Businesses Will Benefit from the Location Marketing Roll-Up (May 7, 2018) LSA Insider: “The location marketing roll-up is more than a story of vendors increasing scale. It’s a sign of the location-marketing sector…

Contributed by: Courtney Dobson

May 7, 2018

End of an Era: BIA Drops ‘Kelsey’ from Its Name

I worked for The Kelsey Group (TKG) from 2000 to 2006. I came in as managing editor and left as a “local search” analyst. I probably wrote the first report on whether search would adversely impact the directory industry — maybe 16 years ago. Believe it or not it was an open question in those…

Contributed by: Greg Sterling

May 7, 2018

Why Businesses Will Benefit from the Location Marketing Roll-Up

The great location marketing roll-up is in full swing. In recent months, we’ve seen a flurry of merger/acquisition activity from location marketing vendors (including mine) across North America. Significant M&A activity has ranged from Snapchat’s acquisition of Placed to Gannett/ReachLocal acquiring SweetIQ. The location marketing roll-up is more than a story of vendors increasing scale….

Contributed by: Jon Schepke

May 4, 2018

Daily News: Shoppers & Online Reviews, Google AdSense Updates, Milestone & Yelp Partnership

Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more. Survey: 72% of Shoppers Use Online Reviews to Judge Local Businesses (May 4, 2018) Street Fight: “Online channels are influencing offline purchases in a big way, according to data from a newly released consumer…

Contributed by: Courtney Dobson

May 4, 2018

#LSA18: Brands – Meeting the Local Challenge

Greg Sterling began the session by posing a question to panelists about how important a business’s website in today’s local ecosystem. How does it factor into Google’s local ranking algorithm? John Curtis, Senior SEO Manager at Walgreens, quickly reiterated Mike Blumenthal from the previous day: ‘You’re asking the wrong questions if you’re still talking about…

Contributed by: Kyle Eggleston

May 2, 2018

#LSA18: Amazon’s Alexa Team Invites Local Search Players to Participate

Amazon’s Alexa team reached out to the Local Search community at LSA 18, discussing the ins- and- outs of preparing local search for voice search, and helping local search players understand the opportunity of working with the Alexa voice search business. While Amazon voice search devices like the Echo remain the predominant channel for Amazon’s…

Contributed by: Peter Krasilovsky