This day in search marketing history: March 1
Google publishes Search quality rating guidelines, plus: Ginny Marvin joins Google, AdWords Price Extensions, click fraud and more.
Topic: Insider Pages
Why is there so little innovation in local?
The alpha and omega of local is now Google.
New Place Search Shows Google’s Commitment To Local
Today Google formally rolls out its new presentation of local results, called “Place Search.” It offers a dramatic change to the look and feel of SERPs on Google.com. The first and most obvious change is that the “7 Pack” is gone. And there appear to be some fairly major SEO implications, which should provide many […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 7, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Goggles Search By Images Google Goggles, which I wrote about this morning, is actually now live at google.com/mobile/goggles. The Google Mobile Blog announced it, saying: In a nutshell, Goggles lets […]
Citysearch Brings Twitter & Local Search Together
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the inevitable collision of local search and social media, and specifically how social conversations are impacting the local search space. Reviews have been a part of local search for years, and sites like Citysearch, Insider Pages, Yelp, and others practically created and/or perfected the local-directory-with-consumer-reviews model. Today, […]
Which Internet Yellow Pages Site Has The Best Rankings?
One of the challenges for a local business that wants to rank for phrases like “reno dentist” or “nashville accountant” is that the large Internet yellow pages sites and similar local directories often take up a lot of the real estate on search results pages for “city category” phrases. Ergo, one of the most basic […]
SMB’s Need More “Local” Outreach
(Business owners, if you’re looking for actionable advice, skip to the end) I spoke at a local Chamber of Commerce here in the Portland area last week, giving a brief presentation on the fundamentals of SEO. Unlike a previous event I’d attended just three months ago in eastern Washington, about 75% of this audience had […]
Yelp Case Settled, But Bigger Issues Remain For Search & Reviews
A lawsuit over a Yelp.com review has been settled, but the larger issue of how business owners, customers, and review sites will co-exist online remains wide open. CNET is reporting that a San Francisco chiropractor and his disgruntled patient have settled their differences over a negative review that the patient posted on Yelp. Dr. Steven […]
Three Ways to Kick Up Your Local Marketing In Time for Black Friday & Cyber Mondays!
The economic Grinch is threatening to steal Christmas this year, but there are some things local businesses can do to avoid getting coal in their stockings this holiday season. Here are three tips for punching up your online local marketing presence, just in time for Black Friday and the Cyber Mondays to follow.
Small Business Success Stories: What We’ve Learned So Far
A baker, a guitar teacher, a florist, and a real estate agent: Those are the four small business owners I’ve profiled in this space recently. Before I continue with more online marketing success stories, this seems like a smart time to step back and see what we’ve learned to date. Listening to the experiences of […]
A Small Business Marketing Success Story: Avante Gardens
There’s a battle going on in the floral industry, and many small, independent florists are losing. Like other small businesses, they don’t have the time or knowledge to keep up with the latest marketing trends and tactics. But there are other challenges, too. Way back in 1998, the FTC warned consumers about phony marketers pretending […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 25, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
What Does 2008 Have In Store For Local?
Many people I speak to still ask the familiar question, “Is this going to be the breakout year for local?” while expressing frustration or disappointment that “local hasn’t yet lived up to expectations.” But local is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s also more complex than the general search market, which features an ecosystem built […]
Local Classifieds Site Edgeio Shutting Down
According to TechCrunch, classifieds site Edgeio is shutting down after having run out of money. The site was targeting a global audience but was fundamentally local. Edgeio competitor Oodle recently redesigned and appears to be doing well. And the classifieds category continues to gain traffic.
IAC To Split Up, Extends Google Ad Deal Worth $3.5+ Billion
Today is a big day for IAC, Ask.com’s parent company. First they announce they are breaking the company into five publicly traded entities, and then they announce they have extended their search ad deal with Google.
Local Search Site Judy’s Book To Shut Down
TechCrunch first reported (confirmed on CEO Andy Sack’s blog) that local search site Judy’s Book is shutting down and/or looking for a buyer. After struggling to monetize its traffic, the site shifted its business model to emphasize coupons and local deals. The firm had raised over $10 million in two investment rounds. This follows the […]
Online Moms: Where Local, Social, And Vertical Worlds Collide
Not long ago I had an appliance repair person to my house in the San Francisco Bay Area to fix my clothes dryer and, while he was at it, my dishwasher, which was stopping in the middle of cycles. I had used the Internet to find his company; however, he didn’t once ask me how […]
Local Is Social By Definition
Several years ago I was having lunch in a restaurant in New York with a couple of Yahoo executives, discussing the challenge of motivating people to rate local businesses. Yahoo was way ahead of the online curve back then, although now ratings and reviews of local businesses are seemingly everywhere online. Indeed, that conversation seems […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 6, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
‘Hyper-Local’ Site Backfence Shutting Down
Backfence emerged about the same time, a couple of years ago, as InsiderPages, Judy’s Book and Yelp. Now it appears to be closing its doors. The seemingly imminent closure of Backfence raises questions about the economics and viability of so-called “hyper-local” sites. InsiderPages, for its part, was recently sold to IAC/Citysearch and Judy’s Book has […]
Citysearch Gets New Look And Video
Citysearch, one of the more venerable names in local search, has relaunched its site with an updated look and other “new and improved” features, including video. Video is currently available for New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and has prominent placement at the top of the home page. It’s an ad unit for local […]
Get Listed At Local Search Engines, Yellow Pages and Local Social Sites
Guide On HowTo Get Your Business Listed On Major Local Search Engines, Yellow Pages Sites and Social Local Networks from LocalType.com is a very comprehensive rundown to almost 50 places where you can submit your business for local inclusion. It is broken into three categories: local search engines such as Yahoo Local, Google Maps and […]
Yahoo Releases Greatly Simplified “SiteBuilder” Tool
How many U.S. small businesses have websites? Is it 30%, 40%, 50%? Answering that question gets quickly into debates over the definition of a “website.” For example, is a “landing page” or a “profile page” a website? Do the small business data provided by InfoUSA, Axciom, Localeze, TruelLocal (and now iBegin Source) constitute being online? […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 1, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Citysearch Buys InsiderPages
VentureBeat is reporting that Citysearch/IAC is the mystery buyer of InsiderPages. A purchase price was not disclosed. The formal announcement will apparently come later today or early tomorrow [now confirmed, see below]. I would guess the purchase price wasn’t more than 2x what the investors put in (TechCrunch guesses $13 million), given that the company […]
Outside.in: Building The ‘Hyper-Local’ Internet
The awkward phrase “hyper-local” is now embedded in the discussion about local search. It’s a phrase, for example, that online newspapers are using to describe their community strategies, and it’s a phrase that I may unwittingly have coined in 2005 (if I did, I apologize) to describe a category of sites that were seeking to […]
MojoPages: Whole Lotta Yelp, A Little YouTube
Even as several local search competitors have been forced to rethink or exit the space, others still see it as a big opportunity. And in fact it is, just one that’s very hard to capture. The latest contestant to enter the race is San Diego, California-based MojoPages, which I wrote about briefly here but which […]