Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more.
Recency Counts: Unpacking the ‘Consumer Review Journey’ (January 30, 2019)
LSA Insider: “No one disputes the influence of reviews and ratings on consumer buying decisions. A 2018 study conducted by LSA for SOCi found that reviews and ratings were the “most important” influence on purchase decisions, outweighing all other factors, including pricing/discounts, business location — even personal recommendations of a friend or colleague.”
Bing offers a trio of new local search APIs (January 30, 2019)
Search Engine Land: “These days Bing Maps is highly focused on the enterprise, mirroring Microsoft’s turn toward cloud-based solutions with the ascension of CEO Satya Nadella. The company has stopped trying to match features with Google Maps in competition for consumer attention and has focused increasingly on developers and enterprises.”
Location3 Named Agency of Record for Self Esteem Brands (Anytime Fitness, Waxing The City, Basecamp Fitness) (January 30, 2019)
MarketWatch: “A core aspect of the new partnership will focus on directly supporting individual franchise owners within the Self Esteem Brands network as they seek to effectively market their business locations online and grow in-store revenue.”
GroundTruth Kicks Off 10 Year Anniversary with Accelerated Platform Growth (January 30, 2019)
GroundTruth: “In 2018, there were 1500+ active businesses using Ads Manager and 500+ agencies and small-to-midsized businesses spending daily on the platform. Platform revenue doubled in the second half of 2018 and GroundTruth anticipates a 6X YoY growth in Q1 2019 as the company begins expanding the platform directly into enterprise businesses including iHeartMedia and OUTFRONT Media.”
Nearly 70% of Consumers Say Page Speed Impacts Their Purchasing Decisions (January 29, 2019)
Search Engine Journal: “A report on page speed revealed nearly 70% of consumers say a website’s loading time affects their willingness to buy. Further, 81% of marketers are aware that page speed impacts their conversions, but the majority aren’t making it a priority.”
