Here is this week’s roundup of the top news items related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more.
Insight & Commentary
The Age of Local: The New Marketing (March 6, 2018)
MediaPost: “There is no doubt, the Age of Local is here, and marketers can be equipped to make it a golden age.”
Study: Voice shopping will surge 1900% by 2022 (March 1, 2018)
Mobile Marketer: “OC&C studied the shopping habits of 1,500 smart speaker owners in December 2017, and recorded product sales for 2,000 products listed on Amazon.”
The Top 7 Ranking Signals for This Year (March 7, 2018)
Search Engine Journal: “With Google evaluating sites based on hundreds of ranking factors, knowing where to aim your SEO strategy in 2018 for the biggest bang might seem impossible.”
Strategy & Tactics
Four Ways To Use Social Media To Your SEO Advantage (March 5, 2018)
Forbes: “Good social media marketing leads consumers to a website; good SEO practices help consumers to find that website and to stay engaged with it.”
How to Create a Seamless Online/Offline Shopping Experience (March 6, 2018)
Street Fight: “Consumers don’t think in terms of channels. They expect seamless options that make it easy to buy what they want, when they want it, and how they want to buy it.”
Getting Ready for Google’s Mobile-First Index (March 5, 2018)
Search Engine Journal: “Mobile traffic has already surpassed desktop traffic online. More than half of all traffic is from smartphones and tablets now.”
Stats & Studies
Study: 97% of SMBs DIY Marketing, Most Don’t Get It (March 6, 2018)
LSA Insider: “Based on several studies, the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to marketing appears to be the norm among small businesses.”
Study: 29% of SMBs Have Adopted Cloud-Based Technology to Help Run Their Business (March 7, 2018)
LSA Insider: “Cloud-based technology, software as a service (SaaS) and other digital platforms are revolutionizing how businesses big and small manage everything from HR and payroll to marketing and supply chain.”
Gen Z & Millennials Differ in Feelings Toward Digital Advertising, Brand Engagement (March 8, 2018)
LSA Insider: “Many marketers have already begun adapting their advertising to fit the Millennial audience, and now Gen Z has become the center of attention for many.”
Industry News
New Yelp ‘Custom Ads’ Use Machine Learning for SMB Ad Optimization (March 2, 2018)
LSA Insider: “For some time Google and Facebook have been using machine learning to A/B test and optimize campaign performance for advertisers. Now Yelp is doing something similar with new Custom Ads.”
Restaurant Discovery Platform The Infatuation to Acquire Zagat from Google (March 6, 2018)
LSA Insider: “This acquisition will broaden The Infatuation’s profile and add to its vast network of restaurant reviews and guides and will introduce Zagat data to its “highly engaged, millennial audience.””
Consumers Turning To Smart Speakers To Help Decide On Brands, Products (March 7, 2018)
MediaPost: “Smart speaker growth will only continue. A quarter (25%) of those who don’t have a smart speaker are interested in getting one.”
