Google Expands Newspaper Pilot Program
Summary
As expected, Google has expanded its newspaper ad pilot program and has made it easier and more visible to AdWords advertisers. The program has shown success, as we noted back in December, and represents one of the many flanks in Google’s march toward covering all media and all formats. The latter charge was emboldened by its DoubleClick acquisition (still facing congressional antitrust scrutiny), and various media continue to be brought into the fold through partnerships such as ClearChannel (radio). The newspaper effort specifically launched to resell print ads across 50 U.S. papers and has now been extended to 250. We expect more to follow.
Analysis
Newspapers with falling ad revenues will likely accept Google’s new source of ad dollars whole-heartedly, while some advertisers will appreciate the invitation to advertise in a print medium, previously out of reach. The effort specifically chops up full-page ads into smaller ads that are more affordable for a subset of businesses that might have had a long-standing desire to advertise in print but couldn’t afford it.
Newspapers, meanwhile, have always had the capability to do this, but from a sales channel perspective, it isn’t as attractive (opportunity cost) to go after a fragmented base of smaller businesses interested in smaller ad spends. Sales reps instead devote their attention to the car dealers, furniture showrooms and big-box retailers of the world.
Google’s self-provisioning ad campaign setup, on the other hand, makes this possible and essentially adds a sales channel for newspapers, albeit inferior to their own physical sales asset (an important and core strength, like Yellow Pages). Regardless, it opens up a new addressable market segment to newspapers at a time when they need it most.
Indeed, headlines of newspaper publishers’ woes continue unabated. The latest is Tribune Co.’s statements this week that the Los Angeles Times experienced one of its “worst quarters ever” in ad revenues and cash flow.
New Advertisers: For Better or Worse
The chopped-up ad revenues, however, could present a slight downside for newspapers that tie up with Google’s effort. Creating these affordable chunks of inventory essentially breaks up whole-page ads into a patchwork of smaller ads, characteristic of the pages that fill smaller free metro papers or readers.
Some papers could feel this will open the floodgates to questionable advertising or an overall look and feel that is below their level of “class.” However, the terms of the “bid-ask” marketplace allow publishers to accept the ads before they are sold. And overall, the positives outweigh these drawbacks in that this has proved to be a great way to dynamically place remnant inventory late in the publishing cycle, which is otherwise backfilled with house ads. In any case, newspapers aren’t really in a position to be turning away advertising.
In addition, Google is hoping this conversely adds appeal to AdWords and gets advertisers to use Google Analytics more often. These elements all tie together nicely if you think about it: Google Analytics can be used to arm advertisers with the knowledge of certain geographies that could use a boost in sales, and a corresponding print budget allocation. We’ll see what else comes of it. But for now the effort makes a lot of sense.
Meanwhile, Yahoo! continues to develop its “amigos” newspaper consortium. Though it similarly makes inroads to the newspaper world, this setup is much different from Google’s effort. Yahoo!’s efforts instead live entirely online and will work toward beefing up its own content across its network (Yahoo! News, HotJobs etc.) with newspaper content, while conversely providing newspaper publishers much-needed online functionality, technology assistance and online know-how. We’re also bullish on this effort and will continue to watch closely.
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Related TKG Reports: White Paper: Newspapers 2.0 Part 4: Building Online Newspapers in a Web 2.0 World, Advisory: Newspapers Team Up Online To Nab National Advertisers
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[...] It was interesting to see the Yellow Pages Association release its usage data showing print usage was stable at 13.4 billion and IYP usage had increased to 3.8 billion in 2007. While the overall usage figure is a 3 percent increase from 2006, which is encouraging, zeroing in solely on usage may be taking away from stronger measures of value. Just as online has shifted from a focus purely on clicks to a broader definition of value based on calls and leads, the Yellow Pages Industry should follow this lead in marketing the medium. [...]
[...] But while Livejournal slowly implodes, Yelp’s doing pretty darn well. It’s a much younger site than Livejournal, but I look at it as a site that’s doing a lot of things right. The review website has a small but very devoted following in most of the major cities, and there’s a healthy contingent of Boston Yelpers. I’m one of them. Yelp not only exemplifies the Ultimate Web 2.0 Ethos of transparency and interactivity (putting the users in control), it also provides a fascinating model of how to turn that into money. And, as we all well know, that’s something a lot of people are scrambling to figure out. [...]
[...] Yellow Pages – It’s About Leads Published in March 14th, 2008 Posted by Pest Control in Pests Miss Kitty wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMovers, 38:1. Insurance, 33:1. Air Conditioning Contractors, 27:1. Attorneys, 18:1. Plumbers, 14:1. Physicians, 13:1. Auto Repair, 11:1. Storage, 10:1. Dentist, 8:1. Pest Control, 7:1 … [...]
[...] The Kelsey Group has it right. The Yellow Pages is all about leads. That’s why small businesses consider it such a dominant part of their local advertising. [...]
[...] Mike Boland / The Kelsey Group [...]
[...] Some work has already been done to adapt the printed product to the urban core, such as reducing book scale and rescoping to smaller trading areas, doing more hyper-local directories and so on. But it seems that more innovation, and risk taking, is needed. In France, for example, Pages Jaunes has acknowledged that in Paris, print is secondary to its online product. The publisher has also made it clear that print still reigns supreme in much of the rest of France. This distinction needs to be acknowledged and products need to be developed accordingly. [...]
[...] The Kelsey Group recently blogged about the local business search marketing industry. As I’ll blog about in the next post, the local internet marketing market is growing even faster than expected. More local businesses are going online, shifting their marketing budgets, especially to paid search. [...]
[...] Mike Boland/The Kelsey Group- Â Local on Local: A New Report from Marchex [...]
[...] The whole industry needs to work on this. I’m afraid we’re getting close to a perfect storm where the stock value drop is associated with usage drop permanently. As I suggested in the Kelsey Group blog yesterday, “One way to re-join the conversation would be for directory publishers to start blogging. They all have very smart CEOs and VPs, who usually have a lot to say, but we only communicate behind closed doors or in industry conferences. It’s time for the industry to get back its share of voice and I think it would help to address the media bashing that’s currently happening.” [...]
[...] “But Jacobsen (and his business partner, classified consultant Janet DeGeorge) have pressed on. To me, its prospects are still iffy. But it now has deals with 10 initial newspapers, including The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, The Provo Herald and The Spokesman Review in Spokane, Washington. Three more papers are coming online soon. The revenue comes from flat fees, based in print circulation. In the future, Google ads or the equivalent might be added.” More right here. [...]
[...] Kelsey Group analyst, Peter Krasilovsky, covers G5 Search Marketing in his vertical case study column. Click Here to read the coverage. [...]
[...] Furthermore, there are some opportunities to combine these options to more effectively track search influence on real conversions. Krillion is working on some of these offline conversion drivers, and a newer company called Slifter is bringing some of these features to mobile. [...]
[...] Seems that the Yellow Pages, contrary to popular belief, are continuing to take the same path as newspapers had to take a few years back. Dwindling usage and interest is forcing them to either stay innovative or eventually go out of business. [...]
[...] See recent TKG interview with Local Matters CEO Perry Evans. Blog: Local Media Blog, Internet Yellow Pages, International Markets Posted by: Mike Boland at 1:09 pm- [...]
[...] We knew it was coming sooner or later. Google has begun to allow users to upload video directly into the Local Business Center. Companies such as TurnHere and eLocalListing were already uploading this content for their SMB clients via direct partnership, but this essentially makes it possible for more firms to do it with less friction. [...]
[...] Hey readers, Webvisible just raised a bunch of money and Spotrunner just bought Weblistic. I am curious if any of you out there have used any of the local search engine advertising solutions like ReachLocal, Webvisible, OrangeSoda, etc. and what your experiences have been.  If you have some thoughts please email them to me at localseo at localseoguide.com. Thanks. [...]
[...] This takes the opportunity being tapped by Krillion, NearbyNow and few others, and brings it to the mobile device. The opportunity, in a nutshell, is to build products that take the reality to heart that the majority of U.S. retail activity happens offline in physical stores (as opposed to e-commerce). Effectively leading these offline conversions and tracking them with things such as coupons, reserve online, is the goal.Slifter brings an added dimension to the opportunity given that the phone is present when the consumer walks in the store, allowing for the potential for more effective tracking (think mobile coupons or send to phone functionality for product results). Having local product search take place on the phone also extends the use case beyond searching at home, to also include more serendipitous or on the fly product searches while out on the town. It also makes a lot of sense in certain use cases such as holiday shopping, where finding a hot item in stock, while scrambling around town to find it, can be a valued feature. [...]
[...] The future for IYP continues to look bright. The Kelsey Group forecasts IYP revenues will grow from US$3.7 billion to US$9.2 billion . Yes the industry is fragmented; however they continue to transform their business models and make some surprising, yet effective acquisitions. In addition, they are testing other ways to increase online share by expanding the product mix to become more of a one-stop shop for local advertising. This includes print, online and emerging local media such as video and eventually mobile. [...]
[...] Here is a roundup of blog posts from last week in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. What is the iPhone’s Real Impact? M:Metrics released a study earlier this week that makes big claims about the iPhone’s impact on the mobile market. It points to high percentage of iPhone users that are accessing mobile data such as search, browsing and mobile entertainment. This all makes sense because iPhone users are mostly a self selected segment of mobile power users or early adopters that, not surprisingly, have a propensity towards mobile search and data (not to mention that all iPhones are tied to unlimited data plans). (read more…) Google’s LBC: Now With More Fiber We knew it was coming sooner or later. Google has begun to allow users to upload video directly into the Local Business Center. Companies such as TurnHere and eLocalListing were already uploading this content for their SMB clients via direct partnership, but this essentially makes it possible for more firms to do it with less friction. (read more…) LAT49: Reading Maps for Local Context (and Ad Placement) More and more, people are looking at what Google can’t (or won’t) do. One thing Google isn’t doing is selling a lot of ads on a hyperlocal basis. If you look for a plumber in Tribeca, you are likely to get ads for all of Manhattan. That might simply be an issue of making sure it has enough ads to fill the inventory. (read more…) Local Matters Launches Local Guide Platform Local Matters has announced a new publisher platform called Guidespot. The company works with a global who’s-who list of publishers to power their IYPs and online sites. This move extends its capability include community and UGC-driven local guides. This comes at an opportune time when many IYPs and newspaper sites are integrating social media in various ways (mostly user-generated ratings and reviews). (read more…) Talking Local at SES New York SES New York is winding down and there has been a lot of attention paid to local — much more so than in past SES shows. Specifically there was a track on day 1 that John Kelsey and I ran, and then another track on day 2 including an insightful session led by Urban Mapping CEO Ian White and others well versed in local such as Localeze’s Gib Olander. (read more…) Planet Discover CEO: ‘Our Role in Local Search’ Is there still a role in local search for a “niche” provider like Gannett’s Planet Discover? The question comes up after Boston.com VP of Product Bob Kempf said there really is no substitute for a major search engine tie, and that alternative solutions would be “second rate.” Planet Discover CEO David Lenzen certainly thinks there is a role for his company. In a note written in response to the Boston.com post, Lenzen articulates several reasons why the company is still relevant. (read more…) More Yellow Bashing When I read the article in The Boston Globe today that yet again chronicles the woes of big city Yellow Pages directories (full disclosure alert: I was interviewed for the Boston Globe article but not quoted), several thoughts came to mind. The first thought is that directory publishers need to gain more control over this issue, which seems to have taken on a life of its own. I realize this isn’t an easy task, but I do not know how many more dust-gathering-on-the-uncollected-phone-books-in-the-apartment-building-foyer stories this industry can take. (read more…) Cox, Yellow Book Join Forces U.S. independent publisher Yellow Book announced a distribution and co-branding deal with Cox Communications in which Yellow Book directories in key Cox markets will carry Cox branding and information on Cox products and services in the front of book. The deal currently involves Yellow Book directories in Providence, R.I., Pensacola, Fla., and Oklahoma City, Okla., but may be extended to other Cox markets in the future. Cox has 6.2 million residential and commercial customers. (read more…) WebVisible Lands $12 Million; Emphasizes Integrated SMB Solutions The small-business advertising arms race has gotten hotter in recent weeks, as companies eye a chance to add Google and Yahoo! search solutions, and other services to small-business marketing budgets once totally contained by Yellow Pages. First we had ReachLocal’s $305 million valuation based on a $55 million round of financing, sparking the whole marketplace. In early March, Spot Runner entered the game, acquiring Weblistic in an all-stock buy to power its 30 local sales offices with solutions that go beyond its core strength in video. (read more…) [...]
[...] For this to be useful to the average Facebook user, there will have to be a critical mass of participants (network effect) hat add it to their Facebook account and actively participate in local recommendations. Reviews generation on social/local sites like Yelp face a similar same challenge. [...]
[...] • Several of the top analysts in the local-search industry wrote about us: Peter Krasilovsky, Greg Sterling, Mike Boland, and Andrew Shotland. Peter’s post was also picked up by the Kelsey Group’s blog, where he works with Mike. [...]
[...] Local merchant videos for example isn’t content that includes advertising — It is the advertising. As we’ve argued, this content has value for users in providing a richer local search experience, and it has clear appeal for advertisers interested in local branding. Though a majority of local video advertising in this context has happened within IYPs and local search sites (for good reason), there is also the opportunity to utilize YouTube as a free venue to distribute local merchant video advertising. [...]
[...] Click here for full article. [...]
[...] Here is a roundup of blog posts from last week in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. What Is the iPhone’s Real Impact? M:Metrics released a study earlier this week that makes big claims about the iPhone’s impact on the mobile market. It points to the high percentage of iPhone users who are accessing mobile data such as search, browsing and mobile entertainment. This all makes sense because iPhone users are mostly a self selected segment of mobile power users or early adopters who, not surprisingly, have a propensity toward mobile search and data (not to mention that all iPhones are tied to unlimited data plans). (read more…) Google’s LBC: Now With More Fiber We knew it was coming sooner or later. Google has begun to allow users to upload video directly into the Local Business Center. Companies such as TurnHere and eLocalListing were already uploading this content for their SMB clients via direct partnership, but this essentially makes it possible for more firms to do it with less friction. (read more…) LAT49: Reading Maps for Local Context (and Ad Placement) More and more, people are looking at what Google can’t (or won’t) do. One thing Google isn’t doing is selling a lot of ads on a hyperlocal basis. If you look for a plumber in Tribeca, you are likely to get ads for all of Manhattan. That might simply be an issue of making sure it has enough ads to fill the inventory. (read more…) Local Matters Launches Local Guide Platform Local Matters has announced a new publisher platform called Guidespot. The company works with a global who’s-who list of publishers to power their IYPs and online sites. This move extends its capability include community and UGC-driven local guides. This comes at an opportune time when many IYPs and newspaper sites are integrating social media in various ways (mostly user-generated ratings and reviews). (read more…) Talking Local at SES New York SES New York is winding down and there has been a lot of attention paid to local — much more so than in past SES shows. Specifically there was a track on day 1 that John Kelsey and I ran, and then another track on day 2 including an insightful session led by Urban Mapping CEO Ian White and others well versed in local such as Localeze’s Gib Olander. (read more…) Planet Discover CEO: ‘Our Role in Local Search’ Is there still a role in local search for a “niche” provider like Gannett’s Planet Discover? The question comes up after Boston.com VP of Product Bob Kempf said there really is no substitute for a major search engine tie, and that alternative solutions would be “second rate.” Planet Discover CEO David Lenzen certainly thinks there is a role for his company. In a note written in response to the Boston.com post, Lenzen articulates several reasons why the company is still relevant. (read more…) More Yellow Bashing When I read the article in The Boston Globe today that yet again chronicles the woes of big city Yellow Pages directories (full disclosure alert: I was interviewed for the Boston Globe article but not quoted), several thoughts came to mind. The first thought is that directory publishers need to gain more control over this issue, which seems to have taken on a life of its own. I realize this isn’t an easy task, but I do not know how many more dust-gathering-on-the-uncollected-phone-books-in-the-apartment-building-foyer stories this industry can take. (read more…) Cox, Yellow Book Join Forces U.S. independent publisher Yellow Book announced a distribution and co-branding deal with Cox Communications in which Yellow Book directories in key Cox markets will carry Cox branding and information on Cox products and services in the front of book. The deal currently involves Yellow Book directories in Providence, R.I., Pensacola, Fla., and Oklahoma City, Okla., but may be extended to other Cox markets in the future. Cox has 6.2 million residential and commercial customers. (read more…) WebVisible Lands $12 Million; Emphasizes Integrated SMB Solutions The small-business advertising arms race has gotten hotter in recent weeks, as companies eye a chance to add Google and Yahoo! search solutions, and other services to small-business marketing budgets once totally contained by Yellow Pages. First we had ReachLocal’s $305 million valuation based on a $55 million round of financing, sparking the whole marketplace. In early March, Spot Runner entered the game, acquiring Weblistic in an all-stock buy to power its 30 local sales offices with solutions that go beyond its core strength in video. (read more…) [...]
[...] Here is the week-in-blogging from TKG, in case you missed anything. Click below to read each post in full. Google’s Street View Cameras Go Offroading Google announced today that it has expanded its coverage of 6 cities in Street View, and has added 13 additional cities. These cities map well (no pun) to Forbes’ recently released list of top U.S. cities for businesses and careers. Along with this launch, Google has also freed the Street View API for publishers to embed street views directly into their sites or applications. (read more…) PagesJaunes se Porte Très Bien, Merci One of the most significant announcements in the past year about the Yellow Pages business was made by PagesJaunes. In order to get in front of the faster migration from print to online that is occurring in France’s major cities, the publisher reduced print advertising rates in Paris by 20 percent in 2008. (read more…) YouTube Offers Insight to Video Producers YouTube launched a series of new analytics features today, known as Insight. The product gives video producers more detailed information about where and when their videos were viewed. For now this drills down as far as state and country (using IP address) and day of the week. Future versions could get more granular with ZIP code level reporting and day parting. (read more…) More on Loladex: A Conversation With CEO Laurence Hooper If Facebook is really the next marketing platform, the guys at Loladex will have guessed right. The new rating and review company, formed by two alumni of AOL Search and Yellow Pages, had initially been incubated as a destination site that enables user reviews, business listings and third-party content from sites such as OpenTable.com and ServiceMagic.com. Sometime last year, the decision was made to build specifically for Facebook. (read more…) Loladex Launches Today Local/social search product Loladex launched this morning, currently built exclusively around a Facebook application. The application will specifically seek to tap into the trust inherent in a group of Facebook contacts, as a source of information on, and interaction around, local business information. (read more…) Google Adds LocalTel to AdWords Network of Resellers Lawrence, Massachusetts-based Yellow Pages publisher LocalTel has partnered with Google’s AdWords program to sell keywords on Google and Google Maps, and for ads to appear on partner sites within Google’s AdSense network. (read more…) [...]
[...] PagesJaunes se Porte Très Bien, Merci from TKG [...]
[...] Kelsey Group analyst, Peter Krasilovsky, covers G5 Search Marketing in his vertical case study column. Click Here to read the coverage. [...]
[...] Local Matters has been smart in the moves that it has made to provide much needed online functionality for yellow pages publishers, and its global partner/client list speaks for itself. The MobilePeople acquisition also comes weeks after the launch of its new socially media-driven city guide platform, which similarly broadens its capability to serve local media publishers. [...]
[...] There are clearly lots of possible local applications along these lines. The local appeal can be enhanced by texting “set loc” to the service which remembers your explicit city or zip for future local searches, and finds answers and human guides accordingly. This local relevance will only grow, according to Bostic, as location awareness (GPS and triangulation) will be integrated to make local searches smarter. Location awareness, as we’ve mentioned, also knocks down an adoption barrier, and will be another enabling technology to prod mobile local search along in its slow march towards mainstream adoption. [...]
[...] HondaSwap Forums has something worth reading today (ChaCha Launches Voice Search: A Conversation with Brad Bostic)Here’s a brief bit, but follow the link for the rest.The company is close to closing a deal with Indy 500 to have its service used for specific searches related to Indy Car racing at their events. [...]
[...] Mike Boland added an interesting post today (ChaCha Launches Voice Search: A Conversation with CEO Brad Bostic).Here’s a little bit of it:The company is close to closing a deal with Indy 500 to have its service used for specific searches related to Indy Car racing at their events. In addition to these licensing deals, it will also monetize with transactional based … [...]
[...] Other opportunities beginning to make themselves known include using their expanding ranks of video content to drive more traffic through blended search queries in popular search engines. Given the amount of upstream traffic IYPs receive from search engines, this should be considered. [...]
[...] Yahoo! announced today at CTIA that it will integrate voice search capability into its OneSearch mobile search application. This comes the day after human powered search engine ChaCha did the same thing with its mobile product. [...]
[...] This conversation usually happens around large brand advertising but there is still some applicability or learnings for SMBs and local search. Search Engine Guide today poses the question “Should You Start a Blog” including a checklist of business goals and abilities that should be considered first. For certain local businesses this can be a way to augment a print and online marketing campaign by generating buzz around a topic that is close to your business (think “how-to” blogs for home improvement or other trade services). [...]
[...] Here is a recap of posts from the last week in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. Cobalt, Marchex Take Pay-Per-Call to Auto Dealers We thought there must be a reason why VoiceStar, Marchex’s Pay Per Call unit, had such a prominent presence at the North American Dealer Association show in February. Now we know: The company has just formed a reseller partnership with The Cobalt Group, which provides services to 40 percent of U.S. auto dealers. (read more…) [...]
[...] Kodak and Craigslist: A Tale of Two Blogs [...]
[...] Coming off of its $7 million B round last month, 3D mapping provider Everyscape, announced today that it will expand its coverage to San Francisco, Philidelphia, and Washington D.C.. It now covers 15 total cities including its first batch, Boston, New York, Aspen, and Miami. [...]
[...] For TurnHere, this is the fourth major local search or IYP deal it has signed in the past 12 months (others are Citysearch, YellowPages.com and Superpages). It’s personal on-site production style has proven to be a hit with IYPs and their advertisers. [...]
[...] Video advertising, traditionally reserved for big businesses, has come within the grasp of SMBs with cheaper production technologies, online distribution, broadband penetration, and killer apps such as YouTube. This has of course led to viewers expectation of video in their search experiences; advertiser demand; and the acceleration in video integration by local searh sites (Cox’s Kudzu was the latest example earlier this week). [...]
[...] He correctly identifies location awareness and privacy controls as technical and social enablers for this to happen. More importantly it will be the open development environment of Android and the iPhone SDK that will get us there. He contrasts this with the current environment: The space is wide open at this point – no one has created an application that has gotten enough traction to go mainstream. That’s party because of tech limitations – browser-based networks don’t leverage the power of the mobile device, and client based applications are blocked by service providers and handset limitations. [...]
[...] Not to mention a likely lack of funding — or at least not enough to get over the hump of the trust thing, which would have required a lot of time, marketing/PR and positive reinforcement. The technology looks like it will still be given this chance though — living on in a more established destination. This is another case of the technology being more valuable than the destination (the whole platform vs. destination concept likened earlier this week to Everyscape’s opportunity) . [...]
[...] Stepping back, this is another example of the new mobile creativity and innovation that is starting to take form (see mobile social post yesterday), to drive mainstream adoption. One driver will be enabling technologies that make it easier to use mobile search apps (location awareness for example). This product can be considered in the same boat because it replaces opening and navigating a mobile browser with the more user friendly action of snapping a picture. [...]
[...] Local community and recommendations site Angie’s List received $35 million in funding today from Battery Ventures. This comes a day after local ratings site Grayboxx sold its assets and shut down. Together this could say something about the importance for personal touch in local niches, based on community interaction. [...]
[...] Keep it Simple Stepping back, this is another example of the new mobile creativity and innovation that is starting to take form (see mobile social post yesterday) to drive mainstream adoption. One driver will be enabling technologies that make it easier to use mobile search apps (location awareness, for example). This product can be considered in the same boat because it replaces opening and navigating a mobile browser with the more user-friendly action of snapping a picture. [...]
[...] Earlier this week, my colleague Charles Laughlin wrote a blog about the beginning of the YPA annual conference and exhibition entitled, Yellow Pages Industry Pledges Counteroffensive. That headline pretty much captures what was an upbeat event that attracted 600 attendees. As YPA President Neg Norton told the industry, “the root of the problem is a belief that we are going away.” The fact is that both the print business and the electronic piece suggest otherwise. [...]
[...] Finally, Mike Boland from The Kelsey Group writes on how local search meets video search with the company PixelFish. It’s a great read. To me, the concept is including local videos in search engine marketing to bring online customers to your physical door. [...]
[...] Will Social Be the Killer App for Mobile? Michael Arrington scribes his vision for mobile social mashups in a TechCrunch post yesterday. He argues social networking could be the killer app of the mobile device, and one of the biggest beneficiaries of the expected surge in application development (we argue it will be local search). (read more…) [...]
[...] already seen the former happen with today’s launch of BuzzSpot from eLocalListing Director of Product Development Steve Espinosa. The company will specialize in managing these campaigns forbusinesses, and I had the chance to talk to Steve on Friday about the road map which I’ll blog later today. Stay tuned. Blog: Local Media Blog Posted by: Mikeat 7:33 am- [...]
[...] At its recent convention, the association promised a more aggressive push to let the world know that Yellow Pages isn’t dead and much of the recent tsunami of bad press has been based on a poor understanding of the fundamentals of the business. In addition to the press release, YPA research honcho Larry Small had a piece on Search Engine Land that touts the finding that print plus online usage is growing. [...]
[...] Following up on this morning’s post, BuzzSpot has launched today as the first company that will take advantage of Google’s new television ads product. [...]
[...] Related: SEM firm eLocal Listing has a video product as part of its SMB online marketikng package and one of its executives recently launched Buzzspot for SMBs. There’s also Mixpo, among a growing range of others. The challenge with self-serve online video is the same challenge with self-serve online marketing for SMBs. Kelsey’s Mike Boland has a nice write up of yet another SMB video startup VideoBloom. [...]
[...] The SMB video segment is getting very crowded quickly. It began with Spot Runner and TurnHere and quickly extended to Denver Multi-media, GlobeShooter (acquired by Spot Runner), Spotzer, EZ Show and now, Mixpo, Buzzspot, VideoBloom (see Kelsey write up) and others. There are probably 12-15 companies in this segment either looking to go directly to SMB advertisers or work with sales channels (e.g., YP and newspapers). Companies such as Howcast (not SMB oriented today) also have a custom production network that could be tapped. [...]
[...] This sounds like a mix between evite, Yelp, and Google Maps. It also comes with some of the social recommendation aspects of Loladex, but without piggybacking on an existing social graph. There are some intriguing features, but launching a destination strategy in local is a tough proposition, as the company likely learned with FatDoor. [...]
[...] FatDoor Becomes Center’d In a race to be first or not be left out of the “news,” TechCrunch and Kelsey, among a couple of others, have written about FatDoor morphing into Center’d. But most of the stories are incomplete or in some respects incorrect. Center’d relies on the same back end created by FatDoor. So FatDoor isn’t in the deadpool or shut down. It’s got some structural changes and a new face. [...]
[...] With the increase in local video being produced for online — by virtue of local video channels opening up by IYPs and others — there will be a greater opportunity to repurpose video in these types of places. IYPs will realize that local video should be pushed out beyond their own listings, to live on in other places (such as search engines as argued) in order to drive the most leads and the most ROI for their advertisers. [...]
[...] is a recap of posts from the last week in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. The Examiner’s Free Metro Model; 2 Million Uniques In light of BostonNow’s closureweek (apparently for investment-related reasons), I’ve been mulling over the future of free metro papers in the U.S. The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and The San Diego Union-Tribuneamong newspaper companies that have developed free (or discounted metros). Some have done so in response to a deep-pocketed effort by billionaire Philip Anschutz, and his Examiner papers, to stormmarkets. (read more…) Positive Evidence for Yellow Pages PR The communications plan outlined by Neg Norton at the YPA convention last week is already paying dividends. Like most people in ourI have a Google Alert for the term “Yellow Pages.” The April 16 summary edition is shown below. All five of the Google News Alerts are positive. Three of the five Google Blog Alerts are(read more…) Data Show Yellow Book Closing IYP Gap With Incumbents Yellow Book has been gradually closing the gap with its U.S. IYP rivals, which testifies to the publishers’emphasis on its online business as a driver of future growth. According to data recently put out by comScore, Yellowbook.com was the fastest growing U.S. Internet site in the month of March. (read Out-of-Home the Next Frontier in Local?: A Conversation With Ripple Ripple is one of the early leaders in the nascent category of out-of-home advertising. For those unfamiliar, this is rich mediathat is served with news, weather and sports, at places such as coffee shops and gas pumps. Most of the companies in this space are serving national display advertising, but Ripple is going for morea local touch. (read more…) Schibsted’s March to 60% Digital Revs I am always leery of reports that point to a “Scandinavian miracle” (or a “Massachusetts miracle”what have you). But a December 2007 NAA Growing Audience report has some valuable details about how Schibsted Media, the Scandinavian publishing giant with additional properties in France, Spain andhas begun to remake itself for the digital age. (read more…) More Online Video: A Conversation With VideoBloom I recently had the chance to talk with Antoine Toffa, founder and CEOonline video platform VideoBloom. Toffa had previously founded Trip.com which was bought by Galileo in 2000 for $326 million and eventually rolled up into what is now Orbitz. The VideoBloom platformbe used by Web publishers interested in hosting video content. This includes a few different built-in monetization techniques, such as ad overlays. But unlike other video ad platform providersas Brightcove, it doesn’t require that you join its ad network. (read more…) Google Pushes Further Into TV, Part II: BuzzSpot Launches BuzzSpot has launched today as the first companywill take advantage of Google’s new TV Ads product. The company is being launched by Steve Espinosa, eLocalListing director of product development. As an SEM/SEO expert and frequentspeaker, Espinosa has a good perspective on the opportunity here and has already worked with bundling online video with SEM campaign management and landing page offerings (see past write-up).more…) Retail Services Beyond Store Locators: Where2GetIt Local retailers are increasingly going beyond store locators to drive sales. The extensions to store locators include brand locators,menus, trip planners, and even guides to where Wi-Fi, nonsmoking and RV parking can be found. A leading vendor in providing retailer solutions is Anaheim, California-based Where2GetIt. Roughly 280and 550 brands are using Where2GetIt today, representing 700,000 brick-and-mortar locations. (read more…) YPA Tries to Dispell Myths on Usage Citing data from the latest Industry Usage Study,Yellow Pages Association is trying to overcome some of the myths and misperceptions about who uses print Yellow Pages, how often and why. In a press release issued today, the YPA points out that theYellow Pages user is younger, more tech savvy and affluent than many might assume, and PYP use actually indexes higher in some cities known to be at the higher end of the high-tech scale,Seattle; Portland, OR; Charlotte, NC; Denver; and Salt Lake City, among others. (read more…) Google Pushes Further Into TV Google has been quietly testing TV ads over the past few monthsits AdWords SEM platform. Basically this involves the ability for advertisers to upload an existing video ad and specify target audiences and ad budget, which is then spun into a television adTo do this Google essentially buys the ad inventory, which is then resold to advertisers. This is similar to its print newspaper formula that places ads throughout remnant inventory in printthat Google buys. (read more…) Blog: Global Yellow Pages, Local Media Blog Posted by: Mike Boland at 10:49 am- [...]
[...] The whirlwind that is AdTech San Francisco has come and gone and as the dust settles and my notes are organized, a few companies stick out with new ideas. Of the thousands of companies at the show, only a handful were explicitly in the local space including Where2GetIt, ZVents, Local.com, NearbyNow, and Ripple (see post last week). [...]
[...] There seems to be no shortage of announcements from local players that wish to increase incoming content and distribution. In the past few months we’ve seen Citysearch feed content and ads to Local.com, AOL and Marchex; Idearc do the same with Marchex and Local.com; and Yelp feed 2 million reviews to Local.com (to name a few). [...]
[...] departure follows on the heels of senior Internet management turnover at Idearc Media (Eric Chandler, later replaced by Briggs Ferguson) and Jake Winebaum, who left his role as president ofinteractive after less than a year on the job. Blog: Local Media Blog, Internet Yellow Pages, AT&T Posted by: Charles Laughlin at 7:14 pm- [...]
[...] Late last year the site redefined itself as an aggregator of zip code level news and community forums. As recently argued from the ups and downs in hyperlocal sites, the right formula has to be found and sometimes it’s out of your hands as a function of the direction users take it. Topix has mostly found the right formula in its new model, as evidenced by a 2x year-over-year increase in page views in March. [...]
[...] Previously Topix’s ad revenue stream was primarily text ads via AdSense, but VP of Sales Mike Linton is on a charge to bring in more display ads from national advertisers that wish to target locally. This is growing opportunity given the realization among some brands and agencies that conversions are taking place locally and offline. We believe more agencies will come to see this, though the majority currently don’t. [...]
[...] Day has brought a strong focus on developing online revenues to Truvo, and has often said directory companies need to generate about 30 percent of revenues from online sources in order to have sustainable business. Day also oversaw the rebranding of the company from World Directories to Truvo. [...]
[...] It will be a hosted and SEO friendly platform that takes some of the guesswork out of the equation for startups in the local search space. This comes just weeks after the launch of its city guide platform, Guidespot and further fills out its product line to touch more horizontal segments of the market. [...]
[...] Here is a recap of posts from the last week in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. Eniro to Be an Online First Business in 2008 The Nordic directory publisher Eniro announced somewhat disappointing results for the first quarter, with weaker than expected print results not fully offset by online revenues. Some of this was seasonal, as Eniro CEO Tomas Franzen noted that the first quarter is seasonally weak for its online business. In 2007, Eniro generated 54 percent of its revenue from online. This year, Franzen says the business will generate a majority of its revenues from non-print sources. (read more…) Local Matters Lightens Up Local Matters announced it will launch a new local search platform called Destination Search LE (Lite Edition). This essentially brings the concept behind its flagship Local Search platform to smaller players. It will be a hosted and SEO-friendly platform that takes some of the guesswork out of the equation for startups in the local search space (or anyone looking to boost their existing functionality). (read more…) Day to Give Up CEO Post, Assume Truvo Chair Truvo announced today that CEO Andrew Day will step down June 1 and assume the role of chairman, allowing current Truvo Belgium Managing Director Donat Retif to take over as CEO. Retif has been with Truvo since 2005. He previously served as vice president of sales for Idearc, working in both the United States and Canada. Before that, he worked briefly in the VNU Promedia operation, which later became Truvo Belgium. (read more…) AdReady Focuses on SMBs; 9,000 Take Premade Creative Search has its limitations for local businesses. In fact, many would just as soon place media rich display ads, but for the expense and creative challenge of developing the ads. That’s the hurdle being addressed by AdReady, a venture-backed Seattle company that has created hundreds of ready-made ads that can be selected on a self-serve basis. (read more…) KP-Backed SpotMixer Enters Fray for SMB Video The market to produce, distribute and/or enhance small-business videos has intensified in recent months, as TurnHere, Denver MultiMedia, DMC, Spot Runner, Mixpo, BuzzSpot, EZ Show, Spotzer and others have competed (often via third-party Yellow Pages and city guides) to land accounts. Now comes Redwood City, California-based SpotMixer, which has raised $8 million from Kleiner Perkins and others. (read more…) [...]
[...] As promised in a post a few weeks ago, VideoBloom has completed an index of Nasdaq companies that have video on their websites. The DJIA version of the index was shown in the last post as one leading indicator of online video adoption. [...]
[...] Yelp and other local social search sites have always had elements of local reputation management engines for small businesses. This makes it easier for them to utilize it in this way. Like a lot of other local marketing tools for SMBs, this will face adoption challenges in its requirement for businesses to self service (registration required). But Yelp’s local traction and sheer volume of reviews will make it an easier sell. The company is meanwhile stepping up local sales efforts with recent funding. [...]
[...] [...]
[...] In a session called “The Online City: Close Up on Seattle,” here at Drilling Down on Local the Seattle Times’ Patricia Lee Smith reiterated a point made earlier by the LA Times’ Rob Barrett, which is that online newspapers cannot compete on technology. The only way for newspapers to carve out a unique position online is to leverage not just unique local content, but also unique local understanding. [...]
[...] At the Kelsey show in Seattle, the LA Times’ Rob Barrett gave an apparently good keynote yesterday. There’s good coverage from Andrew Shotland and Kate Kaye at ClickZ (also coverage on the Kelsey Blog). There was apparent discussion around the evolution of the Times’ thinking about content and user experience, as well as creating new sites and environments for users and advertisers. [...]
[...] a big move towards multimodal search and the fact that a mobile device is, after all, a phone, talking and natural language speech processing will be as important in mobile as anywhere else. Blog: Local Media Blog, Mobile Local Search, Conferences Posted by: Mike Boland at 3:21 pm- [...]
[...] Call Genie at DDL: Location Relevance the Key to Mobile Search Today at DDL, Call Genie Director of Product Evolution Gary Galinsky pegged the lineup of mobile ad formats (SMS, pre-roll audio, post-roll audio, banner, etc.) as “interruption marketing.” The only way to skirt this is relevance, and like real estate, he says, the greatest source of relevance in mobile is “Location, Location, Location.” In mobile search, location comes ahead of primary decision drivers in other media, such as brand and price. (read more…) On the Leading (Bleeding?) Edge With Verticals The first day of the Kelsey Drilling Down on Local conference included a somewhat unusual panel with four entrepreneurs in verticals. They talked about the nuts and bolts of building truly local verticals. These vertical pioneers shared their war stories and loads of practical advice. Some of the commonalities to their experiences: (read more…) Drilling Down on Local ’08: The Opportunity in Geo-Domains Dan Pulcrano closed out Day 2 of Drilling Down on Local ’08 with a presentation to expose attendees to the wild west of the geo-domain space. Pulcrano, owner of numerous city sites such as Seattle.com and SanJose.com, argued that the geo-domain sites are poised to become a much more powerful factor in the local search ecosystem. (read more…) Drilling Down on Local ’08: Online Shifts in Auto During yesterday’s afternoon session focused on Auto at Drilling Down on Local ’08, the panelists nearly universally said U.S. automaker giant General Motors was the furthest along in figuring out how to leverage the Web. Mitch Golub, president of Cars.com, said that has not always been the case — Toyota used to be the leader OEM but has since ceded that post to GM. GM’s leadership on the Web did not do much for driving car sales, as Ward’s Automotive reported that Q1 sales were down more than 16 percent. (read more…) A Primer for Selling to SMBs Speaking this afternoon at at The Kelsey Group’s Drilling Down on Local conference in Seattle, Kurt Weinsheimer, GM for Local Marketing Services at Spot Runner, offered a simple set of rules for effectively selling to small businesses. (read more…) [...]
[...] In the works are a couple of extensive, important posts. And maybe some random notes. But for now, you could get caught up in the great rundown by our hard-working Kelsey team, and by Andrew Shotland’s Local SEO Guide and Kate Kaye at ClickZ. I really enjoy their writing. [...]
[...] Google is a collaborative partner with all verticals, and generally speaking, has no interest in competing with them, per Adrian Madland, Google’s head of automotive strategic partnerships, who was speaking at Kelsey Seattle (a session also covered here and here).“We love all the vertical people in the room,” said Madland. “We don’t do verticals. We try to make them better. We want to focus on search” [...]
[...] This joins the quickly growing segment of companies that offer easier ways for companies of all sizes to produce and distribute video online. Many of these companies were in full force at DDL, including Mixpo, PixelFish, BuzzSpot, VideoBloom and SpotMixer. [...]
[...] May 7, 2008 by Stan Gauss I read a post today on the Kelsey Blog that discussed Yahoo!’s goal as it relates to verticals and marketplace. Their goal is pretty simple- Be #1 or # 2 in every key vertical area. [...]
[...] Spot Runner has seen lots of action lately, emblematic of the activity level in the local online video space. This includes the recent acquisition of the GlobeShooter production network and that of local online advertising firm Weblistic. [...]
[...] Â Click here to read the full article [...]
[...] You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet – Merrill Brown, MMB Media [...]
[...] We are proud to announce that Videoagency and our new Local Video Player Solution (LVPS) – which we have developed in partnership with AgendiZe and PLY Media – were featured and reviewed with enthusiasm on the Kelsey Group Blog. Please see the demo of this player here. [...]
[...] Mixpo provides similar functionality, which is a strong proposition to advertisers that want to take advantage of the direct response capabilities of video that is served in a local search context. This is the “lean forward” mode of video viewing we’ve examined in the past. [...]
[...] A full comprehension of local importance seems to be rare for Ad networks. Placecast is doing some interesting things, and AdBrite has the benefit of Levine’s local perspective. Today’s deal is evidence of this, and it has good implications for similar deals in other verticals where there are national or regional entities with localized constituents (auto dealer groups, real estate agencies, hotel chains, franchise based corporations, etc). [...]
[...] Truvo it’s a continuation of its mobile product growth, and in line with its stated intentions to develop non-print sources of ad revenue in earnest. Among directory publishers worldwide, it hasa leader in that sense. Blog: Global Yellow Pages, Local Media Blog, European Directories, Mobile Posted by: Mike Boland at 3:28 pm- [...]
[...] Go to the author’s original blog: TKG Data and Analysis: A Weekly Recap [...]
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptSometimes, it means putting the innovative online guy in charge of print too, as Bay Area News Group has done with online advertising head David Prizer. But sometimes, it means consolidating power under the old print hands that believe … [...]
[...] Eugeniaâ Posted by [...]
[...] Here is the highlight reel from the last week in TKG Blogging. Click below to read each post in full. Kill the Innovators: San Diego U-T Lays Off Online Leaders These are tough, fast-changing times for newspapers, and many of them are taking severe measures to get back on track. Sometimes, it means putting the innovative online guy in charge of print too, as Bay Area News Group has done with online advertising head David Prizer. But sometimes, it means consolidating power under the old print hands that believe they need to “own” the online efforts because that is where the action is. (read more…) Truvo Goes Mobile in Belgium European Directory Publisher Truvo (formerly World Directories) has extended its mobile search product to the Belgian market. The product utilizes mobilePeople’s Java-based Liquid Maps platform, which powers several mobile search platforms being rolled out by directory publishers in Europe. (read more…) [...]
[...] Skyhook Wireless announced a series of partnerships that bring location awareness to online applications. These include Krillion, Yahoo! Fire Eagle and CitySquares to name a few. They’ll each use location awareness for different forms of geo-targeting and smarter content delivery. This is a step away from the mobile apps, where the discussion of location awareness in search usually takes place (more on Skyhook here). This brings capability for lots of op- in location based services for a number of use cases (think laptop-equipped business travelers looking for somewhere to eat). [...]
[...] Beyond the enterprise, many consumer local search opportunities begin to come into focus where purchase decisions are closely tied to proximity to categories, stores or SKU’s. CallGenie’s Gary Galinski stressed this point at Drilling Down on Local a few weeks ago. [...]
[...] The second part speaks to a point we and others have echoed regarding the ease of use and appeal that will finally bring mobile search into the mainstream. The resulting market size of the iPhone and competing devices will feed back into the innovation cycle, creating more incentive to develop products. That plus the development-friendly environment Andreessen referenced, will bode well for innovation. [...]
[...] As this usage continues to climb there are also developments from marketers looking to capitalize on the high engagement and repetitive use of video games. With lots of talk of product placement and contextualized ads on television, it’s natural that this discussion should continue on to video games where thematic content lends to contextual relevance. [...]
[...] TheFind should benefit from this added functionality and this is the latest example of a company taking to heart the reality that a sizable opportunity exists to lead and track local offline purchases. That’s where the majority of U.S. retail activity happens, and that is the information that ready to buy consumers want. [...]
[...] Click here to read the full article [...]
[...] Here are last weeks highlights from the TKG blog, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. Of Video Games and Local Search The latest show of climbing video game sales came in April’s 47 percent year-over-year increase. The $1.23 billion in game & console sales was buoyed by continued success of the Nintendo Wii, as well as the release of the hotly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV. (read more…) CBS Expects Local Benefit From CNET Buy In its bid to establish itself as a meaningful online company, CBS Interactive has downplayed its traditional strength in local vis-a-vis TV stations, radio stations and outdoor. The company’s just announced acquisition of CNET for $1.8 billion doesn’t necessarily change things. But company officials acknowledge that CNET’s local brands — Urban Baby, a moms site, and Chow, a foodie site — are leveragable assets. (read more…) ICMA Brussels: Shopper Pubs Focusing on Reverse Publishing, Verticals, Mobile Shopper publications attending the International Classified Media Association meeting in Brussels this week — the vast majority from outside the U.S. — are showing resilience against the challenges of the Internet, and looking at new models to sustain their existing businesses. I was presenting a keynote on the transition to Marketplaces. (read more…) Google Partners With Office Depot to Win Small Businesses Google and Office Depot announced a partnership where Office Depot will offer advice and teach small businesses how to use Google AdWords. Any small business that registers and makes an AdWords purchase on the Office Depot site will receive a $50 advertising bonus. Office Depot will also likely receive a portion of all sales made through its Web site. The partnership also promotes Google Apps and Maps as additional tools small businesses can use. (read more…) [...]
[...] Geotagged photos from Flickr are perhaps the most popular application of this type of thing so far (Google has begun to do the same with videos with less takeup so far), but news is something that could similarly “map” well in this type of scenerio. It’s mostly a novelty so far, but could gain popularity and commercial potential if given more exposure. Some newspapers have already begun to get creative with mapping mashups and local content. [...]
[...] TKG recently posted on the new Yellowbook campaign and brand makeover. We see it as an upgrade on the previous David Carradine campaign, which the publisher contends was quite successful, but apparently the publisher wanted a new direction. Yellowbook switched ad agencies for the new ad campaign, which of course is not an uncommon move, and the result is a much more polished campaign, directed by Vadim Perelman (”House of Sand and Fog”) and featuring Blanca Soto (yes, the Blanca Soto). The objective is clearly to position Yellowbook as a multichannel, forward looking directory publisher. [...]
[...] More detail has come out on SEAT PG’s proposed sale of its foreign properties. The goal according to an interview with Reuters is “to shift its attention back to Italy to mine a boom in Internet use in the country instead of looking for growth abroad. That means units Telegate in Germany, Thomson Directories in Britain and Europages in France are on the auction block.” According to Luca Majocchi, SEAT PG’s Chief Executive, “Only 30 percent of Italian adults used the Internet in 2006 compared with almost 50 percent in France and Britain. Just a year later, the proportion of Italian adults using the Internet jumped to 42 percent thanks to massive campaigns by Italian broadband providers. This totally changed our perspective,” he said. [...]
[...] This comes days after the U.K.’s Yell did something similar with its “Socialiser” app; and Superpages has had a Facebook application for some time. Though it’s not an IYP, Lolodex arrived on the scene in March to similarly blend local search and social networking, a la Facebook. [...]
[...] CallGenie announced today that it will partner up with speech recognition company Vlingo, to enable natural language searches across the CG product Suite. [...]
[...] CPA has lots of advantages in assigning more concrete ROI to ad spends, and giving more options to users. As online tools continue to develop (watch 3-D mapping when it moves from novelty to utility), we’ll see more CPA or transactional models develop around local search. Agendize, with its core product grounded in actionability, should be one to watch as a leading indicator. It’s already gotten started with video. [...]
[...] This will allow for lots of cool mashups and product placement opportunities that allow users to telescope in to learn where to buy products locally. One locally relevant scenario we’ve submitted in the past involves supplies or ingredients used in cooking or home improvement shows. Meanwhile we get a glimpse of some of the decidedly more fun features of IPTV such as switching camera angles or sound feeds during sporting events. [...]
[...] Here are last week’s highlights from the TKG blog, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. Merrill Brown and the Internet: Still the Visionary “Extraordinary change means extraordinary opportunity,” Merrill Brown, founder and principal of MMB Media, told the audience at last month’s Drilling Down on Local conference. Few people are more knowledgeable about the impact of new technologies on society than Brown. Before he was a founder of RealOne, before he was the first editor in chief of MSNBC.com, before he was a media and communications consultant for Time Inc., NBC and USWEST, he was a widely quoted writer. (read more…) Will Apple Rule Local Search in the Living Room? Though IPTV hasn’t been the primary focus of a blog post in a while, we’ve mentioned it here and there as a local search medium to start thinking about. The thinking goes that the IP architecture of the technology will allow more precise targeting with content and ad delivery, as well as a two-way street for content pull (which has its own set of implications for behavioral targeting). (read more…) [...]
[...] That’s a lot of viewers but could make sense if you look at evolving video technologies. Broadband penetration and killer apps like YouTube have made video a standard part of hundreds of millions of users’ online experiences, especially younger generations and at-work users. This has even caused Google and other search engines to rethink their search algorithms and SERP rankings (universal search). [...]
[...] The closest thing we’ve seen to this so far is Loladex, which launched in March to fuse local search and social networking within Facebook. One of the advantages of these applications is that they can piggyback on Facebook’s existing (and growing) social graph, rather than attracting users to a new social network. Still, attracting users to grab and use the application within their Facebook accounts won’t come entirely without a challenge. [...]
[...] In other words, we could see local directional advertising tied to products used in certain programs (think cooking, home improvement, fashion, etc.). It could take a while before IPTV providers work this into their service packages and hardware will be an issue (at the onset IPTV won’t look much different than cable). But the underlying architecture is there for these types of ad delivery models to be built. [...]
[...] Like the iPhone, lots of local applications will come out of this given the open developer environment and the natural ties between mobile and local. Meanwhile ease of use could push these platforms and applications into the mainstream, causing more incentive to innovate than we see today. [...]
[...] There has not been all that much fresh coverage of the rumor, reported earlier this week, that Microsoft may acquire Yell Group, the UK-based international publisher with operations in the UK, United States, Spain and Latin America. We have not been able to pick up much to support the rumor, though circumstances might suggest that Yell is poised to make some kind of significant move to generate cash without further driving down its share price. The company took a hit after it announced its earnings last week (along with a dividend cut), and gained a little back on the Microsoft rumor. At this writing, the stock is trading down by about 2 percent. [...]
[...] Just launched this weekend on YellowPages.ca is the ability for merchants in Canada to add Save and Share Functionality to their website. The company providing the service is Agendize through YellowPages.ca and you can read a full article from a strategic perspective on the Kelsey Blog titled “Agendize Brings Contact Widgets to Local Listings“. [...]
[...] AgendiZe’s new Contact Widgets are now live across all listings in Yellowpages.ca. We wrote about them previously, prior to the official release. Below is an update with added info and screenshots. [...]
[...] Putting two and two together, this means we’re likely to see multimodal location awareness, given the iPhone’s existing Wi-Fi positioning software, care of Skyhook Wireless. The two together will open up lots of possibilities for local application development (a common theme with all things iPhone and Android). [...]
[...] Here at Infoserve, we are in the lucky position of having close relationships with both Google and Yahoo!, but if it’s one thing this article has proved, online advertising is rocketing. Advertisers’ investment in local internet advertising services are projected to grow from $8 billion in 2007 to nearly $20billion in 2011 so if you’re not on board already, now is definitely the time to take advantage of the online boom. [...]
[...] are last week’s highlights from the TKG blog, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. Curley on HyperLocal, The Washington Post and the New Vegas Venture Somebloggers like to throw “Google” in the title to get some attention. For me, it is “Hyperlocal.” And somewhere in the middle of any discussion of hyperlocal is Rob Curley.hyperlocal maestro has taken his Web 2.0 experimentations (videos, maps, databases, photo galleries, blogs, citizen journalism, pictures of local girls) in rapid fire succession from Augusta, Georgia,Lawrence, Kansas, to Naples, Florida, before finally hitting the “big time” 20 months ago, with The Washington Post. (read more…) More Musings on Microsoft and Yell There has notall that much fresh coverage of the rumor, reported earlier this week, that Microsoft may acquire Yell Group, the U.K.-based international publisher with operations in the United Kingdom, the UnitedSpain and Latin America. We have not been able to pick up much to support the rumor, though circumstances might suggest that Yell is poised to make some kind of significant move to generatewithout further driving down its share price. The company took a hit after it announced its earnings last week (along with a dividend cut), and gained a little back on the Microsoft rumor. At thisthe stock is trading down by about 2 percent. (read more…) More Android Screenshots Emerge News.com provides screenshots of Google’s Android operating system, straight from thisGoogle I/O conference in San Francisco. It is a touch screen interface with a home screen that looks a lot like the iPhone. Like the iPhone, lots of local applications will come out of this given thedeveloper environment and the natural ties between mobile and local. Meanwhile ease of use could push these platforms and applications into the mainstream, causing more incentive to innovate thansee today. (read more…) Local Matters Gets Social, Continues Product Streak Local search platform provider Local Matters has just acquired a Facebook application-in-progress from onlineestate player Point2. The app will be called Neighborhoods for Facebook and will allow Facebook users to network with others in their area and find out about local events. It can be thought of assort of hyperlocal play within Facebook. (read more…) 1 Billion Online Video Viewers by 2013? ABI just released a report that projects a billion Web video viewers by 2013. This isa unique monthly viewer count, which makes it about a 4x to 5x increase over current levels. That’s a lot of viewers, but it could make sense if you look at evolving video technologies.penetration and killer apps like YouTube have made video a standard for hundreds of millions of users, especially younger generations and at-work users. This has even caused Google and otherengines to rethink their algorithms and SERP rankings (universal search). (read more…) DOJ Settlement Has Little Impact on Real Estate Listings Several years ago, it looked like real estatemight be marginalized by “Virtual Office Websites” (VOWs) that grabbed multiple listings service listings from the Web, using a licensed agent. They then acted as cut-rate sales agents tobuyers. At the time, it was envisioned that major online entities such as Yahoo! might use VOWs as a loophole for getting into the tent. Worse, there was a fear that banks would use VOWs to facilitatesneak attack on the industry (if restrictions on their participation eased). (read more…) Will the Housing Crunch Crunch Cars Too? Within the past eight or nine months, we’ve been(and pushing some numbers) on the potential impact of the downturn in the housing market on local media — print Yellow Pages in particular. This is a huge topic, of course. One of its manyparts is this: How has the liquidity been spent that was created from home equity loans? We’ve identified dozens of print YP categories we think have been boosted by this liquidity. One of theseis autos. (read more…) Does In-House Social Networking Reduce Turnover? Grazing the current crop of business news mags, I happened across the June 2 edition of BusinessWeek. The cover article,Blogs,” is on how social networking is changing key aspects of the corporate marketing tool kit. One of the examples cited in the article is that of Best Buy, the ubiquitous consumerchain. A couple of years ago, two Best Buy managers set up an in-house social network, “Blue Shirt Nation.” That network now has 20,000 participants, 85 percent of whom are sales(read more…) Technology and My Trip to London and Paris Travelling abroad and keeping your job is pretty easy these days with seamless smartphone access. But I noticed a few things during ato London and Paris last week that gave me some food for thought. (read more…) Does Microsoft Want Yell? Reuters is reporting a rumor that Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer has set his sightsYell Group as his next acquisition target, which has led to a bump in Yell’s share price. We don’t know if this is true. It is, after all, being reported as a “rumor.”this isn’t the most implausible rumor we’ve heard. Balmer may well be itching to do a deal in the wake of Microsoft’s failure to buy Yahoo!. Plus there has always been at least alogic to a tech company acquiring a directory company, namely to acquire its sizable local sales channel. (read more…) Blog: Global Yellow Pages, Local MediaPosted by: Mike Boland at 1:06 pm- [...]
[...] Search Engine Land – Real Estate Search Engine Trulia Adds Google StreetView Imagery Screenwerk – Trulia Integrates StreetView Images Venture Beat – Trulia Booms Amid a Housing Bust Launches Google Street View Integration Street Insider – Google and Trulia B-Roll Opportunity 4realz – Trulia Integrates Googles Street View Photos Into Mediapost – Trulia Real Estate Site adds Google Street View Earthtimes – Trulia Users Walk the Neighborhood with Google Street View Active Rain – Trulia and Google give Street View Street Smarts Agent Genius.com – Trulia Incorporates Google Street View Beta Daily.com – Trulia gives street view to real estate search My Tech Opinion – Trulia First to Go Google Street View Maxsell Real Estate – Trulia Continues Innovation in Real Estate Search Geek Estate Blog – Trulia & Google Take it to the Streets Mashable – Trulia Adds Google StreetView to Home Listings Seattle PI – Trulia Offers StreetView of Homes The Daily Pundit – If All Goes According to Plan, You’ll Never Leave the House Again Future of Real Estate Marketing – Trulia Shows Us the Streets Digital Earth Blog – Trulia Integrates Google Maps StreetView Google-Lat Long Blog – Navigating the Online Real Estate Search c|net News.com – Real Estate Site Offers Google Street View Web Pro News – Trulia Obtains a Street View The Kelsey Group – Trulia Launches StreetView: The Street You Might Live On Sellsius – Trulia Using Google Street View to Enhance Real Estate Search Inman News – Trulia hits the streets with new imagery Google Maps Mania – Google Street View Comes to Trulia Road to Real Estate – Want to see what the neighbors house looks like? E-Learning Service – House shopping with Google Street View Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog – New Features at Trulia: One Major Blunder WatBlog – Google Street Maps: A Boon Or A Curse? MetroSpokane – MLS Deathmatch: Trulia Streetview Vs.Windermere Birdseye Priority One News – Trulia gives us Google Streets! [...]
[...] Hat tip to the Kelsey Group Blogs for bringing these new features to my attention! [...]
[...] in social media video, Current has an amusing animated short about the social network wars. Among other things, it gets at the issue of social networking fatigue we’ve explored in the past. Aquick viral video to break up a Tuesday afternoon. Blog: Local Media Blog, Social Networking, Social Search Posted by: Mike Boland at 11:34 am- [...]
[...] As we’ve argued, extending video distribution beyond IYPs’ own websites can increase the value to the advertiser and also have marketing benefits for IYPs, including driving traffic back to them. [...]
[...] Meanwhile, Curley’s new venture is Las Vegas is with the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Weekly and “a broadcast property.” Hmmm. “Curley has a budget to hire 40+ people for the Vegas ventures,” reports the Kelsey Group, and he says he has ambitions with community video. Stay tuned… [...]
[...] First, Sony has announced a deal that will bring In-Game ads to Play Station 3 games. It will work with IGA worldwide, a New York based outfit that specializes in video game product placement. Video game sales were way up last month and engagement levels are relatively high and repetitive, signaling an opportunity for marketers who can integrate ads in a way that isn’t intrusive to game play. Microsoft is interested in this direction as part of its development of ad placement in online venues other than search. [...]
[...] June 9, 2008 in Local Search Tags: internet yellow pages, Local Search, niche social networking A recent article from The Kelsey Group (okay, it was in May & I’m a little behind) discussed reasons why the Yellow Pages should develop “a platform for niche social networks since directories covers such a broad array of topics and content that can be related to highly conversational topics such as travel, music, legal, weddings, new mothers, retirement, interior design, home improvement, etc.” [...]
[...] The biggest driver for the new platform was to simplify Marchex’s ad buys under one roof. This basically means that advertisers can buy both local and national advertising in the same place. The local buys include the 150,000 sites in Marchex’s local network (newyorkdoctors.com, 90210.com, etc.), and national consists of about 200 premium publishers in IndustryBrains’ network (Businessweek.com, Bankrate.com, Kiplinger.com). Both are sold as pay-per-click, and a single price is averaged out based on placement. Ads can be targeted geographically, by vertical, or site specific. [...]
[...] Coverage ClickZ – Marchex Brings Ad Platforms Together MediaPost – Marchex Takes On Google With Text Ad Network SearchEngineLand- Marchex Creates AdHere: National-Local PPC Ad Network Greg Sterling’s Screenwerk – Marchex Unveils â€AdHere’ Network SearchEngineWatch.com – Marchex Consolidates Ad Platforms The Kelsey Group – Marchex Unifies Local, National Ad Networks RTT News – Marchex introduces Marchex Adhere Quick Facts SmartBrief.com – Marchex consolidates platforms under Adhere name MarketingVOX – Marchex Consolidates Ad Sales for Local Buying Ease B2B Online – Marchex rolls out Marchex Adhere TMC Net – Marchex Launches Adhere to Serve National and Local Advertisers The Frager Factor – Thumbs up to the team at MCHX! Financial News USA Domain Name Wire – Can Marchex Pull it Off? The Domains Congoo.com – Marchex Brings Ad Platforms Together  [...]
[...] Lots of talk about the 3G iPhone this week. We’ll see lots of local applications developed that make use of faster speeds and GPS capability, as speculated. The $199 price tag will also make it more mainstream friendly than before. [...]
[...] (KGO news story found via Kelsey) Feel free to share this with friends: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
[...] Following Steve Ballmer’s comments last week that print newspapers will be dead in 10 years, Seattle PI columnist Bill Virgin retorts that it will be Microsoft’s weakened position that is more evident. He uses Vista’s weak reception, the Wii’s dominance over the Xbox, and MSFTs failed takeover of Yahoo! as artillery, among other things. By 2018, there will be no more Microsoft… [...]
[...] The folks at Palore sent me a new data set they’re releasing. You might remember, the company recently changed its business model to focus on all of the granular data it was scraping from local search sites. [...]
[...] NYC data from Palore is similar, as reported by the Kelsey Group. [...]
[...] Auto Repair Site RepairPal Launches [...]
[...] Self serve video ad provider Jivox announced a $10 million round today. We wrote about the company a few months ago, which lets advertisers create short ads using stock video. It also distributes these ads through a publisher network, which has also grown with today’s addition of WorldNow ExpoTV and AOL India. It claims $40 million viewers in this network. Jivox finds itself in a growing subset of companies that are tapping the opportunity for SMB video advertising. There are lots of reasons this market is growing including lowered barriers and an increased interest and availability for SMBs to advertise with video. Providers like Jivox are fueling this so they’re essentially both driving and being driven by the market opportunity. All of this is explored in a report we’ll release later this week. [...]
[...] Here are last week’s highlights from the TKG blog, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. On How Many Sites Do SMBs Advertise? The folks at Palore sent me a new data set they’re releasing tomorrow. You might remember, the company recently changed its business model to focus on all the granular data it was scraping from local search sites. Since then it’s been on a steady pace of releasing various data mashups to whet the market’s appetite. The goal from there is to attract custom data jobs, where it applies its proprietary technology to scrape sites for any number of attributes for various market research purposes. (read more…) Auto Repair Site RepairPal Launches New auto repair information resource RepairPal went live today. The site steps into an undeserved market segment by providing information about the user’s specific car and its maintenance needs. One central use case, for example, is to check what a particular repair should cost to ensure that an estimate you received is fair. The site does this with predictive modeling, using literally tens of billions of data points it has assembled about nearly every conceivable repair on 94 percent of passenger vehicles. (read more…) [...]
[...] The “video-to-action” API lets publishers create overlays for videos that bring up interactive calls-to-action when moused over. This is similar to functionality provided by Mixpo, and also comes weeks after Agendize did something similar for the video assets of VideoAgency. That was more of a custom job wheras this extends the capability (via API) to Yellow Pages publishers to apply to their growing volumes of video clips. [...]
[...] Over the past 18 months, Local.com company has been on a roll in signing distribution deals with Citysearch, Superpages and Yelp. These partners get extra distribution for their advertisers while Local.com gets a revenue share and a boost to its content volumes. In these deals the content has included local reviews (especially Yelp). [...]
[...] AdFare has joined the growing list of companies looking to work with IYPs to tap the sizeable opportunity of video-enabling their advertisers (3.2 million SMBs). [...]
[...] Here are last week’s highlights from the TKG blog, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. Merchant Circle: 5,000 Paying Customers Merchant Circle, which is partially owned by IAC, is apparently beginning to make some headway in selling search oriented services to small businesses. It reports that it has achieved a base of 5,000 paying customers, who buy services costing $30, $60, $100, and $250 a month. “Most of them are coming in at the lower end” – the “starter circle” package –“ but we do have customers at all price points,” said a spokesman. (read more…) [...]
[...] Dulskis New Thing: Events and Planning Front and CenterdIs there room for a new, locally-oriented social network if it is more practical than Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, LinkedIn et al? Thats what Norwest Partners and Keynote Ventures are betting $6.5 million on with the launch this week ofhttp://blog.kelseygroup.com/index.php/2008/06/18/dulskis-new-thing-events-and-planning-front-and-centerd/ [...]
[...] Currently the state of the art is IP targeting that ad networks sell based on advertisers’ need to reach certain demographics. But the technology is there to get much more granular. (see Placecast). Sarver claims that it’s hard to get these products off the ground in terms of advertiser interest and there is definitely a lag between the technology and Madison Avenue’s ability to understand it. [...]
[...] The Kelsey Group today pointed to a TKG forecast on local video. It seems that TKG expects the local online video market to reach $1.5 billion by 2012. [...]
[...] Such is the nature of Palore’s strategy to wet the market’s appetite for the decidedly more granular “custom jobs”. In the meantime it’s freebies have been interesting. More data and background on Palore in our past coverage. [...]
[...] Local Video Gets More Attention; SEO Is Key at Kelsey Group blog [...]
[...] First, there was AutoByTel’s MyRide. RepairPal launched last week. This week, it is DriverSide, which is being developed by Jad Dunning, an executive with StepUp through its acquisition by Intuit, and Trevor Traina. The site, which has 20 staffers and is funded by Catamount Ventures, is designed to meet consumer needs between purchases and simplify automotive ownership. “We want consumers to make good decisions wherever they are in the cycle,” says Dunning. [...]
[...] First, there was AutoByTel’s MyRide. RepairPal launched last week. This week, it is DriverSide, which is being developed by Jad Dunning, an executive with StepUp through its acquisition by Intuit, and Trevor Traina. The site, which has 20 staffers and is funded by Catamount Ventures, is designed to meet consumer needs between purchases and simplify automotive ownership. “We want consumers to make good decisions wherever they are in the cycle,” says Dunning. [...]
[...] Local Online Video Market to Reach $1.5B by 2012 – Kelsey Group Blogs “Many market forecasts have attempted to size the U.S. online video marke… These forecasts project the market will grow to between US$4 billion and US$7 billion by 2012.” (tags: internet multimedia video business revenue marketsize stats trends forecasts) [...]
[...] Changes in search patterns are showing that consumers are learning smarter ways of searching, moving to more specific four and five keyword searches. And as we have continually championed, more and more customers are using local search, looking for a business within a location. Marchex’s report sums it up: [...]
[...] Source: http://blog.kelseygroup.com/index.php/2008/06/25/smb-video-advertising-to-reach-15-billion-by-2012/ [...]
[...] There is a sudden glut of sites that allow people to register their cars and get specific service information and recommendations about them. First, there was Autobytel’s MyRide. RepairPal launched last week. This week, it is DriverSide, which is being developed by Jad Dunning, an executive with StepUp through its acquisition by Intuit, and Trevor Traina. The site, which has 20 staffers and is funded by Catamount Ventures, is designed to meet consumer needs between purchases and simplify automotive ownership. (read more…) [...]
[...] Group Blogs » Local Online Video Market to Reach $1.5B by 2012 document.write(”); . Sphere: Related ContentIf you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Bookmark Vidopp ↑ Postedin: Uncategorized | Tags: var dc_UnitID = 14;var dc_PublisherID = 19605;var dc_AdLinkColor = “#00CC00″;var dc_isBoldActive= ‘no’;var dc_adprod=’ADL’; [...]
[...] The Kelsey Group wrote about something that was best left dead: the CueCat. In Quick Response Bar Codes Invade Yellow Pages the concept is that small bar codes can be inserted into print ads and scanned by mobile phones to link users to information over the Internet. The problem is that this has been tried and failed. I still have an old CueCat lying around the house. My former employer, Verizon Directories, actually participated in the CueCat debacle. [...]
[...] Other sources of local traffic include Topix, and Marchex (OpenList). The latter recently repackaged its local advertising for this very reason — to make local targeting more appealing and digestible to national advertisers. [...]
[...] will also generate a social graph, which has implications for ad targeting, as shown by early monetization efforts by and within other social networks like Facebook. Check out a video demo ofnew feature and an explanation from founder Kevin Rose on the Digg blog. Blog: Local Media Blog, Social Search, User-Generated Content Posted by: Mike Boland at12:08 am – [...]
[...] Microsoft’s Virtual Earth Blog posted yesterday that AskCity will now use Virtual Earth to power its mapping and local features. This will take the place of Ask’s homegrown mapping tool that was the first to come out with multi-point directions, drawing tools and lots of other features that have since been adopted by other mapping engines. [...]
[...] Multimodal is gaining steam elsewhere in the mobile search world, as voice search and DA providers such as Tellme and V-Enable have been working fast to launch products that allow both voice and data input. [...]
[...] the heels of announcing 500,000 business profiles and 5,000 paying advertisers, Merchant Circle has formed a deal with Yahoo to give these businesses easy access to Yahoo! online ad products. Thealready has distribution deals with Citysearch, Google and others, and this is hoped to add to the options/incitements for businesses to start or up their ad spend. Local Media Blog Posted by: Mike Boland at 10:20 am- [...]
[...] As pointed out in TKGs recently released video forecast, this is one of the drivers for video’s popularity at the local level and its nearing status as an expectation for local search and business profiles. Meanwhile, on the advertiser side, lowered barriers for video production (along with user demand) has driven interest among SMBs. [...]
[...] The Kelsey Group says Gannett is buying the remaining share of ShopLocal from partners Tribune and McClatchy. ShopLocal is a comparison shopping site that also includes a variety of advertising solutions for businesses like Target, Best Buy and Home Depot. [...]
[...] Here are the highlights from the TKG blog over the past week, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. YouTube: Helping or Hurting Video Quality? Related to the previousl post, NewTeeVee asks whether YouTube is feeding creativity or killing it. Lots of examples are given of homemade videos that have made it big, and have fueled the growing online video culture we find ourselves in. As pointed out in TKGs recently released video forecast, this is one of the drivers for video’s popularity at the local level and its nearing status as an expectation for local search and business profiles. (read more…) [...]
[...] As my colleague Peter Krasilovsky discussed in his writeup this morning, the purchase of The Weather Channel by NBC Universal and partners is getting a lot of press attention for several reasons: [...]
[...] Many have already been announced including Yellowpages.com, Yelp, Loopt, UrbanSpoon, and WHERE (see a YouTube demo here). We’ll demo a few of these in a mobile session during the TKG track at SES San Jose next month. [...]
[...] If I Can Just Put on My Sneakers At Princeton’s Fourth of July fireworks last night, I got into a discussion with a friend who is concerned about his son who works as a journalist for a small NJ newspaper. I referred him to a “tell it like it is” story in Search Engine Watch by Kevin Heisler under the foreboding headline “Newspapers Bleed Red Ink: Death by Internet.” I particularly liked this article because he quotes experts in the Internet/media business, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt, the NY Times, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. (read more…) [...]
[...] today announced a new program that will award local businesses with a new “Best of Local” designation in 15 cities and 20 categories. This will be solely based on user reviewsa formula that takes into account reviews volume and quality. This is somewhat similar to the “Best of” approach that CityVoter has pioneered and should assist users with buyingand appease some advertisers. Blog: Local Media Blog, User-Generated Content Posted by: Mike Boland at 10:03 am- [...]
[...] Local.com today announced a new program that will award local businesses with a new “Best of Local” designation in 15 cities and 20 categories. This will be solely based on user reviews and a formula that takes into account reviews volume and quality. (read more…) [...]
[...] addition of Levine should be another boost, given his knowledge and local search chops. This also comes a few months after AdBrite partnered up with concert promoters LiveNation to bring display admanagement and reporting down to the local band manager level. This was a clear sign of his local influence in the reletively new post ad AdBrite and now, it seems, representative a trend involvingevents. Blog: Local Media Blog, Verticals Posted by: Mike Boland at 9:32 am- [...]
[...] A few Google users have come forward with screenshots of Google’s “bucket testing” of a new social search feature. Like Digg, StumbleUpon and other social search engines, this allows users to actively vote or rate on search results using small icons that appear next to results. The company has done similar tests in the past. [...]
[...] As explored in an earlier post, social could be one of the killer apps of mobile. Indeed social has been a core element of many of the local search applications in the iPhone’s AppStore, such as WHERE, Whrrl, and Loopt (WHERE is in the top 20 downloaded free apps so far). [...]
[...] Most sites do not provide any way to easily distinguish which user’s reviews are most likely to be shared by you! We believe, as do others, that the future of local search is not really search at all but personalized suggestions. [...]
[...] Now that the 3G iPhone and App Store have arrived, the iPhone is decidedly more appealing and user friendly for both mainstream users, and for companies of all sizes to create and deliver mobile apps. The previous post explored how local search on the device is shaping up to have clear social elements. [...]
[...] What Role will IYPs Play in Next Generation Mobile Search? [...]
[...] In local Apps, Yellowpages.com’s local search application went from 21 yesterday to 26 today, while WHERE went from 19 to 21; and Loopt went from 40 to 50. UrbanSpoon has meanwhile climbed into the top 15. [...]