TKG Data and Analysis: A Weekly Recap

Here is a recap of posts from last week, in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full.

Google Brings More Local to AdWords

Google announced today a new feature in its AdWords search marketing product that will let advertisers automatically list their address as part of their text ad. Known as “local extensions,” it allows businesses to link their AdWords account to their Google Local Business Center (LBC) listing. The result is that AdWords will automatically serve ads to users who are searching in proximity to a given business’ listed address, and that address is shown. Google already does geotargeting in AdWords, but this essentially makes it more automatic. (read more…)

Ambassador Media Files Chapter 11

Ambassador Media has filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New York’s Southern District. The publisher, which operates in the five boroughs of New York City and surrounding areas, published nine directory titles in 2008 with distribution, we estimate, of 3.5 million copies. Ambassador  relaunched its IYP platform via Canpages’ ImmersiFind platform in spring 2009 and is also a Google AdWords reseller. (read more…)

Google Latitude Makes Its Way to the iPhone (Finally)

Google announced on its Mobile Blog that it will launch its mobile social tool Latitude on the iPhone. It took a little while to do this simply because it prioritized other mobile platforms that were better suited to the product such as Android and BlackBerry. In other words, the iPhone’s lack of “background” functionality made (makes) it not the best fit for Latitude. (read more…)

Mobile Local Search Ad Growth Is a Worldwide Phenomenon

My colleague Michael Boland released a new Advisory today on The Kelsey Group forecast for Western Europe mobile search and display. The bottom line is that TKG analysts forecast mobile search ad revenues will grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 125 percent with display ad revenues anticipated to increase by a CAGR exceeding 138 percent. Growing even faster will be mobile local search advertising revenues, which are predicted to grow to 1.4 billion euros.A New Digital Divide? (read more…)

A New Digital Divide? The Web Is Mobile, Even More So for African-Americans and Hispanics

More than half (56 percent) of Americans are connected to the Internet by some wireless means, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. While this wireless access primarily is on a Wi-Fi network with a laptop (39 percent), about a third of Americans used a cellphone to IM, e-mail or search. Cellphone use to access the Internet increased to 32 percent in April 2009 from 24 percent in December 2007, according to the survey of 2,253 Americans. (read more…)

AT&T, Yahoo Team for Behavioral Targeted Display Ads

Yahoo is extending its local sales reach for its behavioral targeting-informed display ads, enlisting AT&T Interactive’s 5,000+ sales reps. They will begin selling the “APT” branded- display ads later this summer to local businesses in more than 300 categories, along with Yellowpages.com, search packages, online video and other products. (read more…)

Getting Mobile Local Marketing Right: A Conversation With Metric Voodoo

I was recently able to catch up with Michelle Moore, director of search engine strategies at Metric Voodoo. We’re sitting on a panel together at SES San Jose next month and had some time to discuss the areas where mobile local marketing needs improvement, or requires different ways of thinking. These will also be key areas of discussion at TKG’s Directional Media Strategies conference in September. Here are a few excerpts from the interview. (read more…)

Google Radio to WideOrbit: ‘It Is All Yours’

Google’s pending sale of its Google Radio product to broadcast software platform provider WideOrbit helps the search giant with its attempts at managing margins by cutting expenses and selling assets. Google acquired dMarc, which formed the basis of Google Radio, back in January 2006 with the expectation of applying its technology driven and scalable efficiencies to the traditional media. (read more…)

ESPN Adding New Local Sites in Three Major Markets

The New York Times reports that ESPN, after a successful launch of its local sports Web site concept in Chicago, is adding three more markets: New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.  The Dallas site launches this fall, while New York and LA will start in early 2010. Fifteen staffers are being added for the three sites, which will obviously be operating “mean n’ lean.” (read more…)

The Marriage of Radio and Mobile: A Conversation With Jeff Smulyan

I recently had the chance to talk to Jeff Smulyan, president and CEO of Emmis Communications. Smulyan was one of our keynoters at May’s Winning Media Strategies conference. We picked up the conversation where the conference left off: the sizable mobile opportunity that awaits the radio industry. (read more…)