The potential of working with chambers of commerce to sell online marketing accounts to local businesses is an alluring one. They potentially can provide the highest quality, best context leads for SMBs. Initial efforts to partner with chambers, however, haven’t…
I recently had a chance to talk with Marco Zappacosta, founder and CEO of Thumbtack, a newly launched online resource for trusted local businesses. Thumbtack facilitates an online marketplace for local services by offering consumers one place to easily find,…
One size doesn’t fit all in local search. And there is no reason to throw out traditional media such as Yellow Pages just to become dependent on Google. In fact, every medium still has its purpose, and should be analyzed…
Allbritton Communications will merge its two Washington, D.C.-area TV station sites -- WJLA.com and News8.net -- and build a new 50-person local D.C. site behind former Washingtonpost.com editor Jim Brady, who developed the concept. The site will be run adjacent…
The Swedish directory publisher Eniro has passed a key financial milestone, according to its third-quarter and year-to-date earnings report, released this week. Through nine months of 2009, online revenues surpassed offline (print revenues), making Eniro a majority online directory business…
At OMMA Mobile, a panel is batting around the top issues and opportunities of using the mobile device as a branding medium. Specifically a good portion of the conversation is focusing on building mobile apps as brand engagement plays. For…
I'm at MediaPost's OMMA mobile show today, speaking and liveblogging some of the morning sessions (forgive typos). Right now, keynoter John Zehr, SVP and GM of ESPN Mobile, is outlining the mobile opportunity as it applies to a sports media…
The cable TV giant Comcast has begun offering a Yellow Pages-branded local search experience via its cable television network. Through the remote, Comcast subscribers can access local business listings through the television remote, and SMBs can have their information listed…
New Yellow Pages Group (Canada) CMO Stephane Marceau, on the job since June, is beginning to make his mark, with two big online announcements this week. The combined moves suggest YPG is stepping up its efforts to generate more traffic…
For those who doubt social media can play an effective role in local business marketing, check out Kuni BMW, which is based in Beaverton, OR. The dealership has a headstart with its nameplate -- BMW owners are well known for…
AOL CEO Tim Armstong, interviewed by John Battelle at Web 2.0 in San Francisco, gave a thumbs up to the future of the Yellow Pages – at least, the Internet Yellow Pages. Noting that the Internet YP business is largely…
Speakers at last week’s Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco mused about the future of journalism with moderator John Battelle. “We’re living in an era of great change all over the place,” noted New York Times Digital Head Martin Niesenholtz.…
As more and more attention is devoted to mobile usage, mobile advertising is getting awareness as an attractive ad platform. Favorable ad performance metrics (i.e., CTRs) over online equivalents have caused many advertisers to begin to look at mobile marketing…
Consumers are likely to be more motivated to try out a local business if the offer is linked to a charity. That’s been the thinking behind charity based programs by Oodle and Insider Pages. And it is also the thinking…
Marketing Week is reporting that Yell is launching 18 vertical microsites offering deep content on a particular area, including the law, gardening, automotive, plumbing and others. The content is from a mix of Web-based sources, including how-to articles from expert…
Here is a recap of posts from last week, in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. JD Power Roundtable: Social Media Key for Ford All accounts from last week’s JD Power's Automotive Roundtable in Las…
All accounts from last week’s JD Power's Automotive Roundtable in Las Vegas suggest that Ford Group VP Jim Farley laid out a really compelling picture of how a major manufacturer looks at its opportunities in digital and especially social media.…
In the previous post, I promised to address the local angle of yesterday's blitz of search engine/social media deals. Many of the concepts apply to local: We've looked at a few examples in the past such as the efforts of…
Unless you've been hiding under a rock today, you've heard about the deal between Google and Twitter and that between Bing and Twitter and Facebook (I know, it's confusing). Essentially these deals boil down to Google and Bing getting access…
Local news blogs may have trouble making their economics work. But what if their content can be picked up and paid for by major media outlets? That’s the model behind the Chicago News Cooperative (CNC), a new organization of former…
