As part of Google's GoMo initiative (past coverage here), it's trying to support and evangelize omptimized mobile Web pages for businesses. The idea is that a more optimized and user-friendly mobile Web will draw more people there, as opposed to…
MerchantCircle, which was sold to Reply.com in May 2011, continues to rethink the traditional Yellow Pages small-business model. The company today unveils a website that is less oriented toward directory listings, and more oriented -- it hopes -- toward winning…
It is a given in some circles that the next era of promotions will be driven by electronic wallets that perform transactions, manage deals and coupons, and target and engage loyal consumers. Google, American Express, MasterCard, LivingSocial, Groupon, AT&T, Microsoft…
Mobile local loyalty play Punchcard announced that after less than a year, it has rounded the corner on 147,000 merchants in Southern California. Founded and led by local veteran Andy Steuer, the company recognizes the challenges in reaching time-starved SMBs.…
One of the most common tasks users perform on AT&T Interactive's YP.com is browsing local eateries in search of a good meal. Thanks to a new partnership with NYC start-up SinglePlatform, this task becomes easier with the addition of local restaurant menus…
The ILM East agenda is shaping up as our favorite program in years, with cutting-edge BIA/Kelsey research and speakers. The event is teeming with new revenue and strategic opportunities for Internet and mobile advertising and commerce. The ideas keep coming…
Mobile app analytics provider Flurry is out with its most recent data dump, showing that mobile has a disproportionate imbalance (when compared with other media) between usage and ad dollars. Specifically there is a 23-to-1 difference in the share of…
Local businesses don’t have their own loyalty programs but can now benefit from tapping into bank programs. “Local is the key to our strategy,” says Jim Douglass, SVP at Cartera, a Lexington, Massachusetts-based company that manages loyalty programs for many…
Headlines in the media world have been full of analysis about Barry Diller’s eight-figure investment in Aereo. Aereo plans to offer MDU (multiple dwelling unit) residents in New York City the chance to view their local, over-the-air TV stations over…
In a partnership with American Express, Twitter will roll out the self-serve ad platform it's been testing to 10,000 SMBs next month. It will enable SMBs to manage their marketing campaigns and budgets without sales representatives. Only SMBs that accept…
Mobile local ad network xAd just released its Q4 Mobile Insights Report, detailing the activity seen on its network. Like its Q3 report (covered here), it further supports the growth and the opportunity in mobile local search. XAd, for those…
Yelp reviews are susceptible to a lot of noise -- relatives and friends of a business, mischief makers, people without any perspective (or taste). In fact, most review sites -- Trip Advisor, Zagat, etc. -- are affected by these factors.…
80 percent of respondents in a recent JiWire Q4 report state a preference for locally relevant ads over non-local advertising. The report examined three emerging trends in the location and mobile markets: response to location-based messaging, location specific shopping behaviors,…
The French directory company PagesJaunes Groupe reported 2011 revenues of 1.1 billion euros today, with 575 million euros from digital sources. That's 52.2 percent of total revenues. The company, which has a dominant position in directories in France, posted a…
Blinkx, a British video search company, will now power video search on AOL.com. Its video platform includes the ability to listen to the sound track using speech-to-text technology, look at the images on screen using advanced video analytics, and read…
After some time passed since we last covered Fanminder, we caught up with CEO Paul Rosenfeld last week in advance of yesterday's announcement of new funding and its 2.0 release. First, for those unfamiliar, Fanminder is a "freemium" SMB marketing…
ILM East keynoter Ted Leonsis, in a BIA/Kelsey pre-conference webinar, proclaimed a “new generation and reinvigoration of local products." The new opportunity in local is “where social, video and mobile intersect,” Leonsis said. What surprises Leonsis, who currently serves as…
By now, there isn't a single page of Facebook's S-1 filing that hasn't been exhaustively picked through and dissected in advance of the social network's spring IPO. But what about the metrics that were underreported or unreported altogether? Moreover, which…
Online revenues for Canada's Yellow Pages Group grew 30 percent in 2011, offsetting declines in its domestic print business as well as its U.S. operations, according to the company's recently released earnings. Revenues decreased to C$1.3 million in 2011 compared with C$1.4…
ILM East is shaping up as a major landmark conference. Since our last update, we have many new “adds” to the agenda, and it looks like we’re going to have a really big and prestigious event. Even before it begins,…
