As "the media capital of the world," New York is rife with daily newspapers, high-culture magazines and lifestyle publications, yet Trevor Sumner says he had "no idea what was going on in my neighborhood. I couldn't even keep up with…
SMBs are looking for their phones to ring and their doors to open, pure and simple. These cash register-related activities largely sway their perceptions of online marketing campaign effectiveness. Kenshoo Local, a division of SEM provider Kenshoo, aims to specifically…
Universal Business Listing first launched as a "list once, be found everywhere" label to enable SMB listings to comprehensively populate the "fragmented Web." However, with social media fueling an even more fragmented Web, UBL is now coupling listing enhancement with presence…
SMBs are missing opportunities for lead generation across major search engines, national and local directories, and vertical channels. But what if SMBs could receive “visibility reports” that show where their geographic and category gaps are? That’s the concept behind Palore’s…
Score one for local businesses … at least in Minnesota. As of Aug. 1, the state began enforcement of a law that prohibits advertising “deceptive local telephone numbers and geographically deceptive business names” across the Internet, as well as in…
Merchant data sent in by fans of merchants and from merchants themselves is becoming increasingly important. Can it be relied on as a main source, or should it only complement listing data from the big three providers -- InfoGroup, Acxiom…
A couple of stories caught my attention today. First, Reach Media Group (RMG), a digital out-of-home company that we’ve previously written about, signed a deal to push New York Times content to its network of 800 coffee shops, cafes and…
Three years ago, BIA/Kelsey created the Marketplaces research program and conference because we saw that local advertising was quickly "verticalizing." Indeed, money and talent have poured in for the new breed of vertical products that would take their place among…
In a wide-ranging interview this afternoon at ILM:09, ILM Program Director and conference chair Matt Booth tried several times to pin the Yelp COO, Geoff Donaker to the mat. But the unflappable and diplomatic Donaker just wasn’t going to go…
Oodle CEO Craig Donato led off day three of Marketplaces 2009 describing how classified advertising has gone through an evolution over the past five years, progressing from simply importing them online, to making them searchable and finally today integrating classifieds…
SMBLive CEO (and blogger) Matt Howard has come up with a new metaphor for local search that I have to say I haven't heard yet. I won't steal his thunder, but I'll point you to his analogy, which mostly focuses…
IBegin has been trying to add its own Web 2.0 sensibility to the listings business, offering free basic directories of businesses, and customization services on an upgrade basis. It now has 150 businesses and organizations subscribing, including schools, local and…
IAC Vice President Kara Nortman, speaking at Interactive Local Media 2008, provided both a dose of reality and a glimmer of hope about where media companies in the local marketplace are headed. Nortman’s view of what is working well included sites…
The “Deconstructing Internet Yellow Pages” panel at DMS ’08 revealed a number of areas in which IYPs need to evolve. Based on Kelsey’s IYP research, conference chair and TKG Program Director Charles Laughlin said, “IYPs appear too conservative and unwilling…
As many of us have read over the past week, some major hotel chains -- Hyatt and Hyatt Place Hotels, Omni and some Starwood properties -- have made the decision to remove Yellow Pages directories from their hotel rooms. (Although a…
Yellow Pages Group in New Zealand announced two online partnerships geared toward extending visibility for its advertisers. The first partnership is with realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s largest online listing site, and the second is with shopnewwzealand.co.nz, the leading online store featuring…
Sensis has announced the offering of online auctions on its Trading Post Web site. According to an article in The Sydney Morning Herald: “some two million people already use the www.tradingpost.com.au site to buy and sell goods and services. The company…
The current distribution of the AT&T’s Real Yellow Pages produced by Dex (R.H. Donnelley) will no longer include the Chicago Metro Residential White Pages. According to the release: “Local residential listings are already included in the Chicago Neighborhood directories that…
Yellow Pages Group Canada has signed an agreement with Copernic, owners of Mamma.com, to supply local Canadian advertiser listings to the mamma.com search engine. According to the press release from Copernic, "The agreement means local search queries will be served…
Closing remarks at the Warrillow Conference in Toronto this week confirmed major opportunities for business-to-business platforms in Canada. Major Canadian national brands that target the 2.3 million small businesses in Canada plan on increasing their online media budgets in 2008.…
