'Net Features : local ads

Six Link Sources for Event Marketing

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:30:00 GMT

Hosting events is a great way to build an audience, establish a positive reputation, and profit – not to mention acquire inbound links. Whether you have an offline presence or operate strictly online, actually playing the role of the expert is the fastest way to build the relevant and timely (as well as timeless) web citations every website needs - and that remains the single best way to achieve SEO success.

Those responsible for supporting businesses on their quest to receive unique visitors from the search engines must think in creative ways about how to acquire links. One proven way to this end is to work with others to aid in the completion of their goals. For example, a search engine optimization professional might reach out to an event coordinator at a local community organization and suggest a presentation, or better yet, an event. Co-sponsoring an event gives you a ready-made audience of sorts to promote your business.

Let’s say for instance that we own and operate a flower shop. In order to market that product we’ll need to have a content plan for the event that will be of interest to our prospective clients. For example, we may decide to hold an event where senior citizens are taught ‘how to arrange flowers.’ Perhaps a Saturday morning class on ‘growing your own flowers’ for kids and their parents would be well received. Maybe even an event on ‘how to buy wedding flowers’ for brides and grooms to be.

The point of those three examples is that you must host events which are useful in purpose, but which also serve an audience that is those closer to the end of its purchase cycle. Turn first to keyword research tools to find what consumers are searching for and are most likely interested in attending.

Start with Useful, Actionable, Quality Content

The content and structure of your actual event is clearly of great importance, but if you are in pursuit of more and better social citations (using events to acquire Web links is addressed below), then there must be moments when you actively solicit that activity from attendees. In the case of the “How to Buy Wedding Flowers” event for brides and grooms, make it a point to acknowledge your social media profile, perhaps even reward them for a specific action such as a ‘like’ or ‘follow’. If attendees like your event, then they’ll share with their audience and you might just get a few new fans and followers.

Building Links with Event Marketing

When building Web links however, it is necessary to go beyond and perform some traditional link building tactics. While online events such as those organized and hosted on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ certainly serve a purpose (generally social awareness), the aim of an actual event should really be to control the conversation and the experience and that’s usually much simpler when you are on your own turf.

Just because you’re serve an offline community (meaning the actual business is conducted in person), doesn’t mean you should promote it that way exclusively. There are numerous opportunities on the Web to promote online and offline events but here are some of our favorites (in no particular order) and the platforms relied on by the best in local Web marketing.

EventBrite.com:

Yelp.com/Events

Patch.com:

Eventful.com:

Zvents.com:

Upcoming.Yahoo.com:

There are numerous other websites that are worthy of submitting your event to including Everyblock.com, Outside.in, Going.com, Eventseekr.com, Schmap.com, and EventCrazy.com. Where else do you promote local events - online or off?

Search 2012: The Mobile Effect

Michael Garrity — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:30:00 GMT

The mobile Web is changing the way people search the Internet.

If the past year has taught anything to Web workers, it is that mobile will be a driving force for users to access our websites. Users will continue to access the Web on mobile devices well past 2012, and the upcoming year will provide more insight into how they attempt their searches -- whether they be on smartphones, tablets or any number of other devices.

While it is hard to predict exactly what will happen with mobile search over the next 12 months, especially in this ever-changing technological environment, some 2011 trends seem to paint a helpful picture.

Here are three big advances in mobile search from 2011 -- and a look at how they may affect mobile search in 2012.

1. Localization
Very few Web technologies have had as severe an impact as the local movement, headed up by companies like Foursquare, Groupon and Yelp, which encompasses areas as vast and varied as ecommerce, social media and, of course, search.

Because one of 2011’s most prominent Web trends has been localized daily deals per sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, mobile searches seem to be looking for these deals with more and more frequency. Should this industry remain stable through the next year, the natural move seems to be to focus these deals more on individual consumer relevance, and mobile will be a leading factor in that change.

Foursquare is hands down the leading mobile check-in service, and it's already got the ball rolling when it comes to cashing-in on local deals with their “Foursquare Specials” feature. As technologies continue to advance and deals start to become the norm, expect them to center more on personalization and be highly targeted. Should this happen, users will be able to find local deals based on their past shopping choices, as well as relevant deals near them when they are traveling and shopping somewhere new.

In order for local deals to take it to the next level, they’re going to have to utilize mobile and integrate with check-in services, so expect to see mobile search reconfigured to adapt to this change. The key for marketers will be trying to find a way to get local deals to the most relevant mobile users possible when they’re searching from their smartphones or tablets.

2. Ads
Search engine advertisement spending has, for some time now, been one of the largest areas of ad spend on the Web, and has proven to be a highly effective investment for many marketers who have taken advantage of it.

Early estimates show search advertising increasing by almost 20 percent in 2011, reaching approximately $14.4 billion. This will likely grow more next near, and that goes for mobile as well.

Current predictions say that mobile ad revenues in the United States in 2012 will grow as much as 50 percent over 2011 (reaching around $1.6 billion). This is due in part because of the growth of mobile local search, which now accounts for 40 percent of Google mobile searches, the willingness of advertisers to evolve and adapt to that change and, perhaps most importantly, higher performing location-based targeted ads driving up premium rates.

Suffice it to say, the money to be made in mobile advertising is going to be largely in mobile search, particularly at the local level. Not only is investing in mobile local search a good way to appeal to new, relevant consumers, but it could also be a great way to see a comparatively high return on advertising spent.

3. Voice Search
Apple’s iPhone 4S announcement was a disappointment to some, but it did come with one big game-changer that will have major ramifications for both mobile development and the future of mobile search: Siri.

The voice-activated “personal assistant” provides users with answers to all of their most important (and not-so-important) queries. Users can ask about personal information, like daily appointments or schedules, but also about topics like the weather or movie showtimes, for which Siri (and, presumably, Siri-like features that will come to non-Apple smartphones in the near future) scours the Web to find answers.

As these voice-search services become more popular, mobile search query volumes will see a significant rise. Once it becomes more mainstream on mobile phones, voice search will start appearing in other connected devices, such as the Xbox 360.

Expect voice search to outgrow Apple in 2012 (especially if the rumors are true about Google developing its own solution, known as “Majel,” for Android phones) and become a much more prominent part of mobile search.

Coupons.com Goes Local, Offers New Affiliate Opportunities

Mike Phillips — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:53:00 GMT

Coupons.com has launched a couple of new products for consumers, as well as new earning opportunities for publishers.

The Online Savings Center (while not a new concept) offers consumers coupons for online purchases. The Daily Deal features coupons that are good for a limited time and include discounts targeted at local consumers. Both are now available to publishers to post on their own sites or network of sites through Coupon.com's partner program, Brandcaster.

Coupons.com looks to capitalize on the rapidly growing trend of online couponing, particularly local online coupons. These have been made very popular by Groupon, a pioneer in the online local coupon industry that has seen wild success offering deep discounts to a group of consumers when a minimum sign-up threshold is met. The savings are significant and consumers have responded. For websites with a local focus, Coupon.com's Daily Deal could make a nice addition to the advertising mix.

Learn more about Coupons.com's Brandcaster program.

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Consumers Trust Advertising on Local Newspaper Websites

Mike Phillips — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:21:00 GMT

Local newspapers are trusted by consumers more than any other local resource, according to a new study by comScore for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA). Of the 3,050 respondents, 57 percent identified local newspaper websites as the top online source for local information, more than any other media. That's good news for the struggling newspaper industry but there is even better news for online advertisers.

Not only did these sites rank first among all sources for trustworthiness and credibility but also the leading source for local content of all types, including classified advertising. Also according to consumers, local newspaper sites are seen as "...the most trusted source of online advertising, with ads that are perceived to be more current, credible and relevant to them," according to the survey. More than one-third (36 percent) selected local newspaper websites for trustworthy advertising compared to less than one-fourth (23 percent) for local television websites and less than one-in-eight (12 percent) for online portals.

“This survey reinforces the notion that consumers value and trust the premium-quality content found at newspaper Web sites as well as the advertising on those sites,” said Randy Bennett, NAA’s senior vice president of Business Development.

Another interesting finding from the survey is that four in ten adults "...agreed that their opinion of online advertising is influenced by the type of website on which the ad appears." That's something for advertisers to keep in mind when placing ads on any website. It's not just the creative or specific offer that validates an online ad, but where that ad is located -- a good argument for highly-taregted advertising buys.

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Leaders of Local Advertising

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Borrell Associates has named Yodle.com, Local.com and Yellowbook.com as the fastest-growing local online advertising companies for 2009. Did you ever hear the phrase – hitch your wagon to a star? If you’re not already, that’s exactly what you should be doing with these local advertising providers.

"These companies have defied gravity and are on track to secure the top three spots this year," said Peter Conti Jr., executive vice president of Borrell Associates. "They're the new darlings of Main Street."

Conti might be a little bullish but the proof that advertisers are exploring these channels is the revenue.

Yodle is on track to triple its revenues, to roughly $75 million this year, according to Borrell, while Yellowbook.com is expected to nearly double its revenues to about $390 million. Local.com is expected to grow its revenues by more than one-third, surpassing $50 million.

While I’m definitely positive on the outlook for local online advertising, there are a lot more resources/services available online that can provide a competitive return on investment than those cited by Borrel. So what other channels have you explored?

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Dex Knows Local; Maponics Neighborhood Data Added

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:54:00 GMT

Local search provider DexKnows.com announced it will be using Maponics map data to offer neighborhood-level search for its individual city pages. One of the issues that has held back local search was its inability to bring context to location. For example, I know that downtown Chicago is called the Loop, but If you asked me what zip code a particular business is in I would not be able to tell you. Maponics data gives DexKnows the ability to provide a neighborhood-level context to consumers, and most importantly, advertisers.

Maponics Q309 Neighborhood Boundaries release features boundary data for over 70,000 neighborhoods in 2,800 cities in North America and Europe. Also included is the industry’s first Neighborhood Classification Schema, which provides important neighborhood zoning and social use information, and allows search sites and applications to selectively filter for neighborhoods with profiles that best match searcher intentions.

“DexKnows.com delivers a unique, local search experience letting users search by precise locations, such as neighborhoods and landmarks, and by specific needs and service areas,” said Sean Greene, senior vice president of interactive at R.H. Donnelley, which publishes DexKnows.com. “We partnered with Maponics for neighborhood map data because they provided the solution to deliver the user experience we wanted.”

Yahoo! New Local Ad Sales Force

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:30:00 GMT

AT&T Interactive and Yahoo yesterday announced an agreement under which AT&T’s 5,000 strong sales force will sell Yahoo! display inventory across the United States. The companies have existing relationships across a variety of industries including portal and mobile services as well as powering Yahoo! Local with advertiser content from YellowPages.com.

AT&T Interactive has existing relationships with many small businesses, many of which have created local online ad campaigns and Web presences around YellowPages.com. The agreement essentially enables those using AT&T Interactive to add Yahoo! display advertising to their marketing.

"Local businesses are looking to drive in-store traffic, and our alliance with AT&T Interactive will help them reach a local audience of highly-engaged potential customers on Yahoo!," said Jim Schinella, Senior Vice President, North America Region, Yahoo!. "As local businesses shift their advertising spend to reach the growing number of Internet consumers, AT&T Interactive and Yahoo! can equip them with the tools and expertise they need to be successful online."

Local Ads Moving to Social Networks

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:30:00 GMT

Borrel conducted an assessment of advertising palced on social networking sites and found that nearly 20% of all ad spending is done by local businesses. While you might think that most were on a national basis, Borrel estimates that local advertisers will account for about $641 million of nearly $3.3 billion this year trying to reach consumers via these sites.

Borrel does point out that the total spend is still miniscule; just 3% of all locally spent online advertising is on social networks. The research also indicated that 57% of all the local/social advertising is going to Facebook and MySpace - the only two sites generating more than $100 million from local placement of ads. Facebook consequently generated 74% of its ad revenues from local businesses.

Borrel will continue studying social network ad spending, but download the projections here.