Marketing Pilgrim Published: "Are Google's Local Efforts in Trouble?" plus 3 more |
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| Are Google's Local Efforts in Trouble? Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:43 AM PDT
The short term conventional wisdom regarding the new iPhone 4S is going some way to changing that. Its impact on the mobile world is that the voice recognition "engine" for the smartphone, Siri, is going to be a local search "killer app". Google is responding in a way that seems to point to their need to make sure that their version of "local" is better. Google has announced that they are now using another way to update Google Place pages. As put by Jon Mitchell of ReadWriteWeb
What we don't know for certain is where these updates are coming from (Attention experts: feel free to tell us more in the comments) and one wonders if there is room for any local information foul play which has become an local SEO pastime of sorts. So where does Yelp fit? Well, one of the sources for Siri's data is Yelp. Here is some more insight from local search expert Mike Blumenthal
Blumenthal also checked in regarding the changes in how Google Places is updated.
If you would like to read even more of Mike's thoughts on Siri check out his Siri love letter. In the end it appears as if Google is working to wean itself off of certain local data sources with Yelp being one that they would like to create some distance between for obvious reasons. With this strategy, however, there are risks for sure. I don't have any evidence of this but one can pretty quickly surmise that Yelp is one of the companies that carries a pretty large target on it around the Googleplex. Right now though Google's voice recognition doesn't seem to be as smooth as Siri but the average Android user is used to clunky. iPhone users use the iPhone for a variety of reasons and one of those is that it is usually a smoother interface on all fronts. Android is usually playing catch up but that's to be expected. The idea of Siri making Yelp a bigger player in the local space must be maddening to Googlers like Marissa Mayer. The trouble with this local battle is that Google has been expected to be the local business leader but it never seems to make a push to get far ahead of the field. It has all the components to do it. It has Places, it has Android but one thing it never seems to truly have is a plan. At least not one that that is easy to see and moving them forward all the time. Now they are starting to look like they are reactive in their local approach rather than proactive which often indicates that they are not in a position to lead the local push. In the end, this move by Apple to use Siri could spell serious trouble for Google in a space that is critical for the future of the search giant. Whether it happens today or in the next few years, mobile will be a very large component of any online effort. The spread of smartphone ownership is making that more of a reality than just a prediction. If Google fumbles the local search market that could be a turnover that could be a game changer for sure. Do I think it is going to happen that way? I'm not saying yet because it is still early. What I will say though is that it looks like Google may be more on their heels than I imagined when it comes to the mobile space. Just that possibility is enough to put everyone on alert that the local game has never been more up for grabs than it is now. Your thoughts?
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| Google's Third Quarter Revenue Up 33% Year Over Year Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:12 AM PDT
Maybe it's consistent quarterly results like these that draw the ire of those looking to bring Google down through government intervention. The biggest worry Google usually has around these calls is how negatively people will react to the size of their quarterly increase. When people complain that you didn't grow enough rather than jumping on a quarterly loss it can make these calls kinda fun I would guess. Nice problem to have huh? Business Insider summed up the report with this:
For a historical perspective here is a chart showing revenue growth over the past two years. Pretty amazing.
Once again, this is the stuff of envy but, let's face it, we need Google to be performing both as an industry and as an economy as a whole. Imagine if Google reported a real problem what the shockwave ripple effect would be throughout the economy? That's one thing we can ill afford at this time so three cheers to Google's success. Let's hope the engine of the online economy keeps humming along in Q4 as well. Do you agree?
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| Global Ad Spend Expected to Hit $500 Billion Posted: 13 Oct 2011 01:09 PM PDT
As you can see from this chart (over there –>) North America is responsible for the largest chunk of the spend and that trend is expected to continue. However, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East are all making their move. Asia, in particular, is being influenced by mobile marketing. It's one of the areas where mobile devices are the primary means of accessing the internet and though they only sit at about 55.4% penetration right now, that number should rise to 73% by 2015. Says eMarketer, that's "an eye-popping 2.9 billion mobile phone users." The rise in mobile usage outside of the US, also means a global change in the demographics of the average user. In some areas, the average user will be older or younger than here in the US and often, not as affluent. eMarketer says that mobile ad spending in the US alone will hit $1.23 billion this year with China heading for $1 billion by 2014.
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| Ebay Prepares to Transform the Online Marketplace with X.Commerce Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:02 PM PDT
Technology has changed everything about the way we shop, but it seems like the retail industry is always rushing to play catchup. eBay says it's time to get ahead of the curve, and to that end, they've created X.Commerce. For developers, X.Commerce is the key to creating cutting-edge, apps and tools that will help people shop better, faster, and hopefully, more often. For merchants, X.Commerce aims to be a one-stop shop for selling tools and solutions. For marketers. . . well, it's a little too early to tell how it will effect your job, but it's probably going to be good. For awhile now, eBay has been slowly positioning itself as more of a large-scale retailer and less of an auction site for naked action figures. They're trying to become Amazon, which is ironic since Amazon got a little eBay-like when they started buying and selling used goods. In order to entice developers to play along, X-Commerce has a community section that promises free blogging space, a forum, profiles and directories (to help freelancers get hired by others) and even a point reward system for a coming Q&A project. Simply sign up and take the X.Commerce Pledge. All that's missing is the secret decoder ring, which takes on new meaning in 2011. (Okay, a little sarcasm there.) Putting my natural suspicious nature aside, I have to say I believe in everything X.Commerce stands for. Here are the lines from the pledge:
That really says it. I especially appreciate the line about "build it and they will come" being dead. Every week, I see newbies jumping into the online marketing game with the idea that they'll build a website tonight and be rolling in cash by the end of the month. It's never been that easy, and technology is, in some ways, making it harder. It's not enough to sell items on a website. Now you have to have mobile, video, and social, too. I don't think we'll ever build a product that is "future-proof," but it would be nice to have a shopping experience on my tablet that is nothing like the one I get on my PC. That's the idea behind X-Commerce and I can't wait to see what the developers come up with. Just don't stop running as an auction site, eBay, at least not until I complete my collection of Hardy Boys Casefiles. Pilgrim's Partners: SponsoredReviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
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