Jane Wamsley
15miles, Google, Local, Places, newsletter
Caleb Ross, a product specialist based in our Kansas City office, is a self-proclaimed “tech nerd” who works primarily with local listings, including Google Places optimization. He’d like to clear up some common misunderstandings about Google Places, while hypothesizing about how mobile-local apps might soon become things of the past (we just really wanted to say “hypothesizing”).
Read on to learn more about this proud dad, including his pick to win the NCAA Tournament and why he loves making his coworkers cry. You can also follow Caleb on Twitter (@notSEO) or network with him on LinkedIn.
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29Mar
Greg Crum
Google, Local, Local Business Center, Mobile, Places, free listings, iPhone
Yesterday’s post summarized the results from a brief survey I conducted. As mentioned, it would not be statistically accurate to project the results across the market but the results do provide directional insight. The key takeaway from my previous post is that no one app fits all the local search needs of users. Therefore, mobile marketers need to ensure coverage across the leaders in the space for finding venues, checking in, and identifying specials, offers, or deals. This post will take that concept and put it into action for your mobile local search efforts.
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18Mar
Greg Crum
Google, Local, Local Business Center, Mobile, Places, Social Networking, Yelp, iPhone
I posted a survey yesterday as an attempt to identify 1) the most used location based applications (i.e. Google Maps, Groupon, Foursquare, Yelp, etc.) on mobile devices and 2) new mobile applications that I had not experimented with yet. However, the outcome was overwhelmingly that no one app serves all needs. Users access location based applications for a myriad of reasons with the most popular being searching for venues, “checking in” to let their social network know what they’re up to, and finding specials/deals/offers/coupons. The results from my brief survey show that users are accessing multiple applications depending on their purpose. This presents a challenge for marketers as it further signifies the need for a diversified mobile marketing program but automation & management has not yet caught up with the market.
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17Mar
Kelsey Johnson
Google, Places, Social Media, Twitter
In an ongoing effort to increase location reviews, Google has introduced a new feature on Google Maps for Android, which gives users the option to post their reviews right to their Twitter page.
A previous update to Google Maps included a new Hotpot rating feature that allows users to share their ratings and reviews with others so they can check them out before visiting that location. The latest version of Google Maps for Android (version 5.2) now further utilizes the Hotpot feature by allowing users to instantly share their location reviews via Twitter. Prior to this feature, reviews appeared on Google search results, Places and Hotpot, but the Twitter addition will allow a broader audience to read the reviews and increase Google’s presence in social media.
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07Mar
Jamie LeRoy
15miles, Google, Local, Places, newsletter
This month’s spotlight shines on Steve Rayner, a dedicated interactive-media strategist based in our Dallas office. A recent grad of Google Rocks! School, Steve can’t say enough about the value of Google Places, Google Offers and why local businesses would be crazy not to get into the local-search space at such an opportunistic time as this.
That’s not all, though. Read on to find out the true value of syndicated TV show Frasier, why Steve was raised on clam chowder and which flick he predicts will take home an Oscar at the upcoming Academy Awards.
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24Feb
Ben Schulz
15miles, Conference, Google, Local, Places, Ratings & Reviews, online marketing
Two questions are becoming increasingly important for large brands and SMBs:
- How can I take advantage of Google Place Pages?
- What do I do about online ratings and reviews?
Gregg Stewart, President of 15miles, frequently addresses these types of questions in his monthly ClickZ column. In a few short weeks, though, he will be hitting the road with his local expertise and will address both questions at the SMX West Conference in San Jose (March 8 – 10).
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14Feb
Jane Wamsley
15miles, Google, PR, Places
Has Google finally found an effective way to sell paid search to the highly-coveted SMB market with Google Boost? As discussed in his latest article for ClickZ, “Google Boost: Paid Search for the Masses?”, Gregg Stewart weighs in on how one of Google’s newest product offerings may – or may not – be able to do just that.
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10Feb
