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Posts Tagged ‘Local Search’

Recommendation Engine: Google Places With Hotpot

November 30, 2010

Google’s recent addition to its local search product lineup is called Google Places with Hotpot.

From Google:

Hotpot is a new local recommendation engine for Google Places, powered by you and your friends.

You tell us the places you like — restaurants, cafes, book shops — and we’ll recommend new places to you the next time you search. Start rating and reviewing now @ http://www.google.com/hotpot

Google Places with Hotpot

According to Google Product manager Mat Balez, over 20% of Google search queries have local intent.

As such, Google plans to integrate ratings and reviews from Hotpot users into its database of 50 million places.

With enough user participation, Google foresees creating a more informed local search experience – one that turns all of its users contributions into a recommendation engine for all searchers looking for that special local place in Google.

Tags:Google Places with Hotpot, Google Product Manager, Local Intent, Local Search, Ratings, Reviews
Posted in Google Places with Hotpot, Google Product Manager, Local Intent, Ratings, Reviews | Leave a Comment »

Google Zeitgeist: Local Search Is Navigational

December 1, 2009

Google has released its Zeitgeist for 2009 and this year has included a list of popular local search queries from 31 US Cities.

The US cities in Google’s local Zeitgeist include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianopolis, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, Madison, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Raleigh, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

Google’s City by City Zeitgeist states: “They say all politics is local. Search can be local, too.”

Based on the keyword queries making up the majority of Google’s Local Search City by City Zeitgeist Top 10 lists I would add… “almost all local search is navigational.”

Almost All Local Search Is Navigational

Tags:Almost All Local Search Is Navigational, Google Zeitgeist, Local Search
Posted in Almost All Local Search Is Navigational, Google Zeitgeist | Leave a Comment »

Google Local Business Center Survey

November 4, 2009

Google is surveying its Local Business Center audience for feedback to help improve its local business listings product.

Today while logging into my Google Local Business Center account, I noticed this message:

“Tell us what you think! Take our 5 minute survey and help improve Local Business Center.”

I took Google up on their offer and quickly completed the following four page survey.

Google Local Business Center Feedback I

The first page of the Google Local Business Center survey asks –

1. Overall, how satisfied are you with Google Local Business Center?

2. How likely is it that you would recommend Google Local Business Center to a friend or colleague?

The survey then asks users to indicate their satisfaction with Google Local Business Center in the following dimensions: Ease of Use, Visual Appeal, Technical Reliability, Features and Capabilities, Trustworthiness, Privacy and Security and the Listing verification process.

Next, Local Business Center users are asked “Which aspects of your Google Local Business Center listing are most important to you” followed by a drop down answer box for answering the question – “when did you first visit the Local Business Center?”

Which of the following answers are most important to you as a business listing manager?

People finding directions to my business
People clicking through to my website
People writing ratings & reviews
People contacting (calling or emailing) my business
People viewing the details of my listing (hours, pictures, descriptions, ratings & reviews)
Getting analytics & reporting on how my listing is performing

Google Local Business Center Feedback Satisfaction II

The second page of the survey asks the following four multiple choice questions pertaining to listing management:

When did you first use Google Local Business Center?
How did you verify your business listing in Google Local Business Center?
How long has it been since you last visited Google Local Business Center?
Which best describes your role or roles regarding the business or businesses you have listed on Google Local Business Center?

Google Local Business Center Feedback Process III

The third page asks the following three questions:

Which best describes the business(es) you are listing on Google Local Business Center?

What is the preferred way for your customers to contact the business you own or manage?
(If you have an appointment-based business, how do you prefer customers reach you to schedule an appointment?)

What are other ways you promote the business you own or manage (online & offline)?

While the forth and final question on the third page of the survey asks users to indicate which of the following ten (mostly Google) products they use:

Google AdWords
Google Analytics
Google AdSense
Google Coupons inside Local Business Listing
Google Checkout
Search engine optimization service (a company that improves your website ranking on search engines like Google.com)
Google webmaster tools
Yahoo! Local listing
MS Live search maps
Other online advertising (Yahoo Ads, Microsoft adCenter, etc.)

Google Local Business Survey IV

The final page of Google’s Local Business survey incorporates the users answers from the previous pages and then asks for further clarification while also asking the Local Business Center user to provide additional comments about the LBC product if they choose to do so.

Please describe any problems or difficulties you have experienced with Google Local Business center today. (optional)

What if anything do you find frustrating or unappealing about Google Local Business Center?(optional)

What do you like best about Google Local Business Center? (optional)

Local Business Center Survey V

Uncharacteristically, the final page of the survey asked whether or not I would be willing to be contacted again with more research questions about the Google Local Business Center.

Google Local Business Center Survey VI

I checked affirmative and then provided my email address.

It will be interesting to see what – if anything – transpires from the data Google gathers from their Local Business Center Audience survey.

If you haven’t received a survey in your LBC, feel free to answer any of the above questions in the comments section of this post.

Tags:Google Local Business Center Survey, Local Business Center Audience, Local Business Listings, Local Search, Local Search Marketing
Posted in Google Local Business Center, Google Local Business Center Feedback, Google Local Business Listing, Local Business Center, Local Business Center Audience, Local Business Listings, Local Search, Search Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Google Maps Spam Innovation?

August 26, 2009

Today I was searching for a local french drain systems specialist to get a quote to install a drainage system in my backyard to handle the inordinate amounts of rain we have been having lately.

It seems like we have been having more than our fair share of 50 and 100 year downpours this summer.

On top of these once in a lifetime downpours we also had a reported 1 1/2 inches of rain fall in less than 30 minutes at the beginning of August when its typically dry as a bone.

Combined the two types of rain have created problems I didn’t have before because I haven’t owned my house for 50 years nor was was it built 100 years ago.

To save the time and hassle of cracking open one of the five yellow pages directories I receive annually, I thought I would see what information Google’s search results would provide.

To get straight to their local search results more quickly, I searched Google for “Oklahoma French Drain Systems”.

Google Maps Spam Innovation

As expected, Google quickly delivered a set of three local business listings I could look over and then consider clicking or calling.

Nothing new there.

Since the top two listings shared the same great relevant domain – FrenchDrainSystems.com – I excitedly clicked through thinking I would soon be viewing the website of a great French Drain Systems company who could then help me solve my drainage problem.

Nope.

Clicking through to both of the top two results landed me on the same parked page.

FrenchDrainSystems.com

Having seen a variety of spoofs occur on Google Maps particularly within the user content sections of business listings, I assumed this was the case here too.

Nope.

Looks like a local company – although not one in the French Drain Systems business – owns FrenchDrainSystems.com.

Apparently, they claimed their listing with either a previous website and then elected to display the parked page or the claimed their listing while using a parked page.

Either way, whether this was an innocent attempt at claiming some local search real estate with a parked domain or not, I don’t think the search results are what Google Maps had intended for its users to find.

Tags:Google Maps Spam, Local Search, Yellow Pages
Posted in Google Maps, Google Maps Spam, Local Search, Yellow Pages | Leave a Comment »

Newspaper Enters Local Business Center Market

August 16, 2009

Today I saw an ad in my local newspaper for a new product they have launched called the Business Resource Center.

Business Resource Center

The new service appears similar to Google’s Local Business Center and looks like it provides all of the same features found in the Local Business Center.

The Business Resource Center touts the benefits of having a small business found under local searches and states:

Anything that you’d traditionally look for in the print yellow pages has become a “local search” on the Internet. For these queries, 75 percent of the top 100 keywords are non-branded, indicating that a majority of consumers have not decided on a specific brick and mortar store to do business with.

Local Search Business

The site claims “to stay on top of the internet so you don’t have to” and plans to provide the latest in local search, social networking, search engine marketing and social media optimization to its advertisers.

Local Business Resource Center

The newspaper’s local business resource center will provide advertisers with statistics like Google’s Local Business Center has begun providing in the US.

Local Business Resource Center Statistics

Like Google, the paper’s local Business Resource Center also lets advertisers “create and manage coupons and special offers to drive traffic and build customer loyalty”.

Local Business Center Coupons

Similar to other directory and listing services, the newspaper’s business resource center alerts advertisers immediately when individuals rate or review their services, and allows them to reply directly to concerns or praise, giving businesses the ability to create stronger relationships with their customers.

Local Business Center Communications

The Beta version of their User Interface is clean and user friendly.

The site offers what appears to be primarily display advertising under keyword or category searches and claims to provide the largest local search audience reach.

Overall the newspaper’s launch of a Local Business Center is quite an accomplishment for any newspaper in this day and age.

Tags:Business Resource Center, Coupons, Display Advertising, Local Business Center, Local Search, Search Engine Marketing
Posted in Business Resource Center, Display Advertising, Local Business Center, Local Search, Search Engine Marketing, Search Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Search Arbitrage: Bing Targeting Local Search… On Google

June 12, 2009

Last week, I wrote about how Microsoft’s was buying ads on Google to promote its new search engine Bing.

With Bing’s launch, Microsoft said it planned to target four distinct categories: shopping, local, travel and health.

Today while logged into my Gmail account, I noticed the following Google Adwords ad for Bing targeting local search.

Bing Local Search Decisions

The Official Bing site ad reads: Local decisions. Get Pricing, Maps and Reviews For Local Businesses.

Clicking the Bing ad takes visitors to Bing.com/Maps site where the Bing search box is prepopulated with the “Business, category and/or location” prompt.

Bing Business Category or Location

Upon entering a business name, Bing presupposes my search is for a local business and provides a list of results from my city.

Bing Local Business Search

Entering a business category produces search results from the same locale as the business name search.

Bing Local Category Search

A Microsoft brand search produces a list of businesses that apparently carry Microsoft branded products within the same locality.

Bing Local Brand Search Microsoft

Any predictions on how this search / search arbitrage will pan out for Microsoft’s Bing?

Tags:Bing, Bing.com/Maps, Brand, Google, Local Search, Search Arbitrage, Shopping
Posted in Bing, Brand, Google, Local Search, Search Engine | Leave a Comment »

Adwords Examples on Google Maps

October 11, 2008

I was giving a presentation in Utah last week using Google Local Search and Google Maps as examples which evidently included new distribution points for Adwords advertising.

In the examples below, you can see an Adwords ad displayed in two locations in both types of Google Maps products being searched.

A search for Trump Soho Hotel in Google Maps produces two Adwords advertisers ads – one in the top left corner above Google’s local search results with the other ad below the map itself.

Trump Soho Hotel Google Maps

The same search in Google Street View also generates two Google Ads in the same locations as in the Google Map view search.

Trump Soho Hotel Google Maps Street View

Its not clear to me as a Google Adwords advertiser just how I can get my ads distributed and displayed in these local map search results.

None of my geo-targeted Adwords campaigns are generating these types of ad distribution results.

Tags:Adwords, Geo-Targeted, Google Maps, Google Street View, Local Search
Posted in Google, Google Maps, Google Street View, Local Search | Leave a Comment »

Search Advertising Geo Targeting Options

October 3, 2008

If targeting local and mobile search advertising is the future growth drivers for search advertising providers, then Google and its Adwords geo-targeting features are in the driver’s seat when compared to its three closest search advertising rivals Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask.com.

Below I outline each providers’ offerings not according to their search advertising market share but instead according to their level of geotargeted advertising product development.

Google’s advertising product and its geo-targeting capabilities have one distinct yet obvious feature the other’s lack:

An actual map for geo-targeting the location of your ads and where they will be shown!

Google Search Advertising Country Geotargeting

With Google Adwords, advertisers can target their ads one country at a time through Google’s Country Geotargeting tab, or choose to bundle their ads for display in multiple countries at once with Adwords Bundle Geotargeting feature.

Google Search Advertising Bundle Geotargeting

Google Search Advertising Metro Geotargeting

Google Adwords advertisers who advertise in specific markets nationally or regionally can target their ads by metropolitan area or by city.

Although not referenced, Google’s metropolitan area targeting looks slightly similar to the Designated Market Area system developed by Nielsen Media Research which incorporates Nielsen’s broadcast media markets and distribution scheme.

For its City geotargeting option, Google surrounds the target city with a square.

Google Search Advertising Custom Geotargeting

Google custom geotargeting by far provides the highest level of geotargeting available from any search advertising provider.

Custom geotargeting lets advertisers create their own custom advertising distribution area within any market.

Google search advertisers can simply point and click three or more points on their advertising map and Google does the rest for them – creating a custom advertising distribution area through latitude and longitude coordinates.

How do the other search advertising providers’ geo-targeting features stack up compared with Google’s?

Yahoo and Ask both offer advertising geo-targeting options but both to a lesser degree.

Yahoo Search Advertising Geotargeting

Yahoo offers geotargeting to it advertisers by account market area and specific regions. Account market area is established by the advertising account holder when the open their account. Both account market area and specific region areas are organized by country, state, province or territory.

The Yahoo specific region feature geotargets its advertising through the Designated Market Areas system licensed from Nielsen Media Research.

Yahoo Search Advertising Geotargeting Mapview

Where is the Yahoo Search Advertising Geotargeting Map?

Yahoo offers a Map View tab of specific regions geotargeted by its advertisers yet I haven’t ever been able to view an actual Yahoo map showing where my advertising has been geo-targeted and placed.

I can’t imagine why Yahoo search marketing would place a “Map View” tab in their Campaign settings geo-targeting page yet not actually provide a map view.

Ask Search Advertising Geotargeting

Ask provides its advertisers with Location targeting which is also based on Nielsen’s Designated Market Area system.

Ask doesn’t provide a map showing advertisers locations of their geo-targeted advertising.

However, and to its credit – Ask does provide a geotargeting feature direct marketers like myself would like to see from other search advertising providers like Google Adwords – Postal Code targeting.

Postal Code Targeting or Zip Code targeting here in the US would allow direct marketers and brands alike another level of advertising targeting, delivery and thus control.
At this point you may be wondering why I chose to cover Microsoft’s adCenter search advertising geotargeting product last even though it has a larger share of the search market than Ask.

Why have I listed Microsoft’s advertising geotargeting product development last?

Because Microsoft’s search advertising product does not offer its advertisers geotargeting options let alone any other kind of geographic ad targeting.

Microsoft Search Advertising Geotargeting

Will Microsoft ever offer advertising geo-targeting features to its advertisers?

If not, why?

Tags:Ask Network, Brand, Designated Market Area, Direct Marketer, DMA, Geo Target, Geo Targeting, Geotargeting, Google Adwords, Local Search, Microsoft adCenter, Mobile Search, Nielsen Media Research, Postal Code, Search Advertising, Yahoo Search Marketing, Zip Code
Posted in Advertisers, Advertising, Ask.com, Brand, Bundle Geotargeting, Country Geotargeting, Custom Geotargeting, Direct Marketer, Geo Target, Geotargeted, Geotargeting, Google, Google Advertising, Google Adwords, Marketing, Metro Geotargeting, Microsoft, Microsoft adCenter, Postal Code, Yahoo, Yahoo Search Marketing, Zip Code | 6 Comments »

Yahoo! Search Marketing Console?

September 17, 2008

I was cleaning up some Yahoo Search Marketing accounts this morning and was trying to find Yahoo’s Search Submit login page.

In the past, keeping track of all their search product offerings was difficult.

Yahoo has consolidated all of their search marketing products into a drop down box on their Sponsored Search login page.

The Yahoo Search Marketing login page shows 13 different search marketing product categories:

1. Sponsored Search

2. Local Sponsored Search

3. Mobile Sponsored Search

4. Search Submit Pro

5. Search Submit Express

6. Search Submit Basic

7. Marketing Console

8. Search Optimizer

9. Product Submit

10. Travel Submit

11. Local Listings

12. Directory Submit

13. Small Business

Yahoo Marketing Console

I thought I would get reacquainted with Yahoo search marketing products so I clicked on their “Marketing Console” thinking this would somehow let me manage all of my Yahoo search marketing products in one dashboard.

Not today.

Yahoo Marketing Console 404 Not Found

When I clicked on the Yahoo search marketing console I was sent to a non-existent page.

I then searched for the Yahoo search marketing console – in Yahoo – and was directed back to their sponsored search login page.

Did Yahoo have a search marketing console for managing all of their search products and I just wasn’t able to locate it?

Or, did Yahoo have a marketing console they have since abandoned?

Tags:Local Search, Mobile Search, Search Marketing, Search Submit, Sponsored Search, Yahoo
Posted in Local Search, Mobile Search, Product Submit, Search Marketing, Search Submit, Sponsored Search, Travel Submit, Yahoo | Leave a Comment »

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Search Marketing Communications

Posts Tagged ‘Local Search’

Recommendation Engine: Google Places With Hotpot

Google Zeitgeist: Local Search Is Navigational

Google Local Business Center Survey

Google Maps Spam Innovation?

Newspaper Enters Local Business Center Market

Search Arbitrage: Bing Targeting Local Search… On Google

Adwords Examples on Google Maps

Search Advertising Geo Targeting Options

Yahoo! Search Marketing Console?

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