SMBs Spend An Average 46% Of Marketing Budget On ‘Digital’

In October 2013, BrightLocal teamed up with ChamberOfCommerce.com to conduct an insightful piece of research into the attitudes toward and usage of Digital Marketing by SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses). (In the survey, we used the phrase “Internet or Mobile Marketing” to make it…

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Ingress: Is Google’s AR Game A Stealth Local Data Effort?

I recently got a new Android phone and found a little card in the box advertising Ingress, the “massively multi-player location-based alternate reality game from Niantic Labs at Google.” Ingress had slipped past my notice despite Greg Sterling’s mention of it nearly a year ago….

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2013 Study: 79% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations

Today, we at BrightLocal released the findings of our 2013 Local Consumer Review Survey. This is the third wave of this study which explores consumer consumption (aka “reading”) of online reviews and how these influence their opinions and purchases from local businesses. More People…

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New Google Maps UI Calls For Shifts In SEO Tactics

Last week at the Google I/O developer conference, a newly redesigned Google Maps design was introduced. While a number of online commentators have virtually gushed about the new interfacing from an end user perspective, there may be a less-than-rosy vi…