Google Maps is making it easy for Android users to find parking options. The Android app now has a “find parking” button on the direction card that is displayed once you search for your location. The button leads to a list of parking garages and lots near the intended location. Users can select their preferred parking option, and the app will automatically add it to their trip, along with walking directions from the parking spot to their destination. The “find parking” feature was rolled out in 25 US cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, DC, Detroit, Portland, Orlando and St. Louis. In addition to its latest feature, the app has expanded its “parking difficulty” feature for Android and iOS apps to 25 international cities, including Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, London, Milan, Rio de Janeiro and Vancouver. When available, the parking difficulty icon appears in the bottom of a direction card screen, and it ranks parking availability as “limited,” … [Read more...] about Google Maps Android app adds ‘find parking’ feature to show you nearest parking garage
Channel: Mobile
AMP up your call conversions: 5 things you need to know
In Google’s world, site speed matters. And the search giant is pushing hard on AMP, its open source initiative to improve web page speed and performance for mobile users. But that speed comes at a cost for digital marketers. AMP eliminates scripts — including the scripts that help you track mobile calls. Join Eric Enge and other AMP experts as they explore AMP’s pros and cons, as well as how leading technology providers are helping marketers identify AMP visitor sessions and track call sources. Implementing AMP doesn’t have to mean losing call tracking and attribution capabilities. Register today for “5 Steps to AMP Up Your Call Conversions,” produced by Digital Marketing Depot and sponsored by CallTrackingMetrics. Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here. About The … [Read more...] about AMP up your call conversions: 5 things you need to know
Pick up the phone: Your best customer is on the line.
Marketers cannot ignore offline channels. Customers no longer see a difference between digital and physical. In fact, in this age of digital connectivity, inbound phone calls are on the rise. And it is often these customers who call directly to a business are a marketer’s most valuable asset. In May 2017, Marchex commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine how customers who initiate an inbound call during the customer journey perform against those who do not. Through an online survey of 213 marketing decision makers in the US, we found that the phone customer converts faster, spends more and churns less. Learn more. Visit Digital Marketing Depot to download “Pick Up The Phone: Your Best Customer Is On The Line.” About The Author Digital Marketing Depot Digital Marketing Depot is a resource center for digital marketing strategies and tactics. We feature hosted white papers and E-Books, original research, and … [Read more...] about Pick up the phone: Your best customer is on the line.
Tracking the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project
AMP isn’t quite a household acronym yet, but it has big implications for virtually everyone with web access. The Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project, the brainchild of Google announced just two years ago, is already impacting millions of users’ experience. And it’s growing fast. The downside — arguably a temporary one — is that not all technology is completely up to speed with this new initiative. The Google-led AMP Project is a response to the rise of of the mobile web, along with the proliferation of clunky advertising and poorly optimized website design. Its goal is to bring faster — even instant — rendering to web content, especially via mobile devices. If you’re wondering whether this optimization is really needed, the answer is largely yes, particularly for bigger websites. Some news sites and content aggregators are known to eat up a ton of bandwidth and chase audiences away with slow load times. For example, one news site … [Read more...] about Tracking the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project
Google adds trending searches and instant answers to iOS app
With a new search app update for iOS, Google has added trending searches and instant answers. (TechCrunch noticed it earlier today.) It replicates a previously introduced Android feature which reportedly resulted in an outcry, causing Google to enable an opt-out. In the “what’s new” discussion in the iOS App Store, Google says: See searches that are trending around you when you tap on the search box to start a search Get instant answers to your questions as you type them, before you even complete the search. Try it out by typing for “goog stock” or “how tall is the eiffel tower” and see the answer show up in the suggestions below the search box Easily give feedback on any suggestions you see while typing — just swipe left and tap on the “info” icon Here’s what it looks like: The trending searches appear to be national rather than specific to my location. The data appear to be Knowledge Graph data, but it’s not … [Read more...] about Google adds trending searches and instant answers to iOS app
Alexa and Cortana will soon work together, allowing each to access the other
Earlier this morning Amazon and Microsoft announced that their virtual assistants will soon work together. Alexa devices will be able to access Cortana, and Cortana will be able to open Alexa: Alexa customers will be able to access Cortana’s unique features like booking a meeting or accessing work calendars, reminding you to pick up flowers on your way home, or reading your work email – all using just your voice. Similarly, Cortana customers can ask Alexa to control their smart home devices, shop on Amazon.com, interact with many of the more than 20,000 skills built by third-party developers, and much more. It’s an enlightened approach on the part of both companies. Alexa will benefit from Cortana’s general knowledge and web-search capabilities, as well as Office integration. Cortana gains distribution via Amazon hardware devices. It’s also consistent with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s vision to make Microsoft software tools available on rival … [Read more...] about Alexa and Cortana will soon work together, allowing each to access the other
Google Assistant coming to more speakers and home appliances from LG
Earlier today at German consumer electronics and appliances show IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) in Berlin, Google announced that the Google Assistant will be coming to new smart speakers and home appliances. With the move Google is more aggressively competing with Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana for third party hardware and software integration. The company said that a range of new speakers will get the Assistant: Zolo Mojo by Anker TicHome Mini by Mobvoi GA10 by Panasonic These devices will be able to deliver the capabilities and functionality of Google Home and will be available in the US and Canada, Australia, Germany and France. On a smaller scale (right now) this is analogous to Google’s Android OS strategy, with the Assistant powering third party hardware. Alexa and Cortana are also pursuing a similar strategy. Perhaps more interesting than the extension of the Google Assistant to more smart speakers is its integration with a range of home … [Read more...] about Google Assistant coming to more speakers and home appliances from LG
Google Home partnership with Condé Nast’s Vogue offers new model for publishers
In what is sure to be a model for other publishers, last week Google and Vogue magazine announced a partnership that offers “behind the scenes” audio content from selected Vogue magazine interviews. Most of these are monologues from the writers about their subjects. By asking Google Home to “talk to Vogue” (one of several ways to invoke the content), users hear a brief introduction and then a menu of choices, which in this case includes five articles from the September issue on Jennifer Lawrence, Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, Serena Williams and Megyn Kelly. There’s a corresponding indicator in the print magazine about which articles offer Google Home companion “behind the scenes” audio content. Each piece is split into shorter and longer segments. The speaker in each case is the author of the article initially answering the question, “What is [interviewee] like?” Then there’s an option to hear more in-depth … [Read more...] about Google Home partnership with Condé Nast’s Vogue offers new model for publishers
Take the Search Engine Land AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) survey
Google released their AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) framework nearly two years ago, and even though Google noted at their recent I/O event that more than 900,000 domains have adopted the framework, that’s just a small fraction (.075 percent) of the 1.2 billion websites on the internet. Given Google’s emphasis on the coming mobile-first index and its continuing full court press to get webmasters far and wide to implement AMP for the sites they work on, we’re interested in understanding how the Search Engine Land audience is approaching AMP adoption. We’ve put together a brief survey — 10 quick questions, will take you about three minutes tops — and invite you to participate. We’re looking for feedback on whether and why you or your clients have or have not adopted AMP for your sites. We’re also interested in knowing whether or not you or your clients are using AMP landing pages and AMP ads. We’ll be looking at the responses and … [Read more...] about Take the Search Engine Land AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) survey
Augmented Reality: Where are we now, and what does it mean for marketers?
Summer 2016 seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Barack Obama was president, the Chicago Cubs were carrying on their 108-year losing streak and swimmer Ryan Lochte was busy fabricating a story about getting robbed at gunpoint while representing the US at the Rio Olympic Games. One of the biggest digital stories to come out of last year was the meteoric rise of Pokémon Go. The mobile game brought augmented reality (AR) to the masses and effectively demonstrated the technology’s potential as a new platform for customer engagement. Pokémon Go disappeared from the limelight almost as quickly as it appeared, solidifying its place as a pop culture curiosity that will almost certainly be covered in an “I Love the ’80s”-esque retrospective 20 years from now. Pokémon Go’s story may be over for most, but what about its underlying technology? How has that fared over the past 12 months? Well, augmented reality isn’t just for … [Read more...] about Augmented Reality: Where are we now, and what does it mean for marketers?