2019predictions THE INDUSTRY WEIGHS IN ON WHAT WILL HAPPEN THIS YEAR IN LOCATION-BASED MARKETING, ADVERTISING & COMMERCE - Local Search Association
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2019predictions THE INDUSTRY WEIGHS IN ON WHAT WILL HAPPEN THIS YEAR IN LOCATION-BASED MARKETING, ADVERTISING & COMMERCE
2019predictions
INTRODUCTION
This past year saw a repeat of many of the themes that defined 2017: mobile first, virtual assistants, voice search and AI.
There were major acquisitions and consolidation, even the martech universe continued to expand.
The article of faith that tech would continue to make the world a better place took a big hit in 2018. It was a year in which
privacy and data security claimed center stage. Trust, integrity and transparency emerged as major challenges with the
implementation of Europe’s GDPR and the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act in the U.S.
The value of location data and location intelligence were powerfully demonstrated throughout the year. But critical
coverage repeatedly raised privacy concerns.
Retailers grew sales but many also struggled, as Amazon continued to push deeper into real-world selling and new store
experiences (e.g., AmazonGo). More “direct-to-consumer” brands moved into the physical world by opening stores or
expanding their store locations.
The small business market saw an expansion of competition as non-traditional providers entered the arena of marketing
services and many traditional marketing providers looked toward the SaaS market for inspiration and better valuations.
Google My Business added an array of new capabilities and functionality, looming ever larger in local search.
All of this is captured in our 2019 predictions, which follow. We’ve sought to include as many entries as possible in this
document. To make it easier to navigate, we’ve grouped the more than 70 predictions into categories:
• Google My Business • E-commerce & Retail
• Local & Mobile Search • Data & Location Intelligence
• Local & Small Business • Speech & Voice Search
• Social & Reviews • Personal Data & Privacy
• Ads & Paid Search • Digital Strategy
Most of these topics will also be on the LSA19 agenda, February 25 - 27 in Dana Point, California.
22019predictions
Introduction............................................................................................................ 2 Ocean Fine......................................Factual........................................................... 42
Google My Business......................................................................................... 4 Brett Barney...................................Infront Webworks......................................... 43
Bernadette Coleman.....................Advice Local.................................................. 5 Nicole Leinbach Reyhle...............Retail Minded ............................................... 44
Tim Mechling..................................BizIQ............................................................... 6 Tehsin Daya.....................................Uberall............................................................ 45
Colleen Harris.................................CDK Global.................................................... 7 Data & Location Intelligence......................................................................... 46
Kyle Harris.......................................DAC................................................................ 8 Louise Lachmann...........................Mono Solutions............................................. 47
David Mihm....................................ThriveHive..................................................... 9 Avni Agrawal..................................MatchCraft.................................................... 48
Niki Mosier.....................................Two Octobers................................................ 10 Nick Knellinger..............................Skyhook.......................................................... 49
Local & Mobile Search..................................................................................... 11 Rob Friedman.................................Digital Element............................................. 50
Bernadette Coleman.....................Advice Local.................................................. 12 Jeff White........................................Gravy Analytics............................................. 51
Florian Hubner...............................Uberall............................................................ 13 Meghan Trapp................................Hurrdat.......................................................... 52
Matt Lacuesta.................................Location3....................................................... 14 Frost Prioleau.................................Simpli.fi ......................................................... 53
Michael Hodgdon..........................Infront Webworks......................................... 15 Kipp Jones.......................................Skyhook.......................................................... 54
Tim Mechling..................................BizIQ............................................................... 16 Speech & Voice Search.................................................................................... 55
Jara Moser.......................................Nuvolum........................................................ 17 Svenn Andersen.............................Mono Solutions............................................. 56
Local & Small Business.................................................................................... 18 Paul Dughi.......................................WAAY-TV/Pulse Local Digital..................... 57
Gyi Tsakalakis.................................AttorneySync................................................. 19 Carolyn Hajnasiewicz...................SpartanNash Company................................ 58
Sarah Griffith..................................BubbleLife...................................................... 20 Tim Mechling..................................BizIQ............................................................... 59
Svenn Andersen...............................Mono Solutions............................................. 21 Collin Holmes.................................Chatmeter...................................................... 60
Jillian Als..........................................Mono Solutions............................................. 22 Collin Holmes.................................Chatmeter...................................................... 61
Paul Plant........................................Radicle Consulting Ltd................................. 23 Blair Symes......................................DialogTech..................................................... 62
Miriam Ellis.....................................Moz................................................................. 24 Chis Marentis.................................Surefire Local................................................. 63
Social & Reviews................................................................................................ 25 David (Davey) Duyk......................Judy’s Book.................................................... 64
Shashi Bellamkonda......................Surefire Local................................................. 26 Personal Data & Privacy................................................................................. 65
Jack Roldan.....................................See Deep Consulting.................................... 27 Jeff White........................................Gravy Analytics............................................. 66
Jeffrey Dungen...............................reelyActive..................................................... 28 Stephanie Hooper.........................Infront Webworks......................................... 67
Tim Mechling..................................BizIQ............................................................... 29 Josh Allen..........................................Location3....................................................... 68
Ads & Paid Search.............................................................................................. 30 Menno Kolkert...............................Plot Projects.................................................. 69
Alex Porter......................................Location3....................................................... 31 Philippe Marty...............................reelyActive..................................................... 70
Venkat Kolluri.................................Cidewalk.com................................................ 32 Matt Matergia................................Mono Solutions............................................. 71
Mike Peters.....................................J Miller Marketing......................................... 33 Digital Strategy................................................................................................... 72
Marc Poirier....................................Acquisio.......................................................... 34 Chris Gregory.................................DAGMAR Marketing.................................... 73
Paul Dughi.......................................WAAY-TV / Pulse Local Digital................... 35 Julia Flaherty..................................Ledgeview Partners...................................... 74
Marlene McTigue...........................Downtown Digital........................................ 36 Matt Matergia................................Mono Solutions............................................. 75
Kurt Krejny......................................Linkmedia 360.............................................. 37 Jillian Als..........................................Mono Solutions............................................. 76
E-commerce & Retail........................................................................................ 38 Louise Lachmann...........................Mono Solutions............................................. 77
Tim Mechling..................................BizIQ............................................................... 39 Lissa Duty........................................Rocks Digital.................................................. 78
Brian Deignan.................................FastSpring...................................................... 40 Anne Coqueugniot........................Yellow Pages (Canada)................................. 79
Chris Lueck.....................................FastSpring...................................................... 41
3Google My Business
2019predictions
Growth in local will be dominated by
Google My Business
In case you have not noticed it, Google is continuing to add enhancements to the Google My
Business platform. 2019 will continue to be dominated by Google as they see the potential in
local revenue, and they will be aggressively moving forward and identifying additional ways to
monetize the local space.
These new GMB enhancements will drive how we need to optimize for local search in 2019. It
will also change how we need to engage with potential local search clients. The presence and
quality of your Google My Business (GMB) local listing will continue to be a vital differentiator
for businesses to gain visibility in Google search results.
SMBs and Brands can give themselves a competitive advantage by paying attention to their
Google My Business profile like never before. Keep it fully optimized and take advantage of the
new features like Google My Business Questions & Answers, Google Posts, any new attribution
features, and make it rich in images and videos.
Bernadette Coleman
CEO
52019predictions
Google My Business profiles will get more
robust and will become an even bigger
ranking factor
SEOs are in agreement about Google My Business: it’s more important than anyone would’ve
thought. In Moz’s 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors blog, they found that Google My Business
has a bigger impact on local rankings than links, reviews, on-page factors, personalization, or social
media factors. Businesses with rockstar Google My Business profiles had a huge advantage over the
competition. The incorporation of video, Google Posts, and Google Questions & Answers in the past
few years shows that Google is expanding GMB. Also, the Google+ shutdown means Google will
probably integrate much of the social and community aspects of G+ into GMB. Don’t think of GMB
listing as a replacement for your website. Even if it gets more interaction and views on the SERP, it
is a separate entity that works in tandem with your local SEO.
Tim Mechling
Digital Media Specialist
62019predictions
GMB listings become more
important than websites
As Google moves full steam ahead, creating search results pages where everything happens right
in the Google interface, Google My Business listings are going to become as, if not more, important
than your website! Your GMB listing is going to become the first place Google looks for information
about your business, so you need to be taking advantage of everything Google offers, from Posts,
product posts, menus, UTM tracking and more.
Colleen Harris
Earned Marketing Lead Analyst
72019predictions
Verified Google My Business reviews
In 2019 Google will launch a verified Google My Business review feature which will award more value
and integrity to users that can verify they have actually been at the local business and purchased the
service/product. Verified reviews will be significantly more valuable than standard GMB reviews and
Google will mark reviews clearly as verified or not.
Kyle Harris
Product Director
82019predictions
Messaging becomes a principal feature
in Google My Business
Google’s strategy around consumer-to-business messaging has historically been muddled at best.
I’m predicting 2019 is the year that it starts to coalesce. On the SMB side, Messaging feels like the
most natural area for Google to invest in next:
• It keeps businesses continually engaged with GMB.
• It’s a feature that doesn’t involve content creation on the part of businesses — an area they’ve historically
struggled with.
• It provides a lighter-touch transactional mechanism for longer-tail industries, or industries where Reserve
is too complex for a simple user experience.
And of course, on the consumer side, it addresses a pain point for millennial searchers, and keeps
searchers in the Google ecosystem, rather than losing them to a website click-through. As Google
My Business gradually becomes more interactive, Messaging feels like an essential component of
that effort.
David Mihm
VP Product Strategy
92019predictions
Google will introduce paid features for
GMB and more focus on “Position 0”
Google is putting a lot of money into adding features for the GMB listings and making it so they
almost take the place of the website for local businesses. They are going to want to monetize it
someway down the road. I predict an increase in GMB features some of which will be paid options.
2018 brought us Q&A and GMB posts, both of which have been very impactful. I am sure Google
will continue to roll out more features.
Also, I predict a continued focus on featured snippets and schema. Google recently added Question
and Answer schema. As voice search and “position zero” becomes more and more relevant, I can see
Google giving us more opportunities to use schema to get that spot.
The importance of relevant content answers a searcher’s question is going to continue to be
important. Optimizing content to be relevant for voice search like Q&A pages could be a good
opportunity as well.
Niki Mosier
Sr. SEO Account Manager
10Local & Mobile Search
2019predictions
The “near me” generation
will take over
“Near me” searches are up 900% from 2015, which will result in the evolution of a new
generation. Consumers contribute to this generation, but, as marketers, we are driving it—
along with Google. The “Near Me” generation is made up of a new type of consumer—one that
is ever-evolving, along with their needs and expectations. They need to be our priority.
The “Near Me” generation is empowered by the use of smartphones, with voice assistants
and maps readily available. This consumer is always busy and on the run; they don’t have time
to type on their phones, let alone search from a desktop browser. The continual shift in their
day-to-day lives will present mobile devices, voice search and mapping apps with an ongoing
challenge to keep up with consumers.
Google will continue to fine-tune and prioritize the mobile-first index to attract the “Near
Me” generation to their powerful search engine. Voice search will become second nature for
consumers of all ages. To stay ahead of the competition, the mobile web, voice search readiness
and accurate location data—including that in GPS mapping apps and in-dash navigation
solutions—will need to be next level. These are the tools of the “Near Me” generation.
Bernadette Coleman
CEO
122019predictions
Location services & conversational commerce
It’s Not Just Voice, it’s conversational commerce. Everyone is talking about voice. But voice’s popularity taps into a larger trend in marketing – the shift towards
conversational commerce. Conversational commerce, through voice assistants and chatbots, streamlines the customer journey and eliminates friction. And as
artificial intelligence improves, these conversational experiences will only get better and more personal. Location data is the centerpiece of that evolution. It can
power a more differentiated and tailored experience for the end-user. Brands will also rely on geolocation to make more performance-driven campaigns. This will
be really valuable for brick-and-mortar retailers who want to encourage nearby foot traffic.
Click-and-collect to deliver even more proximity-based convenience. For brick-and-mortar retailers, in an Amazon world, convenience is everything. This is one of
the main drivers of the “near me” mobile search phenomenon, for example, with more opting to shop based on what’s closest. Proximity and convenience are often
synonymous. In the same vein, I think 2019 will be the year click-and-collect – also called buy online, pickup in-store – finally goes mainstream. Savvy brands are
creating cutting-edge click-and-collect experiences to standout to shoppers and deliver more proximity-based convenience. And Doddle, the big click-and-collect
tech provider, also launched in the US this week at NRF, confirming it’ll be a huge trend this year.
SMB is poised to spend big on location. SMB marketers are going to ramp up spend on location-based campaigns. Whether it’s location-driven ads, more local brand
pages or geo-triggered email and marketing automation, to compete, SMBs need to get personal. Location unlocks that capability. This is a good thing for content,
SEO and digital agencies that serve SMBs. The demand for location services is a massive revenue opportunity.
Florian Hubner
Founder & Co-CEO
132019predictions
Continued focus on local search
It seems to have been a focus for Google to improve engagement with site owners this year
and I think they’ll make a push for local business owners as well. As Google shows Google
Search Console snapshots in SERPs as well as supporting the SiteKit Wordpress plugin that
brings in Analytics and Search Console data into the WordPress dashboard, we know that
they are trying to get the data in front of site owners and stakeholders (who calls themselves
a webmaster anymore?).
I think Google will support some efforts to engage local business owners with data for their
Google My Business performance in the coming year. More engaged owners should lead to
higher quality listings in terms of accuracy, quality information and images, review responses
and answers to Q&A.
We’ll also see further changes in organic search results that give users what they need without
needing to go to the website. With more direct actions such as “get directions” or “call”
functionality that better matches user intent by device, we’ll hopefully see some way to track
things so we can better optimize for intent. Voice assistants are going to drive more of this type
of engagement, but I don’t see 2019 as their breakout year.
Matt Lacuesta
Director of Earned and Owned
142019predictions
No click search results
No click search results are searches that result in SERPs that offer answers on the page without
needing to click to a new website. With the growing frequency of “no-click search results”
(mobile “no-click” or “zero click” searches have grown 11%. Desktop no-click searches have
grown 9.5%. *Sparktoro case study), SEO specialists will have to start strategizing a bit more to
maximize click-through rates (CTR) from SERPs. Some suggested techniques include:
• When doing keyword portfolios dig a bit deeper to forecast organic potential CTR.
• Do more upfront research on SERP appearance so you understand when you’ll be competing with
“no-click results.”
• Optimize appropriately for zero positions and featured snippets.
• Be sure to claim your GMB listing and any panels that are related to your company or brand so they
can be effectively optimized.
• Find directories and websites that rank for keywords you are targeting and be sure to build profiles.
• Identify results that offer video, images or other content that you are not ranking for and create
and optimize that content.
Although, there are many more things you can do, the most important is to monitor the SERP
landscape and when Google makes changes be sure to plan for the impact it may have on your
results.
Michael Hodgdon
Marketing & SEO Director
152019predictions
Less clicks on SERPs but that isn’t a reason
to neglect your SEO
As mentioned before, the SERP isn’t what it used to be. Featured snippets, ads, knowledge graphs, local
packs, and who-knows-what-else will continue to overtake the prime real estate on the SERP. According
to Rand Fishkin, over 61% of mobile searches result in no click at all. Users are scanning the search
results, getting their answers, and moving on without even looking at your content. Content creators,
who have worked very hard to provide Google with quality content over the years, have been deprived
of their precious clicks and engagement. This is disheartening, but it doesn’t mean you should give up
on SEO altogether. Every time Google presents a seemingly chaotic challenge, there are always ways to
get the competitive edge.
Tim Mechling
Digital Media Specialist
162019predictions
Google’s entity evolution
Google is driving more features into the SERP, keeping users on their results page longer.
Answering questions, offering bookings, flights, and reservations, making that result page
your new homepage. As Google doubles down on more features to understand businesses as
“entities,” having the data you feed to Google pristine is more important than ever. Winding
down Google+ and moving social features into Google Maps, there’s an opportunity here for
the taking. Many brands are asleep at the wheel, not utilizing Google Posts or Messaging on
their pages. Seize these opportunities and make your brand stand out.
Jara Moser
Director of Digital Knowledge
17Local & Small Business
2019predictions
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
The more things change in local, the more they stay the same. While 2019 is sure to bring improvements
in the way that machines understand the real world, success in the local space will continue to be
built on remarkable service, reputation, and relationships. Examples of this are everywhere. Whether
it’s improvements in the ways search engines understand customer sentiment via reviews and user
engagement (i.e. click-through rates, etc.), or sentiment and engagement on social networks, local
businesses that focus on timeless “quality metrics,” will continue to reap rewards online.
Gyi Tsakalakis
President
192019predictions
You must think beyond local,
hyperlocal can’t be ignored
With location-based trends like “near me” searches continually growing, hyperlocal engagement
should be at the forefront of marketers’ minds in 2019. Because so much local information is
available right at a searcher’s fingertips, it’s imperative that local businesses place accurate, relevant
information in front of searchers where they digitally live, work and play.
In the past, hyperlocal visibility was accomplished through strategically placed billboards, seen
alongside freeways and on skyscrapers for decades. Now, in our increasingly digital world, these
billboards have transitioned online, promoting businesses where people spend so much of their
time. By utilizing hyperlocal marketing and advertising strategies, local businesses and the agencies
that represent them can ensure they reach a highly targeted audience in the hyperlocal environment
to increase brand awareness, forge consumer trust and convert searchers into customers.
Sarah Griffith
Executive Editor
202019predictions
The rise of personalization-as-a-service
Personalization is a valuable opportunity for SMBs to attract new and repeat customers and create
an extraordinary online experience. In 2019, small business owners will look to their digital service
providers for help on how to implement simple personalization within their digital presence to create
a unique and accommodating user experience that helps them stand out from their competitors.
Svenn Andersen
COO
212019predictions
All-in-one won’t mean one-size-fits-all
While 65% of SMBs (TAI Wave III Nov 2018) prefer to work with one digital provider, the perfect
solution remains to be seen. All-in-one cannot be one-size-fits-all. SMB needs are different across
size, vertical, maturity and more. Further, their ideal all-in-one solution likely goes beyond just
marketing tools and services. We already see a race to offering the ‘best all-in-one solution for small
businesses’ by digital service providers and technology companies alike, yet no one has come across
as a clear winner. It doesn’t mean the idea is wrong. Technology and the service model need to work
together better to provide solutions that are as flexible (for the small business) as they are scalable
(for the service provider).
Jillian Als
Head of Marketing & Communication
222019predictions
Last yp publisher standing & local
marketing supplier convergence
First, I predict that DexYP will acquire Hibu US.
Second, there are now far too many products, solutions (and therefore vendors) in this space. 2019
will see some cannibalization within the supply-side of the local digital ecosystem, together with
more JV’s, alliances, and unquestionably there will be casualties, with many vendors running out of
cash (and customers), and therefore going to the wall.
Paul Plant
Chief Listening Officer
232019predictions
Non-Google-dependent revenue streams
will increase in value
With the increasing encroachment of zero-click SERPs, Local Ad packs, Local Service Ads, paid
bookings and other Google-controlled consumer experiences, every customer a local business can
win or retain without having to pay Google a toll is going to be of extra value in 2019. And, if you
do have to pay Google for an initial conversion, invest in providing the kind of customer service
that generates repeat, loyal business, so that you’re paying Google only once for that particular
consumer’s patronage. Any non-Google-dependent transaction will mean extra profits by year’s end.
Miriam Ellis
Local SEO SME
24Social & Reviews
2019predictions
Google will finally get social right
Google is quietly becoming the biggest social network. They may have failed with Google+, but
with new features introduced to Google My Business and Google Maps, they are building “social”
more into their products than ever before. In addition to Google Posts, we now have the option
to follow a local business on Google Maps and ask and answer questions about the business with
others. In 2019, people searching on Google will be able to find and do everything they need directly
there, without needing to go to another website to learn more—from learning about a business to
scheduling a reservation at a local restaurant.
Shashi Bellamkonda
CMO
262019predictions
Age of customer & automation
realization for SMBs
Customer experience will continue to reign as the most critical element across channels for all SMBs
and Enterprise. Connecting emotionally with consumers via social and all other mediums will be
essential by adopting emerging technologies to execute strategies effectively.
SMBs seeking to increase market-share across margin-slimming segments will begin adopting full-
stack solutions to increase their competitiveness, ensuring their digital footprint expands and is
reputably showcased online. Realizing that the Age of the Customer (AoC) has arrived, SMBs will
differentiate by evolving their business operations by utilizing Machine Learning and AI tools.
Social listening and review aggregation will help SMBs curate insights never before available for
their own brands and competitors, thus increasing the need for them to adopt automated and
advanced technology tools. With the rise of data integrity and privacy issues across social platforms
and search engines, I’d anticipate the rise of smaller, yet impactful social channels to reach target
audiences abandoning the traditional giants.
Jack Roldan
Founder + CEO
272019predictions
The emergence of refreshing alternatives
to the mobile-social status quo
2018 may well be remembered as a turning point. While the mobile app economy (App Store)
celebrated its 10th birthday, the social media platforms with which it has become symbiotic
became mired in scandal, and uncharacteristic changes to Android crippled the background location
performance on which many popular applications depend. The result: trust in the once-mighty
mobile and social platforms has tanked.
Both the users of social networks, and the brands that reach them through mobile apps, each
have ample cause for consternation. Could these recent calamities be the catalyst for refreshing
alternatives?
Our LSA predictions in years past have been about progressive breakthroughs in both user opt-in
and web-standards for real-time location and analytics. Our prediction for 2019 is that the industry
will innovate with initiatives that successfully circumvent the long-entrenched mobile-social status
quo. In other words, local search will find a novel way around native apps and social networks.
What those initiatives might look like will surely be a surprise, but who they will involve—the most
rebellious users and the brands prepared to join them in revolt—will not.
Jeffrey Dungen
Co-founder and CEO
282019predictions
Fake reviews, news, and users
will carry less weight
2018 was the year of mass fakeness. “Fake news” became a polarizing political phrase, 83 million
Facebook users turned out to be fake, and entire careers were dedicated to spamming Amazon
products with fake reviews. On top of that, fake science and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories
have become widespread. Our society can’t even agree on the basic facts. Chaos is the result. In
2018, tech companies cracked down on hate groups, wild conspiracies, and pseudoscience. Google
launched the Google News Lab in 2015, which became the Google News Initiative in 2018, and
uses data to dampen and combat fake news. You can bet that RankBrain (which I mentioned in last
year’s prediction blog) will be observing user behavior, identifying more fake reviewer behaviors,
and adapting to discourage, dampen, and remove fake reviews. It certainly won’t happen overnight,
and it will be far from perfect, but tech companies will turn the tide against online fakeness. 2019
will showcase the rise of realness, and the downfall of fakes.
Tim Mechling
Digital Media Specialist
29Ads & Paid Search
2019predictions
Return of the Bing & monetization
of voice search
Bing’s powering of Alexa search increases its importance in search and increases its share of local
search. I predict that Bing will release a paid listings product to monetize voice search.
Alex Porter
CEO
312019predictions
2019 will introduce “chatting ads”
I predict we will see ads with life chat in 2019. As users continue to get more comfortable with
messaging services, instead of click-to-call ads, mobile ads enabled with live chat, that consumers
can use to chat with the advertiser instantly and get more information as needed, will become a
mainstream strategy. Advertisers can let interested customers directly text message and chat with
them.
Venkat Kolluri
CEO
322019predictions
Say goodbye to keywords in paid search
Google is finally going to pull the trigger on keywords and eliminate them from Paid Search. The signs
have all been leading up to it: decreased control over exact match, dynamic search ads, investments
in AI, etc. Google believes their system can correctly match user search intent to your business
without you telling it what keywords you want to be on, so in 2019 they’ll take the option away.
Prediction #2: When this happens the Paid Search industry will freak out!
Mike Peters
Online Media Director
332019predictions
Google breaks down barrier to entry
for local advertisers
In terms of local predictions, I think we’re going to see more of Google helping small and local
businesses with their online advertising challenges. Small businesses often lack resources and have
difficulty in measuring the success of their search campaigns, if direct online conversions aren’t
there.
Google is supporting local businesses to better realize and act-on the local advertising opportunity
by creating a host of products for them. They created local inventory ads (LIA) and storefronts,
local service ads (limited industries available in US & Canada only) and are pulling from location
extensions to show business results within Google Maps. These are all initiatives to better service
the local market segment, but if the value still can’t be seen from smaller businesses, a challenge still
remains.
Google’s in-store visits metric is helping to clarify the value of online advertising, but it’s limited to
accounts that have multiple locations and generate thousands of clicks per month (or thousands
of impressions on GDN). However, the combination of local ad types and tracking metrics (LIA
and store visits; LSA and store visits) could be a very powerful combination for brick and mortar
merchants to effectively measure the impact of their campaigns.
By the end of 2019 I believe these barriers to entry will lessen allowing more small and local
businesses to better advertise and track their efforts, further catalyzing interest and investment
in online advertising. I’m talking more categories for local service ads, more regional coverage and
perhaps even enabling single-location stores to use the in-store tracking metric. If I’m right, next
year we’re going to see a substantial increase in the number of local merchants advertising inside
Google Ads.
Marc Poirier
Co-Founder
342019predictions
Automated bidding AI & machine learning
As marketers become more comfortable using automated bidding, they are demanding more data
touch points. More detailed data sets will be available for advertisers (even the smaller ones) which
will accelerate the trust in machine learning and artificial intelligence in ad buying.
Paul Dughi
VP/General Manager
352019predictions
More data will result in
more location precision
I predict that as we hand over more and more information about ourselves, ingenious developers
will design ever more accurate targeting mechanisms until such a time when waste in the advertising
budget is a thing of the past!
Marlene McTigue
Multi-Media Consultant
362019predictions
Google zero click results reporting
With Google making more pushes to get brands into the localized paid ad ecosystem, they will start
to bend more to show the efficacy of how brands benefit from localized organic quick answers and
knowledge panel results that are keeping people within the Google ecosystem. Google is referring
out less and less traffic to websites each year, as highlighted by Rand Fishkin of Sparktoro.
We are now seeing the rollout of store beacons and integration with analytics and paid search, but
will we see other Google features roll out more robust tracking for the brands that are contributing
the content that ranks well and builds trust with Google’s users? Hopefully this is the year that
Google provides full transparency into any organic touch point in which a brand’s content is displayed
within search results — mainly via quick answers and voice search on smart assistants. After-all,
great content is what helped build Google as a trusted brand!
Kurt Krejny
SVP of Solutions
37E-commerce & Retail
2019predictions
Amazon will take a significant portion
of search from Google
By March of 2018, Amazon surpassed Alphabet (Google’s parent company) in stock price. Though
Google has maintained its monopoly status, with somewhere around 90% of the search market,
Amazon will take a larger portion of the search in 2019. People use Google and Amazon for very
different reasons. If your small business is dedicated to a skill or service, Google is the way to go. If
you have an e-commerce website, or own a shop where your products are ordered and distributed,
you may want to start selling your products on Amazon. Google is a site for discovery, Amazon is
a place for shopping. If you think you could benefit from the uptick in Amazon search volume, I’d
recommend setting up an Amazon shop.
Tim Mechling
Digital Media Specialist
392019predictions
Dynamic commerce will be required for
online sellers to stay afloat
Consumer expectations now require brands and online sellers to deliver a fast, easy, secure and
personalized shopping experience from browsing to checkout. 2019 will be the year of dynamic
commerce, which allows the ability to have your customer-facing pages to dynamically update
based on multiple factors, such as browsing history and geolocation. This will ensure a personalized
experience for the shopper from content to currency.
Brian Deignan
VP of Sales
402019predictions
Subscription services and
the future of checkout
With the rise of subscription-based selling and usership, there’s a fundamental shift occurring in
the way people purchase, especially when it comes to digital goods (Spotify, software subscriptions,
etc.) In order to keep up, online sellers must embrace and understand how this shift in purchase
behavior will help or hurt their business model, and know when, if and how to make a change.
When it comes to the future of checkout, get ready to see AR/VR becoming more integrated, which
will help the seller visualize what they’re selling, and the end-user visualize what they’re buying.
This will be beneficial for digital good or software sellers, as they will be able to better showcase the
impact of their products, as well as buyers.
Chris Lueck
CEO
412019predictions
The rise and impact of pop-ups
Brick-and-mortar retail brands know they must evolve in order to retain and grow customers. To
thrive, brands need to be willing to give customers new and more ephemeral experiences that can’t
be replicated online. Using brick and mortar pop-ups—those that create an exclusive and personalized
experience to touch and test products—is one way retailers will capitalize on this idea. Of course,
opening new stores poses its own challenges and retailers will also likely look for data sources that
can help them plan the optimal locations for these shops, as well as measure how effective they are
in driving customers to stores.
Ocean Fine
Vice President - Agencies and Marketers
422019predictions
Faster shipping & product availability
I think people getting their goods and services even faster than they do now will be super important.
Brett Barney
Senior Digital Marketing Project Manager
432019predictions
The mobile phone will become customer’s
remote control ... both in and out of stores
The path to purchase has been changing rapidly over the last decade with mobile among the most
significant disruptors in retail. Keeping this in mind, buying decisions often begin via mobile and
end via mobile, yet this is not exclusively for online purchases anymore. Mobile will help to shape
how customers engage with their local retailers through technology such as Salesfloor.net — which
empowers employees to engage with customers beyond their store walls while also creating more
frictionless payment experiences thanks to mobile payment options.
Essentially, the mobile phone will become a customer’s remote control throughout a majority of
their buying experiences and thus, retailers must embrace the rapidly changing landscape that
mobile is creating in retail. Additionally, mobile will allow retailers to save time and overhead thanks
to mobile-based applications such as Legion.co, connecting customers and merchants in real-time
more so than we have seen in the past. Finally, I believe apps that are customer centric will increase
and impact purchase decisions, as well, both in physical store fronts and online.
Nicole Leinbach Reyhle
Founder & Author
442019predictions
Retail mobile predictions
‘Near me’ search will continue to grow in mobile. Over the past year, “near me” searches have exploded -- especially on mobile.
In fact, more than 80 percent of consumers have done a “near me” search on their mobile device. This number is staggering, and
is likely to grow in 2019. It also means that “near me” search is a key trend that retail marketers should keep front-and-center
moving forward.
The reason is that consumers now find more stock in proximity and the convenience it affords -- even more than brand loyalty.
What’s more, as people opt to keep GPS and location services on when using their device, they’re in better position to take
advantage of proximity-based searches. Looking ahead, “near me” search offers tremendous opportunity for both retailers and
marketers.
Brands will proactively monitor and manage customer reviews. Almost one-third of consumers believe that online reviews
are important. With people now more reliant on their mobile devices than ever before, it’s easy for them to look at customer
reviews before deciding to spend money at a retailer. Further, 65 percent of shoppers believe that stores should respond
directly to customer reviews. This means that brands will have to spend more time checking online reviews and responding to
them if they want to win over customers. But it doesn’t stop there. Customers aren’t going to be satisfied with just a generic
response from a store. They’re also looking for personalization, showing that the brand cares about them. So retailers will have
to keep providing thoughtful responses to online customer reviews if they want to win over new customers and keep their
existing ones happy.
Voice adoption will grow, which will be a boon for retailers. In three years, voice search may make up 50% of all searches. For
retailers and business owners keeping up with SEO best practices, this new method of search is a game-changer. It’s a relief to
know that many of the functional differences between voice and standard search are subtle. However, the result of performing
well in voice search can mean less competition and more sales for businesses ready to take on the challenge.
Voice search is changing the game for SEO by taking the need for screens out of the equation. Since digital assistants only tend
to relay a single answer to voice search requests, the business that fulfills that top answer could feasibly multiply the number of
customers shopping in their stores. In the New Year, expect more retailers to optimize their website’s keywords for voice search,
to be present across more business listings and multiple search engines, maps, and apps, and to optimize search relevance with
positive reviews. These three tactics will maximize findability among voice searches.
Tehsin Daya
VP Business Development
45Data & Location Intelligence
2019predictions
A structured, data-driven future
As data continues to grow exponentially, the importance of structured data will become even more
apparent in 2019. Digital service providers will need to work to implement the use of structured
data in their own processes for more efficient and automated delivery of digital services, as well
as educate and empower SMBs with artificial intelligence that allows them to engage with their
customers in more meaningful ways.
Louise Lachmann
CEO & Co-founder
472019predictions
2019 will be the year of data
aggregation driven by AI
In 2018, we saw technology companies take a more serious look at data aggregation. How they
were aggregating data on consumer behavior and to what use this data was put. We will see an even
greater increase in focus on data aggregation, specifically multi-channel, as we follow a consumer’s
path to purchase. We will see a move away from campaign managers simply allocating a budget based
on the lowest cost per lead. Most SMBs do not spend enough to generate statistically meaningful
metrics, which has been the problem with this approach thus far. The data aggregation is only truly
meaningful if we are able to understand the entire multi-channel path to purchase including offline
behavior, voice, etc.
To gather consumer data across multiple touch points, there will be a huge increase in AI. We predict
nearly a 60% increase in AI revenue in 2019 and by 2020 we predict an increase of over 120%. It all
comes back to data data data!
Avni Agrawal
Senior Marketing Specialist
482019predictions
AI will continue to gain traction
There will be more notable press around the value in VOLUME of training data for the best AI
applications, and companies will attempt to pivot in their strategies to obtain data for free from
consumers in exchange for services.
Nick Knellinger
Director of Product
492019predictions
Converting latitude/longitude into real
information & the full potential of IP data
According to our Digital Data Exhaust Report, more than one quarter of digital marketers say they
want to explore more use of lat/long data in the new year, especially retail organizations. Solutions
that seamlessly and easily covert GPS-obtained coordinates from mobile devices into useful, relevant
information will be high on their radars.
Additionally, according to our Digital Data Exhaust Report, 61% of digital marketers, last year,
left plenty of room for improvement because they were not utilizing all the different data points
available to them or were not aware of the different types of data associated with an IP address. The
same report indicates a large majority expect to incorporate more IP data points to enhance their
advertising, personalization and analytics.
Rob Friedman
Executive Vice President, Co-founder
502019predictions
The rise of location intelligence as
behavioral indicator
In 2019, I predict more companies will start looking at location intelligence as a behavioral indicator.
Taking it one step further, they will also start to integrate this data with 1st party data into existing
CRM systems.
Ultimately, AI will have to be deployed because without it, companies (and quite frankly marketers),
won’t be able to mine these troves of consumer data. They’d just be scratching the surface. That
being said, it’s important to keep in mind that AI is not a silver bullet, just part of the solution.
Jeff White
CEO
512019predictions
More usage of location intelligence
for personalization
I predict that location intelligence, geofencing and beacon technology will continue to increase in
usage in the local search space. It doesn’t get much more personalized than using location-based
intelligence to drive a specific customer to a specific location to buy a specific product. We talk
about leveraging big data, but this technology paired with expert marketing will give businesses a
microscopic view of their customers behavior and preferences which can and should be utilized to
reengage them.
Meghan Trapp
Agency Director
522019predictions
Expect more foot traffic
attribution improvements
Continued growth and improvements in foot traffic attribution will have the greatest impact on local
advertisers in 2019. More advertisers will value ad campaigns on their ability to drive incremental
foot traffic to their locations, whether the campaign’s impressions were served on desktop, mobile,
or CTV/OTT devices.
Frost Prioleau
CEO
532019predictions
Artificial intelligence to “predictive-
maintenance-as-a-service” & data privacy
AI will enable better business optimization and predictive maintenance — not just within an industry,
but also at the intersection of industries. Predictive maintenance as a service will come to life as
more data and model sharing will enable smaller scale entities to join the big enterprises in business
(and consumer) optimizations.
Also, the rumors of the death of privacy have been greatly exaggerated. With the GDPR and
continued consumer awareness, consumer location intelligence will get more scrutiny and expect
other countries to consider GDPR-like policies. While it won’t end the practice, it will make it more
costly to acquire the data — and hopefully some emerging models of compensation will be enabled
to give back to the consumer.
Kipp Jones
Chief Technology Evangelist
54Speech & Voice Search
2019predictions
Schema.org will become a key
unique selling proposition
As the digital landscape evolves, search engine result pages are becoming more prominent as a
source of business information. Search engines, like Google, are becoming better at crawling websites
and pulling relevant information that users are searching for. Schema.org mark-up and structured
website content will therefore be a key unique selling point for small business websites to ensure
they appear in Google’s Knowledge Graph, voice search and more.
Svenn Andersen
COO
562019predictions
Voice search will explode!
One in six Americans already own a voice-activated smart speaker. More than one billion voice
searches occur every month. In 2019, those numbers will explode. Businesses need to make sure
their SEO includes voice search to avoid missing out on a growing consumer market.
Paul Dughi
VP/General Manager
572019predictions
Voice search standards to emerge in 2019
I predict voice search implementation strategies and optimization will be a big thing in the second
half of 2019. Voice search is getting attention now, but all of the mechanics don’t appear to be solid
yet. There is an eagerness surrounding voice search, and in six months I believe we will have a good
measure of guidance from the SEO and developer communities, perhaps with a set of standards and
guidelines. Well that is my hope anyway.
Carolyn Hajnasiewicz
Sr. SEO Analyst
582019predictions
Search results will streamline as voice
search goes fully mainstream
Way back in the early 2000’s, the Google SERP was 10 blue links, for everything, forever. It didn’t
matter if you were searching for a local business, cat photos, or you’re trying to figure out that
character actor’s name (you know, that guy who’s in everything!). It was minimalist. It was predictable.
It was clean. Around 2010, the mass adoption of smartphones changed the nature of the internet.
Everything became more bite-sized and palatable. Google adapted its SERP with featured snippets,
knowledge graphs, local packs, ads, and those blue links sank further and further down the page.
SEOs and digital marketers are still pretty mad about it. Voice search, digital assistants, and the
internet of things has further streamlined search results. When you ask Alexa what temperature
it is outside, she won’t slog through ten blue links’ worth of information. She’ll give you a handful
of words that summarizes the most authoritative answer. This “One True Answer” philosophy is
troubling (for SEOs and the concept of truth itself), but it’s the direction the winds of tech are
blowing. The next year will be a further simplification-through-complication on the SERP, as voice
and image search gets more popular.
Tim Mechling
Digital Media Specialist
592019predictions
Holiday shopping, tech improvements will
increase voice device adoption
As voice technology has become increasingly commonplace, there have been groundbreaking
improvements in the accuracy of voice recognition itself. In 2013, Google’s speech recognition
technology was at a 23%-word error rate and fell to 8% in 2015. Today, the software giant is at a
mere 4.9% error rate, meaning only every 20th word is transcribed incorrectly.
I’ve seen major speech technology platforms rapidly improve throughout the years, and I expect to
see adoption rates significantly increase amongst the 33 million current smart speaker users and
more. Black Friday and holiday shopping will likely help increase product adoption yet again, taking
this technology from a fun gadget to a device integrated throughout your entire home.
What does this mean for search? ComScore estimates that more than half of searches will be voice-
based by 2020. Also, expect to see voice technology become more predictive and in sync with
human asks by using context like user location to better understand their question and respond with
a local solution. It is a domino effect as improvements in voice recognition encourages widespread
device adoption, which in turn encourages more voice searching. Brands and marketers will be
forced to keep up by employing Voice Engine Optimization strategies that keep their brand at the
top of search results, so customers choose and visit them over competitors.
Collin Holmes
CEO and Founder
602019predictions
Voice technology will become #1 tool
for consumer search
Voice assistants like Siri and Alexa are becoming the preferred search tool for consumers. In response
to that, businesses will need to start adopting strategies to prepare for this shift in voice technology
reliance. One strategy we predict will be implemented across brands is Voice Engine Optimization,
which refers to a new content marketing strategy to provide these voice assistants with questions
and answers that consumers are frequently asking. Consumers crave convenience and the increased
reliance on voice technology devices will be forcing marketers to adopt this strategy and to think
locally.
This is how we see the shift unfolding in 2019: voice tech assistants will be even more humanized,
with new updates being made to fix common voice recognition errors that are common today. Once
these tools become easier to utilize, consumers will increase their search habits with voice tech
tools, with the domino effect of brands and marketers being forced to keep up. This must be done
through the optimization of content to continuously drive revenue and foot traffic into real stores.
With voice search, there is only one result instead of a page of 10 results, making it all that much
more competitive. VEO will be the secret weapon to stay ahead of this upcoming transition away
from typed and into voice search.
Collin Holmes
CEO and Founder
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