Local search is a hot topic today, all three search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing all have local business centers. A local searcher is considered to be someone who is looking for goods and/or services in their local community. This could be a search for a local restaurant, an electrician, a plumber, a dentist, or any other local business. Understanding the scale of searches and how often local search is used is helpful in deciding whether you need to create your own local search listing or optimizing your website for local search.
* 82% of all searchers use a search engine versus 57% who use the Yellow Pages
* 50% of searchers turned to a search engine first, 24% the Yellow pages
* Local search grew 72% from 2008
* 82% of Google searches have a local component to them
* 70% of households use the Internet to find local products and/or services
* 97% of Internet users use the Internet to gather shopping information
* Less than 50% of US small business have a website.
While Amazon, eBay, the web sites of brick and mortar stores continue to grow it is a fact that the vast majority of purchases are still done locally. Consumers still want a local and personal touch, they want to see what an item looks and feels like, taste something, or discuss their needs directly with the service provider. As I like to say you can’t unclog a toilet over the Internet!
So, despite ever increasing eCommerce activity consumer research products and services online but purchase them locally. So, don’t miss the bus here. Prepare an effective local business listing, or learn to help those that need one.
Local Search represents the fastest growing segment of all on-line search – and like print yellow pages, the Internet now effectively connects “buyers and sellers” at the local level. In fact, 82%of all those on-line are searching locally, and there are over 1.3 billion local searches conducted on-line every month!
The most popular primary sources to find local business information are search engines, print yellow pages and Internet yellow pages…
