Local
Search Marketing by Enrique De
Argaez - webmaster
A couple of months back local
search was considered an important and powerful driver for the
paid search market in a very interesting article by Greg
Sterling, Managing
Editor of The Kelsey Group and local search expert. He mentioned
a "mixed message" about search engine marketing out there in the
Internet. One message was that paid search growth was starting to
slow as the market "matured." The other version was diametrically
opposed and stated that search was still in its early adolescence
and was going through growing pains, to extend the
metaphor.
The following article is a
comparison between the reference article and a look at local
search evolution today. Greg's complete original article can be
found in the Searchenginewatch.com website, further information and stats on local search
marketing may be found at www.sempo.org.
Consumer Local Search Usage Is
Growing
At a high level there were two
principal barriers to SME adoption of geotarged search engine
marketing: the perceived lack of local search usage and the
complexity of campaign set up and management. Both of those
issues have now been addressed—at least in part—and
the way is cleared for growth in both consumer and local
advertiser adoption, according to Greg Sterling.
Paid search however needs to
tap the small business marketplace to fully realize its
potential. The central problem is attracting local advertisers to
the search marketing arena. Right now it's like a "chicken and
egg problem" — not enough local traffic to attract
advertisers and not enough local advertising content to attract
users. However, data from two rounds of Kelsey Group-BizRate.com
consumer surveys, as well as from Nielsen and comScore, show that
awareness and usage of local search is growing.
New Kelsey Group-BizRate.com
data from a survey of 3,887 online
consumers, conducted in early September/2004, on a broad range of
shopping and search-related topics revealed the
following:
* More than 74 percent of
survey respondents said that they had conducted local
searches
* Among local search users, 27
percent of their total search behavior is for local
information
* Approximately 45 percent of
local searches had a buying intent
* The survey also found that 20
percent of all searches among this population are
local
By contrast, Nielsen//NetRatings found, in July/2004, that 24.4 percent of
searches were local. comScore found, in February, that 61 percent of Internet
users conduct local searches, but that local search constitutes 6
percent of total search activity.
Regardless of whose numbers you
accept, Sterling points out, consumers' use of the Internet (and
search engines in particular) to find local information is
growing. That will only continue as search engines add and refine
local offerings for consumers. This is now extensive in the three
main search engines that exhibit much activity around local
search, and many other websites that have embraced local search
in their 2005 strategies.
SMEs Now Get
It—Conceptually
In one broad sense, states Greg
Sterling, the growth associated with local search is simply a
reflection of the growth and usage of search engines and, beyond
that, the rise of the Internet as a daily utility in people's
lives—at least for the broadband set. SMEs are themselves
Internet users and are very much aware, if only anecdotally, of
the fact that more and more of their customers are online and
searching as a way to find products and services is often in the
local area.
However there's a gap between
this recognition—and even what might be considered a pent
up demand for access to online marketing channels—and SME
behavior. As mentioned, they haven't boosted or shifted their ad
dollars commensurate with their desire to be in front of online
consumers.
Kelsey Group-ConStat SME
advertising data from June 2004
reflects a 10 percent jump from the same time last year in the
perception of the Internet as an important marketing medium.
Simultaneously, however, the percentage of SMEs using the
Internet as an alternative to traditional media was flat versus
last year.
The second barrier to small
business adoption of online marketing and search is a little bit
of complexity and confusion. Setting up an effective search
campaign takes time. There's obviously a learning curve. And that
doesn't even get into provisioning a campaign across multiple
paid search networks. Even if you're committed to figuring it
out, there's potential for confusion and frustration.
In recent research to measure
the understanding of online advertising, TKG asked 500 SMEs to
rate themselves on a 10-point scale according to their grasp of
Internet marketing. Almost 60 percent indicated fairly high
levels of confusion about online advertising.
There's tremendous inertia
among small businesses and most don't have the time, as a
practical matter, to learn about search. SMEs want to be in front
of online consumers. But the search engines haven't done a
particularly good job of educating SMEs, although they are
starting to make much more of an effort. In fairness, this is
partly because they don't have a channel into the local market.
But that is now changing, courtesy of yellow pages and
others.
Local Search versus Yellow
Pages
Yellow pages and city guide
listings offers to put your business in front of more than 30
million people every month, this is local search right in your
own Internet backyard! Whether they're searching for a printing
company, a restaurant, or a daycare center, more and more people
are turning to the online yellow pages and city directories for
products and services from local providers. Take a look and try
your own local search on Yellow Pages here.
An extensive Local Search Guide is available online, sponsored by the Yellow Pages
Association, along with supporting partners comScore, SEMPO
(Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) and The
Kelsey Group.
But there are new options for
local search, Google Local
Search beta is here,
for finding local businesses and services on the web. Google
Local locates neighborhood stores and services by searching
billions of pages across the Web, then cross-checking those
results with Yellow Pages data to pinpoint the local
resources you want to find. This innovative approach gives you
access to the most – and most relevant – results for
your search.
To use Google Local Search,
just include a zip code or the name of a town or city (in the
United States), with your regular search terms at Google Local Search. Your local results will appear at the top of the
results page. You can also go directly to the Google Local home
page to view only local results, see results on an area map, or
limit your results to listings within a set distance from your
starting point. For Local Search in Canada, use the Google Canada
search engine. For local address
search and driving directions, Google offers Google Maps.
Yahoo is also featuring Local Search in 2005, together
with local maps
that show traffic information for
most cities across the United States. See your results
graphically in Yahoo that offers an innovative way to view your
search results. Click on the "View Results on Map" icon at the
top of your search page. Rather than simply seeing your results
in the traditional list format, you'll see them graphically and
in relation to each other on one map.
In MSN Search a separate "Near Me" button restricts your search to your
local area. MSN determines your location based on the IP number
of your computer or connection or your MSN country/region
setting. MSN Local Search works in close relationship with
City Guides. Choose "Near Me" when searching and MSN Search will
deliver results that are geographically close to you with just
one click. No login or personal settings required.
Last but not least, Amazon is also into Local Search with its A9 Search Engine that brings Yellow Pages to
life by adding 20 million images. Using trucks equipped with
digital cameras, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, and
proprietary software and hardware, A9.com drove tens of thousands
of miles capturing images and matching them with businesses and
the way they look from each street.
Small Businesses Can Now Invest in
Local Search
New companies are being created
to help small business to establish successful Local Search
marketing campaigns. One of these companies is ReachLocal that is working with hundreds of small to midsize
businesses on targeted local campaigns. Its technology provides
local businesses with prominent placement in local search results
while limiting the display of the ads to users living within
designated geographic areas.
Although this list is far from complete, this article should
provide you with some basic guidelines to assist you in
developing a successful understanding of the current status of
the local search online marketing business.
About the Author: Enrique De Argaez
is the webmaster of the "Internet World Stats" website. Since 2000 he has been
collecting Internet Usage Statistics, and publishing statistics
for over 233 countries and regions of the world for free use by
the academia, the global business community and the general
public. For Internet usage and world population data, please
visit the page: www.InternetWorldStats.com/stats.htm
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