HotHouse - Noise

January 15, 2008

The promise of local search

6 in 10 local business searchers went online first
And according to eMarketer, 6 in 10 local business searchers went online first. With Google serving about 4 billion searches in April 2007 or over 50% of the market share.

Of course, the biggest hurdle in realising the potential of local search is the content. And the future of local search has to involve creating content that isn't currently online. Basic business listings need to be expanded and enhanced.

Indeed one of the most important trends in local search is the use of user reviews - and with good reason. People like the opinions of their peers especially when they're looking to hire a tradesperson or when they want to eat out. What someone has to say about a restaurant's ambience carries a lot of weight. Customer satisfaction ratings and reviews will help quality-focused businesses differentiate themselves from their competition and increase their visibility in their local area.

And as local businesses start to build more content with low cost video and podcasts, so the local search experience will become more compelling.

On Yahoo! Local Search in the US, you can sort the local search results on the basis of user reviews. In fact sharing your opinions about businesses couldn't be easier.

Just a couple of months ago, Google started to allow users to add reviews to any business or location listed on Google Maps, thus providing the framework for a truly rich local search experience. More than just enhancing the information in a local listing, reviews are highly persuasive.

Local search experience will become more compelling
Indeed, user generated reviews, local search and social networking seem to be a match made in heaven.

US sites like Yelp, Sydney's RaveAboutIt and the UK's TrustedPlaces to name but three are attracting big crowds - indicating that the social networking/local search combination is helping to engage users around local content.

These sites give everyone the opportunity to review anything they like which has to be a good thing for both consumers and local businesses alike. And as Internet access becomes ubiquitous through wireless devices, the opportunity for local search with user reviews working together with mobile is very exciting, and potentially incredibly powerful.

Unsurprisingly, small businesses that are reluctant to dip their toes in the online marketing waters will miss out on significant business opportunities. Take the plumber who continues to pay for a listing in the local Yellow Pages and runs classified ads in the local newspaper, who is missing out on potential customers who, like most of the population, use online search first.

Wouldn't our plumber better use his dollars online by targeting his region at a micro-local level – and I'm talking about distinct neighbourhoods, not towns in the region? A customer undertaking a local search using Yellow Pages or a search engine may turn up plumbers in a 50km radius. A customer performing a micro-local search will find just those plumbers in their neighbourhood.

And of course if our plumber's listing is enriched with user reviews endorsing his level of professionalism etc - there's more of a chance that the search process will drive real leads and the ultimate transactions.

Big opportunity
In theory it's a no brainer, but I think what's clear is that there is a big job to do first in educating small businesses as to the opportunities, possibilities and ROI of online marketing.

Another element of local search that I find fascinating is how social networks are naturally delivering the local search function with of unfettered recommendations to boot.

As a case in point, I recently needed to have some cupboards built at home. The company I used last time were flat out with orders and said they couldn't promise delivery any earlier than 12 weeks. Now, I know these guys are good, but I really didn't want to wait for three months. So, to find alternative suppliers, my first instinct was to ask my friends…on Facebook. And three hearty recommendations, from people I trust came flying through. I contacted all three, got them to quote, selected one to do the job which was completed in less than six weeks. And it's perfect.

Using my social network to find quality trades professionals was a very natural thing to do. After all, we trust our friends' opinions more don't we??

Of course this scenario is highly random for small businesses, but there are opportunities for companies to usefully tap into the local nature of Facebook, to build their businesses and the power of the network.

Posted By Victoria Kerr @ 11:23 AM Permalink / Comments (0) / Trackbacks (0)

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