 Summary:
Growth of local internet marketing and
opportunity for small business website
owners.
This
year’s Search Engine Marketing
Convention in New York drew thousands of
attendees eager to hear the latest news
in online search, one of the hottest
topics in marketing today. Why is it so
hot? Consider this simple statistic: at
the forum on local search marketing, the
combined value of U.S. sales driven by
the various search engines represented
on the panel was estimated to be $40
billion annually. The estimate may be
wildly innaccurate, but whatever the
true figure is, one thing is certain: it
isn’t pocket change. It’s big, big
business.
The general consensus at the convention
held that local search (a term that
actually covers more than just search
engines) is the big prize for companies
seeking a portion of the dollars that
are increasingly expected to be spent by
both national and local advertisers
aiming at local markets.
The reason that companies large and
small are salivating at the prospect of
these local online ad dollars is that
consumers are increasingly using the
Internet to search for local goods and
services. In that sense, consumers are
leading the charge in this new direction
– the search engine and directory
companies are trying to catch up with
what is already an established trend.
One often quoted statistic, courtesty of
Yahoo (who, with their amazing database
resources ought to know) is that at
least 30% of all searches in a given
month are for local goods and services.
What’s more, the trend is increasing.
It’s easy to understand why consumers
are searching this way – the Internet as
a medium is inherently more capable of
serving up extensive, and often
interactive data in response to a query
than any other media.
At this point in the development of the
Internet, it’s unclear how the online
marketing messages of millions of local
businesses will be served up to the end
user. Currently, most small businesses
do not even have a web presence to which
consumers can be directed. Then there is
the question of directory versus search
– how will the consumer look for the
information, how will it be delivered,
and most importantly, what will it cost
the advertiser? Today, a number of
different models are competing in a race
to offer the best model both from the
view of the advertiser and the view of
the end user. Google is beta testing a
search method that serves up local
results, which will of course tie in
with Google’s Adwords program (paid
little box ads next to search results).
Yahoo is blurring the lines with their
new offering, which is a “paid
inclusion” model that then ranks a site
based on relevancy, and, as if that were
not complicated enough, blends it with a
“pay per click” model. Verizon is
unveiling similar “blended” strategies
through their Superpages directory, and
other players are rushing to market with
their plans and programs.
What to do while the major players sort
out the field? If you are a website
owner with a local focus, now is the
time to start getting familiar with the
new opportunities: check out Yahoo’s new
“paid inclusion” program (offered via
Overture); Citysearch is worth a look;
Google is beta testing a local version
of Ad Words; and the Internet Yellow
Pages from Yahoo and Verizon are both
worth evaluating. And don’t forget to
optimize your site for search, through
appropriate use of keywords plus
geographic modifiers. Beyond the website
owner, the boom in local search affects
anyone involved in local commerce.
Whatever your role, it’s important to be
aware that an economic sea change is
taking place. Remember that consumers
make most of their purchases within 50
miles of home. Like politics, most
business is local. Any major change in
how consumers shop for those purchases
is an important economic event.
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