Let's face it, not all businesses operate on a nationwide scale, and although the internet has certainly "shrunken" the world we live in, in reality your ability to reach out and touch the customers in your proverbial backyard can sometimes spell the difference between a successful or failed online marketing campaign. According to Kevin Newcomb in his post entitled - The Local Search Landscape
"Local search, and local online media in general, is one of the hottest topics in the industry right now. Analysts are falling over themselves to predict just how many billions of dollars in revenue local will represent in five years. New local advertising options seem to appear every day from a major search engine, specialty local search engine or local city guide, yellow pages provider, or local newspaper. "
Marchex has just released a report that examines some of the opportunities in local search Some of the conclusions they reached are as follows:
• Companies wishing to have large-scale success in local search will need to own a critical mass of local traffic and a critical mass of local advertisers, either directly or through partnerships.
• They will also need to provide comprehensive content and information across business listings and all locales, making it just as easy for consumers to find the perfect plumber in Poughkeepsie as it is to find the perfect hotel in New York City.
• Local search providers will have to offer a variety of products and services at scale for SMB advertisers. While the bulk of local advertisers will not self-provision, they will become more sophisticated about local search and will require similar products and services to national advertisers, including analytics and services such as pay-per-call (this topic will be examined further in a report on selling search-based advertising, to be released later this week).
What we are finding out is that increasingly people are using the internet for local searches more than other applications (except email). Bill Day who used to be the COO of About.com and is now Chief Media Officer for Marchex writes extensively on Local Search Finally Living Up To Its Promise where he shares some of his thoughts on the Marchex findings -- specifically:
- The consensus is that local online advertising revenue is expected to grow five times to more than $25 billion per year within ten years.
- No one has really yet created a truly comprehensive local information portal. This frankly is surprising as the opportunity is so large.
- Plenty of companies are scrambling to harness different segments of this still emerging market, whether industry giants like Google and Yahoo!, directories like YellowPages.com, or more niche focused players, such as Judy's Book. Despite everything that's been under development in the local online space, I am convinced that the best days for local search and online advertising are clearly yet to come.
All arrows point to the need to think micro as well as macro when it comes to your search optimization efforts. Depending on the type of business you operate, focusing on localizing your campaign may prove beneficial and more strategic in the long run.
Next Up: Local Search 101 Where to Start
