The Future of Local Search
Mary Bowling | 11 October 2006 |
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The Search Engines are committed to fully integrating Local Search into the regular Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Searchers don’t care if a search is “local” or not. They just want good, useful information about how to find a solution to their problem. The Search Engines are currently working to determine when a searcher’s intent is local and delivering appropriate results. At this point in the evolution, that usually depends upon what the searcher is asking for.
Searches for ATMs, for example, are almost always made with local intent. This person wants to know where he or she can find a nearby ATM machine to visit and get some cash. Grocery stores, barbershops, oil changes, etc. are other examples of products and service searches that the SE’s are interpreting to be almost completely “local” in nature.
Local Search is extremely social
User generated content (UGC) in the form of recommendations, ratings and reviews are exactly what people want to see when they make a Local Search. The amount of information available to people online is overwhelming. Therefore, they look for help in making their buying decisions and want to see what others in their community have to say about a business.
The Search Engines are rapidly creating tools that enable communities to share, interact and make their opinions and experiences available to others. You should participate by becoming a valued member of online communities without trying to manipulate them.
Local Search is part of the on-going personalization of search
The physical location of a searcher gives the Search Engines a powerful way to help customize the results for her or him. Local Search algorithms will depend upon distance (from the searcher), content and ratings. The item being searched for will determine the significance of these factors.
Although it is not yet widely used, technology already exists that allows your location to be pinpointed through WiFi hot-spot mapping and triangulation. As this takes hold, the Search Engines will be able to deliver micro-local results to your laptop, cell phone and other mobile devices.
Imagine having a discount coupon for a latte delivered to you via your cell phone as you walk by a Starbucks, or driving to work and being able to see on your car’s GPS which gas stations along your route have the lowest prices. The realization of these possibilities is not as far out into the future as most of us might think.
Local Search is all about information
Marketers must give the Local Search Engines the information they need to decide if pages contain what is being sought. The trend is to use business profile information as a basis for Local Search results and to use what Search Engine spiders find while crawling the net to verify and augment it.
Put accurate, standardized data on your web pages regarding your location. Be certain to include your zip code and a phone number with the area code, not just a toll-free number. It also helps to tell what is nearby and give directions to your location. This gives the Search Engines valuable clues as to where you fit into your local landscape.
As people get closer to buying, their searches become much more specific, so write about exactly what you do and sell - the brands and models you carry and the services you offer. For a hotel, for instance, specify every type of room you offer and all of your amenities. Then, when someone searches for “new york hotel with massage”, “hotel pool LAX” or “king bed + microwave + new Orleans”, you have a better chance of being found.
Local Search enables buying your way to the top of the page
Pay-per-click and pay-for-placement advertising is alive and thriving on the Local Search platforms. Familiar forms of online advertising are available through Google, Yahoo and MSN and can usually be managed painlessly from within your established accounts. Superpages, City Search and other locally focused portals and directories also offer paid ad and listing-enhancement opportunities.
Mobile Search is the ultimate Local Search
Mobile Search is poised to become the ultimate convergence of personalized, localized, socially influenced search. The Mobile Search market is very fragmented. How it will take hold and who will control it is unknown, but the marketplace is most definitely being driven by monetization and alliances between the Search Engines, the communications networks and the cell phone manufacturers.
The future of Local Search is now
As with most opportunities, the early adopters will disproportionately reap the rewards of establishing a powerful presence in both Local Search and Mobile Search. Don’t wait to jump on the bandwagon. Instead, hop aboard, grab the reins, and drive yourself into the future of Local Search.
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