Notes and Data on Local Search Technology
Each day sees more and more local searches conducted. Yahoo estimates their local searches have grown by 76% in 12 months.
This spike in use is partly due to users becoming more skilled at using local search to find exactly what they want. Search logs are revealing users are using more modifiers or attributes to describe more specifically what they want. And they are finding it.
All of this is resulting in a huge fragmentation of the Internet from global to local to niche and hyper-niche. These local niche sites or "tail sites" are popping up to meet consumer's demands for more information on local markets.
Additionally more searches are being done per individual. Yahoo reports their user logs show average user local queries up from eight to twelve per month. These statistics are showing that users are finding what they are locally searching for.
The good news for local business is that they can now market in areas outside of their immediate location. The bad news is outside competitors can do the same thing to them.
Users are using local search to find content that is relative and meaningful to them at that particular moment. This presents great publishing opportunities for promoting local events, products and services.
One of the ways this is accomplished is by creating promotional campaigns looking for ways in which the user can compliment an online experience with an in-store experience; or virtual experience versus real experience. This double barrel approach using both real and virtual appears to be the current hot ticket.
It's called ROBO: Research Online, Buy Offline and it's a tsunami. The trends are also showing the research online leads directly to an onsite office or store visit. On high consideration items like cars, fully 89% of all buyers research online before making their purchase.
While only 10% of actual purchases are made online; 90% are still made offline. Still, that 10% is $500 Billion dollars.
Small retail merchants are complaining about a major threat to their businesses: BORO. Customers will come into their stores to see and feel a product and then home to their computers and buy it online.
Comments
Great stats, thanks for the info!
Posted by: Local Search | July 28, 2008 10:44 AM