More People Go Mobile For Local

Posted on 03. Aug, 2010 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Internet Yellow Pages, Mobile

Excerpts from Search Engine Land “Locals Only” column last week -

A rapidly-increasing number of smartphone users — combined with faster mobile technology, better search offerings, and higher advertiser engagement  — suggests that consumers will be more likely than ever to begin using their phones as local search tools. New research released today provides some support to that argument, showing that the number of mobile subscribers turning to their devices to find local businesses is growing by double digit percentage points.

This is good news for Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs) and other local sites because it suggests the opportunity to reach more consumers is growing quickly. This high growth illustrates that as more consumers use mobile devices to search and access content, they are continuing to rely on Yellow Pages’ convenient and reliable business listings to help them find local businesses on-the-go.

So what do these results mean for advertisers?

The data shows that in addition to the benefits of advertising with IYPs to attract those searching for business information on their personal computers, local businesses are receiving added value in online listings being accessible to a growing number of mobile users.

The report provided additional contexts about the ways consumers reach business directories on their mobile device. According to comScore, the mobile browser was the most common access method for users, with 10.8 million subscribers in March 2010 and 21 percent year-over-year growth. But even as the browser remained the most used mobile feature for access, apps grew at a more rapid pace with 42 percent year-over-year growth, totaling 4.1 million subscribers in March 2010. These results indicate that IYP reach is not limited to a specific platform within the mobile category, but accessible to a broad range of mobile users.

The research also found that consumers accessing business directories via mobile represent a younger, wealthier, and content-hungry base to advertisers:

  • 58% are 34 or younger.
  • Over half of those have a household income in excess of $75,000.

These are attractive figures for local businesses seeking to better position themselves to attract local leads.

As local businesses look for new ways to maximize advertising opportunities in today’s changing media landscape, Yellow Pages continue to provide attractive platforms to reach important consumer bases as they increasingly adopt digital and mobile. And as this new study shows, an integrated approach pays offs when listings on one platform are easily accessible on others—giving advertisers added exposure and more bang for their buck.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Internet Yellow Pages, Mobile

iPhone, Android & Local – according to me…

Posted on 25. Jul, 2010 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Internet Yellow Pages, Maps, Mobile

I’ve finally broken my pesky iPhone addition – but it wasn’t easy. Multiple so-called “iPhone killer” devices have come and gone (and I have nothing against  my iPhone necessarily) but it wasn’t until last week that I found a worthy challenger. 

 My attraction to the newest Verizon-powered Android phone, the Motorola Droid X, are the well documented features; it’s processor speed, the larger screen, various Google app integrations, flash support and the calling network (I’ve really missed my superior Verizon coverage since moving to AT+T two years ago).

 As amazing as the iPhone is – my frustrations with AT&T call quality and connectivity left me no choice. Admittedly, I’ve also grown bored with it, so last week I decided to take the Droid X out for a 30 day “test drive” – and after just one  week I’ve gone ahead and ported my number away from AT&T and become a happy member of the growing Android family (which is adding 160,000 activations per-day). I’ve since learned that there are really very few (if any) sacrifices made in my switch (but I do miss my Citibank app, as well as my iTunes and email threads). As a matter of fact, certain features like widgets,  Google’s voice recognition, GPS navigation and multi-tasking are actually a great up-side. It’s definitely taken some getting used to, and the battery life is very poor, but overall I’m very happy. Yes, the iPhone is “elegant”, but my new Droid X just “works” better in many ways.

As this blog’s dedicated to the business of “local search”, here are some comments and observations from that perspective)… 

 Voice recognition software makes search on this device extremely easy; either via Google maps, my contacts, or the Internet. I can also dictate text or email message this way – and it’s surprisingly accurate. The software allows you to simply push the home button, tap on the “voice search” icon and speak; on my iPhone, I was forced to use an app that required cutting and pasting the text after I spoke (so I rarely used it) . This is a significant advantage and I’m shocked that Apple has not come up with a comparable solution yet.  

 One adjustment I’m still making involves the fact that everything works so differently, and I mean everything. Also, there are multiple ways to accomplish every task. Generally speaking, it’s much faster (not really a fair comparison as I was on the iPhone 3G).

Google maps, which has always been one of my most used mobile apps, has some different features; after a quick spoken request, your presented with business results that offer large icons for dialing, getting street-view, or spoken GPS navigation.

 The navigation itself is awesome, I’ve used in conjunction with my Tom Tom on several trips last week and it’s just as accurate. An added bonus – it speaks the name of the streets for my turns. It also has something called “layers”, which adds a number of other features to your journey including gas stations, restaurants, traffic, etc. Pretty cool.

Yelp is another application I use frequently.  As with Maps, the voice recognition software makes this app easier and faster to use.   

 IYP’s also operates a bit differently -  most Publishers offer widgets with voice-search. Yellowbook.com is one of the top app’s on Android, and offers extra features not available on the iPhone-like augmented reality, maps integration and an app called Adafixx. Adafixx brings an interesting angle to finding a local business by implementing caller i.d. and offering related business suggestions when busy numbers are reached. The advertiser videos on the Droid X screen are fantastic.

Google Googles if another application found exclusively on Android. Although I haven’t used it much yet, enables you to identify local stores or businesses simply by pointing your phone’s camera at the location. From there, you can tap on the picture to learn more about the business, contact them, or save it to your contacts. The impressive part is once you inside that business you can use the application to identify products, comparison shop or identify various product details. 

The iPhone initiated the local search shift to mobile  - but I think Android will finish the job.          

Click here to read a more complete review.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Internet Yellow Pages, Maps, Mobile

Happy Birthday Bing!

Posted on 14. Jul, 2010 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click

 

Now one-year old, Microsoft’s revamped search engine Bing has quickly secured an impressive share of the market. 

 In its first year, Microsoft managed to go from about 8 percent market share to 12.7 percent as of June, according to Comscore. That gain is significant, although the company spent a fortune to get there using both heavy advertising and pricey distribution deals that make Bing the search engine default on new PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and others. Our toolbar deals played a significant role in getting us users,” acknowledged senior vice president Satya Nadella.

Microsoft will release its first full-featured Bing search client for Android in the next six weeks, matching the search capabilities that Microsoft offers for the iPhone, company executives said Tuesday.

Mobile is clearly an opportunity for Bing’s future growth. Microsoft already offers a basic Bing client for Android, but it’s geared mainly toward mapping tasks. The new client will have features similar to those in the desktop version of Bing.com, including full Web, image and news search – look for it in about six weeks.

Clearly one big task for Nadella and team will be the integration with Yahoo under the search partnership reached last year. This fall, Microsoft is due to start supplying both algorithmic and paid search results for Yahoo’s site, though Nadella said that the companies are further along on the former than they are on the latter front.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click

Google Tags Now Available.

Posted on 14. Jun, 2010 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Mobile

The local search opportunity continues to grow – as does the user fragmentation and complexity. But for those “do it yourselfers” out there, this seems like a no-brainer…

For a flat monthly fee of $25, businesses can enhance their listings that appear on Google.com and Google Maps with a yellow tag that emphasizes specific information such as a coupon, video, website, menu, reservations, photos, or a custom message. With the continued growth of mobile search in paticular, this is certainly something that can benefit most local businesses; but as always - results should be tracked.

Google Tags Rolled Out Nationwide

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Mobile

Local Internet Marketing is Complicated!

Posted on 29. Mar, 2010 by in All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Business-to-Business, Classified Sites, Food & Dining, Health & Medicine, Home Services, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Internet Yellow Pages, Legal & Financial, Maps, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Professional Services, Real Estate, Recreation & Entertainment, Retail, Social Networking, Travel & Transportation

 

David Mihm’s illustration representing the “local search” relationships makes a great point: this business of local search marketing is complicated! 

In my experience, the typical local business owner doesn’t have the time or expertise to effectively manage online advertising investments - as illustrated in the recent Search Engine Land article ”Local Search Complexity = SMB Frustration“. 

Not only do you have numerous, complex supplier/directory relationships – but the continued fragmentation which is taking place keeps everyone on their toes! Search Engines,  social networking, blogs, directories and Internet Yellow Pages, mobile, vertical and hyper-local sites, etc., etc., etc.  Additionally, there are website design issues, analytics to keep up with, billing reconciliation, A/B testing, optimization and many other time-consuming elements.  Oh, and by the way – let’s not forget about the day job! It can be challenging, to say the least.

This is the primary reason so many third-party providers have jumped-into the game over the past several years – there is a void to fill; an overwelming demand to hand off this business of Internet marketing to a trusted advisor. Problem is: exactly who can you trust? The local SEO expert? Your website design guy? An out-of-work executive or moonlighting sales rep? The phone company, the local newspaper publisher, your tax software company?  All these characters are now in the game!

 
A word to the wise: be careful with whom you choose to work with! Here are a few quick tips:
  • Stick with a well-known firm. Check their history; how long have they been in the Internet marketing business? Is it one of their core competencies? 
  • Was the term “guarantee” used in their pitch? If so, run for the hills!  
  • Are they charging you for free services like Google Maps, or worse yet – taking “credit” for those leads/clicks? 
  • Is there a monthly recurring management fee? And if so, is it based on a percent of your overall budget? Hmmmm - could be a conflict of interest…
  • Are they willing to provide full transparency and reporting?
  • Are testimonials, references or case-studies from happy clients available?

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Business-to-Business, Classified Sites, Food & Dining, Health & Medicine, Home Services, Internet Yellow Pages, Legal & Financial, Maps, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Professional Services, Real Estate, Recreation & Entertainment, Retail, Social Networking, Travel & Transportation

If Your Local in Westchester – You Should be Mobile!

Posted on 06. Mar, 2010 by in All Local Search Posts, Mobile, Retail

 

Two weeks ago I found a local ski shop in Vermont for an “emergency repair” via my iPhone. A few days later I used the phone to confirm the location of a hotel in Massachusetts, and last week I found a local Cosi restaurant in Manhattan to grab a quick-lunch with a Client.

Every day, more and more consumers are upgrading their cell phones to Internet-connected devises and smart phones – and everyday more Consumers are using them as I do throughout the Westchester County, NY market. Currently, it’s estimated that 15% of all mobile searches contain a local modifier (city/state/zip code, etc). Google has even gone as far as saying that desktop p.c.’s will be irrelevant in three years!

Think about it: you always have your cell phone with you, and it’s always on. Those with smart phones are not only always “on”, but their “online” as well.  

According to The Kelsey Group’s Mobile Local Media Forecast (2008-2013),

  • the percentage of mobile searches that have local intent will increase from 28 percent in 2008 to 35 percent in 2013
  • there are currently 54.5 million mobile Internet users in the United States, which represents 25% of all online users

GPS units and Apple iPad-like devises will also drive mobile searches; so a local business’s ability to be “found” online is increasingly important. This mobile segment of Internet marketing represents a unique and significant opportunity – and businesses who’ve proactively positioned themselves to capture these local mobile searchers will benefit first.

The majority of this growth is being generated specifically by the iPhone – but I believe the numerous new models using Google’s Android mobile platform (Droid, G1, Eris, etc.) will potentially surpass the iPhones influence relatively quickly as they’re carrier agnostic (most major cell phone companies now carry at least one Android phone, the iPhone is limited to AT&T).  Regardless – “mobile” is where the local-search business is headed – so we’ve assembled some important factors and tips that every local business should consider…

  • According to comScore/TMP research (2008 vs. 2009), Google Maps and Yellowbook.com have both been the largest beneficiaries of this increase in mobile search:

Getting included is relatively simple: claim your local business listing on Google, and get on Yellowbook.com (which is also one of the most popular applications download on Android phones).

  • Create a mobile-friendly version of your website. This involves finding a good web developer to help you understand what can and should be done to your website to make it more mobile friendly. This usually involves creating alternate style sheets (“CSS”) for the mobile device so that your site content lays out differently for the small screen. Sometimes a completely different site is a better option. A “.mobi” version of your site makes sense when you have complicated content that needs to be displayed in a radically different way than is does on a traditional computer monitor.
  • Optimize your site for mobile/local search. This includes placing your primary geo (market/city) within your title tag, and your local phone number (not a toll-free) within your meta-description. Additional local SEO tips are posted here.
  • You’ll also want to be listed in as many local directories and databases as possible – they “power” local content across many hundreds of properties across the web. Here’s an easy way to get listed into many of them.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Maps, Mobile, Retail, Websites

New Google Local-Search Launched for Mobile.

Posted on 01. Oct, 2009 by in All Local Search Posts, Maps, Mobile

Yesterday, Google announced ”a redesigned local search experience on your phone that integrates with Google Maps on your computer and includes browseable categories that let you search without typing”. 

I’ve got an iPhone, and I’ll say that Google Maps is one of my single favorite mobile search tools – my only complaint is that like most other search engines, it still does not offer a a complete, accurate list of all businesses (like an IYP). I suspect that’s due to Google’s reliance on businesses proactively adding or claiming their local business listings.

Here’s more information on Google’s announcement:         

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_62nFjUW7Q&feature=player_embedded]

"Twitter 101" for Businesses.

Posted on 25. Jul, 2009 by in All Local Search Posts, Mobile, Social Networking

 

From Screenwerk.com:

Twitter released ”Twitter 101” – a kind of how-to and best practices guide for SMBs and brands. It’s very smart, timely and puts Twitter in context for those who might otherwise not understand it or its uses.

Read Twitter 101

An Warning for Local Businesses…

Posted on 07. Jul, 2009 by in All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Business-to-Business, Food & Dining, Health & Medicine, Home Services, Legal & Financial, Maps, Mobile

In the past several years, I’ve seen numerous scams and questionable Internet-related sales pitches aimed at local businesses. One of the more misleading in recent months revolves around Google Local Businesss Listings (Google Maps).

Of course, assisting a business in “claiming” their business listing may be considered a legitimate “service” – but as a stand-alone SEM solution it’s certainly not the only consideration. Far from it!

Considering the process takes about 10 minutes and is a free process provided by Google, it’s debatable exactly what this ”service” is worth. Unfortunately, many individuals and companies are now advertising this as something that requires payment. Most I’ve seen advertise a monthly recurring fee to be “included” in Google Maps, others charge a one-time “set-up fee”. They’re usually accompanied by a screen-shot of Google’s search results page. I’ve even seen an industry CMR advertising this service for $350! 

It’s this type of misleading abuse that makes the job harder for legitimate search marketers. It would be nice to see Google go after some of this stuff, if possible.

Other Google-related scams

Local Visibility Factors

Posted on 06. Jul, 2009 by in All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Business-to-Business, Classified Sites, Food & Dining, Health & Medicine, Home Services, Internet Yellow Pages, Legal & Financial, Maps, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Professional Services, Real Estate, Recreation & Entertainment, Retail, Social Networking, Travel & Transportation, Video, Websites

Back in “the day” a local business could turn on a  local phone number, place an ad in the local  telephone directory,  and start selling. Reaching the local “ready-to-buy” consumer was relatively easy.

Today, we live in a different world; many businesses are struggling to remain visible, they find the choices confusing and the requirements time consuming. 

To continue reaching both current customers as well as the new,  numerous factors need to be addressed. I recently downloaded a cool new iPhone application called “Simple Mind X” and started brainstorming. Here’s the result - it took about 10 minutes to create, and I think it sums-up the complexities of on-line visibility:

Your Online Visibility

Your On-line Visibility

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