Putting Local Retailers to the Web Test
A round-up of recent articles about the challenges local businesses are facing as they move online:
Posted by Universal Ad
- Putting Local Businesses to the Web Test - With increasing frequency, customers looking for local services are
turning to consumer review Web sites to guide their decisions,
according to recent comScore research. "I think as folks are becoming
more aware of how they have a power associated with their comments,
they're becoming interrelated out there in the community.
- Online Lead Generation Evolves For The Local Market - Today, 63% of consumers primarily search for
local businesses online -- shifting search queries away from the Yellow
Pages; this is up from 44% in 2005. Changes in consumer search
behavior have unleashed a torrent of ad spend migration from offline
yellow pages to online. Simultaneously, we are witnessing a similar
evolution in marketing and lead generation practices that benefit
consumers and local merchants equally.
- Local Searchers Hunt for Ideas, Not Categories - People from different age groups and regions of the country searching
for the same thing will undoubtedly use different search terms. This
highlights the importance of well-structured, organized content. As more local businesses tap into local search advertising, the stakes
will rise, as will the competition for keywords as opposed to
categories. The same time and resources must go into analyzing local
business listings as currently do for many other online marketing
aspects.
- Local Online Ad Spending Predicted To Surge In 2008 - Local online ad spending will surge 48% in 2008 to $12.6 billion, buoyed by demand for paid search and video advertising, according to a new study. Spending on local search alone is expected to double to $5 billion,
while online video will triple to $1.3 billion. Despite predictions of an economic
slowdown next year, the firm's forecast for 2008 exceeds the estimated
44% growth for local media in 2007.
-
Local Search: The Rodney Dangerfield of Online Marketing - Most people still think of local advertising as the local results on
the first or second page at Yahoo or Yellowpages.com. These sites are
top of mind and certainly represent the lion's share of today's local
search market. But it's a very limited view of what local search is and
what it will be in the near future.
- Users to Have Big Role in Web Ad Play - User-generated
content, particularly the growing proliferation of user reviews of
businesses on the Web, are set to play a more major role for local
online advertising. Additionally, local businesses are expected to begin to interact more directly with consumers
who frequently post comments and reviews on local Web sites through a
series of new interactive tools.
Posted by Universal Ad
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