I recently asked the question to a few small businesses and clients that I’m close with around the country… How effective has Local Search been for your business.  The answers that I’ve been given have been all across the board, some good, some bad but more over what most people say to me is “we don’t use it at all” 

For the businesses that use local search as part of their Internet strategies, you get it… but for the latter, I find this to be fascinating. Let’s look at a few facts about local search and how consumers are online today.

92% of all people are online today and let’s face it, the Internet has become our lifes, both personally and professionally.

97% of people with online access will research products and services online before they buy – we still like to buy from the bricks and motars. 
Interesting enough, 35% of all searches are done with an intent to buy.
and 55% of all local searches are done with an intent to buy.
Of all local searches, 8 out of 10 call or visit a store and 60% of those result in a purchase of some kind.
Times are rapidly changing and traditional advertising mediums are losing their effectiveness.

The internet has changed the way the world communicates, gathers, stores and sends information. However, this global connection has created a problem for the local business in their local markets. Why? Traditional print advertising has become less effective.  Most people have thrown their Yellow Pages away and search online instead and Newspaper’s readership is down over 50% and many papers are declaring bankruptcy.

On the other side of local business and local search is big business. It’s true that search results in general are dominated by large companies. That is proven to be true with Local search as well. The big guys understand that us consumers are smart and we’re looking everywhere for the best deals, including using local search engines.

Business owners reading this post, I hope by now you are reading all there is to read about search, search engine marketing, blogging and anything else related to getting you better exposure with your online presence. We’re doping everyday and we’re a small business just like you!

Well it’s really not rocket science, maybe one needs to understand the propulsion portion of rocket science in order to understand local search. Local search is about being in the right place at the right time when someone is looking for what you are selling. Here is an interesting fact about how consumers are searching today…

Research shows that 85% of all consumers go online to research whatever it is they want to buy before they decide on where or who they are going to buy it from. The recent Cash for Clunkers is a testiment of this. 85% of consumers who participated in the government funded Cash for Clunkers had already made their decision on what car they wanted, the color, and from whom they were going to buy it from before they walked into that dealership. In other words, they searched online and made their decision based on what they found via search.

Who benefited from this process? I’ll tell you who benefited… it was the local car dealers who made the investment to use local search as part of their strategy. And I don’t just mean Google or Yahoo, these smart marketers also use local search as part of their complete online marketing strategies. Here is a great example of local car dealers using local search in San Antonio, TX.

The thing I like about this site is the listing page for the premium advertisers – this is there exact listing, one that demands respect within the search business.

My point is, you must be using local search as part of your strategies, if not you are missing out on some great opportunity for your business.

Which brings me to why I’m writing about MyLocalLookup.com. WhattheYahoogle has formed a partnership with mylocallookup in order to provide our readers a great tool to find local businesses. In addition, we want to add that you can now get your bsuiness featured with a Jet Package for 75% off the annual subscriptions rate. Simple type in the code “Yahoogle” to receive your 75% off at check out.

This is a great opportunity for small businesses who want to get involved more search engine marketing but don’t have the budget to afford the big guys. With this discount, the cost is $25.00 a month and can be cancelled anytime.

As our friends at Growmap wrote a few weeks ago, MyLocalLookup is the only local search engine promoted in 44 TV markets across the country. They have built a unique startegy partnering with TV stations and offering great solutions on a local level. If you haven’t already checked out MyLocalLookup and their TV commercials, you can view their TV commercials here.

SEM (Seaarch Engine Marketing) is a term all of us need to get use to and an action we all need to take. Give your business every opportunity to be found when a customer is looking for you and you accomplish this through SEM.

Business owners… It’s time take control of your business. Get involved with local search, hire someone to help you with SEM, be a part of the Social Networking opportunities. If you don’t have the time, let us know, we can direct you to the right company.