I found a recent blogpost titled “Local Search Means Business” and it really stuck with me as I thought about what that means. After re-running the title through my head several times, I realized that I totally, 100 percent agree. When local search queries are conducted, people tend to be more engaged and further down in the “buying cycle.” With more generic searches, people are more likely to be conducting initial research and still have some more searching and drilling down to do before they actually purchase.

Our friends at Comscore released a study by the Yellow Pages Association that basically said that local search has grown much more over the past year than regular searches. Local search has grown 58% in 2008 while the regular core searches only grew 21%.

With the statistics pulled from the Comscore study, it was concluded that:

• Shoppers Want Convenience. This correlates with the fast-paced environment we live in today. People want things when they want them and often times do not have the time to actually go out and look. Local search tends to help guide people in the right direction with less trial and error.
• Local Search Means Business. As the title indicated, most people when doing a local search are not just browsing, but are more than likely ready to close the deal.
• As Local Search Grows, so too will the demand for local business information. This is so true. People really expect for businesses’ local information to be available and if it is available, they expect it to be accurate. As time progresses, more and more attention will be given to local business listings and accuracy.

All of this tells us that local search, although already very important, will continue to grow. The Comscore information tells us that any business that has not invested in local search is missing out. Better qualified traffic, more conversions, what more could you ask for? Plain and simple, if you are a local business, local search is a must.