Research from comScore indicates that growth in local search is outpacing overall online search. In 2008, the practice of using online search tools to find local businesses, products or services grew by 58%, reaching a total of 15.7 billion searches for the year.
While total online searches for the year reached 137 billion, the growth rate there was only 21% on a year-over-year basis. Local searches make up 12% of core searches on the top 5 online portals, comScore reports.
“Even if the searcher doesn’t know the company or brand they will ultimately give their business to, the decision to actually make a purchase has often already been made,” says Neg Norton, President of the Yellow Pages Association. “That is a strong argument for local merchants to develop and maintain an online profile, if they haven’t already done so.”