Internet takes 61% of Local Business Searches
The proof is outside near my mailbox, where not one, but two sets of freshly printed Yellow Pages and White Pages for both me and my immediate next door neighbor sit, where they’ve been for three weeks, still wrapped, on top of the mailboxes…
According to a recent study, print Yellow pages now power fewer local searches than Internet Search Engines. The study, which is the second annual Local Search Consumer Usage Research Study conducted by comScore, showed printed Yellow Pages with 33% of local search in 2007, with search engines on the internet claiming 30% of the workload. For 2008 the balance shifted with 31% using Internet search engines compared to 30% using printed directories. About 30% of local business searchers in general were reported to spend the vast majority of their time searching for local businesses online instead of offline, up from 26% in 2007.
A corollary statistic is that 1 out of 5 shoppers with a standard cell phone have conducted a local search via the mobile Web, while two-thirds of respondents with Wi-Fi-enabled devices have conducted a search.
The increased usage of mobile web is causing a shift from the main-stay directories to online resources. Here’s the study results chart that indicates that overall, internet-based resources have already claimed over 60% of local search.
Online Resources Total 61%
Gregg Stewart, SVP of Interactive with TMP Directional Marketing, was quoted as saying,
our 2008 study again confirms that consumers do a majority of research online, but continue to make purchases offline with a phone call or in-store visit. In addition, marketers need to pay close attention to mobile search and sites that offer consumer user reviews, as they are growing in popularity.”
Someone perhaps should remind Gregg Stewart that “research” might actually be done on a SmartPhone by someone who is already in the same neighborhood as the business they searching for, someone who just moved there, or someone who just discovered their favorite restaurant has an hour and 15-minute wait and they are hungry. He makes it sound like people are sitting at a computer, then running to jump in their cars. I doubt that’s the case.
Sorry, ouija has no special extra insight.
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