Prioritize your web marketing efforts by understanding who looks where!

Posted: Oct 27, 2011
Author: WordJack Media

I just finished readying this interesting article on search engine land about a study of consmer preferences for searching for a local business online and on mobile devices. The key points of the article included:

1.       The bulk (59%) of survey respondents indicated that they would start at a search engine when researching local businesses (this number was over 80% for people under 35)

2.       Less than 10% of people say they visit the merchant’s site before visiting/contacting

3.       On mobile devices, both these numbers are significantly lower – only 17% base their decision on a search engine, and only 8% rely on merchant websites.  

4.       So what grows in popularity for Mobile search? Reviews! 15% rely on review sites (like yelp) to make a purchase decision.

5.       Most people indicated they would search for a business local to them (only 20% indicated they would travel over 30 miles)

So what can we learn from this as internet marketers and people trying to promote our businesses to a local audience? And what is missing from the information in this study?

1.       The first point to make is that if I had a couple of hours to optimize my business presence for mobile users, I would start with local search optimization and gaining reviews for my business. I would not try to create a mobile optimized site! (with some exceptions – read on!)

2.       Missing info part 1: What types of businesses are searched using mobile devices? From my experience in the local search industry, over 75% of local business search is for pizza, taxis, restaurants, coffee, bars, movies, and some “need it now” services (car repair, vet, hospital). So it’s valid to keep in mind how relevant this is to the service you are marketing.

3.       Missing info part 2: What about social media? We all know a large group of mobile users make decisions based on their experiences in social media. This could mean a wall post from a friend, a word of mouth referral or a check-in on facebook or foursquare. But I know these break the traditional definitions of “local search”, so it’s possible these things are not captured in a study like this. Again, a point to underscore the value of social media in web marketing

4.       When trying to get customers from local search (those on desktops, not just mobile), some kind of local search optimization effort is critical. This is especially true if you’re targeting local customers. So I would always ensure a Google places page is claimed, optimized and well-reviewed. Then I would start working on the other large local search places to ensure the business data is consistent, accurate and professional there too!

What do you think? Any other key learning’s for web marketers from this study?