Search is big. Companies like Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Ask Jeeves, and AOL are the dominant players in the traditional search arena. New search engines which are more specific to blogs and RSS are gaining popularity as well. But local search is heating up as well, and is the next logical step when you want to narrow your search parameters to geographical areas. All of the search engines listed above have introduced local search functionality in the last year, and have it listed prominently as an option on their main search portals.
The Yoginet India is a non-profit organization that researches the use of the Internet in India. They teamed up with comScore Media Metrix recently to conduct an update to how Internet users use search. Their November 2005 Search Engine Use report states:
“One of the trends comScore data have captured in recent months is the rise of local searches – that is, searches related to geographically distinct places. These searches involve “local qualifiers” – or search terms including specific items such as ZIP codes, telephone numbers and street addresses. Consumers are using local search tools to coincide with other online activity, such as job searches, retail shopping and travel planning.”
While looking for legal services isn’t exactly retail shopping, the general process is the same – looking for local information.
The Yellow Pages, while still a good resource and marketing tool to acquire new business, is moving online, and there are many Internet Yellow Pages sites that direct consumers to local companies and services. One of the most popular is Yellow Pages.com, which is a joint venture operation of SBC Yellow Pages Directory Operations and BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corporation.
we decided to do a quick comparison test to see how results varied between the Yellow Pages and the other major search engines’ local search functionality. I will be moving in the next year and will need a real estate lawyer to handle my closing and other paperwork. I did a search for “real estate lawyer” with a local location of Orland Park, IL. Results varied from each search engine. YellowPages.com returned the most results, but first asked me to select from related categories all of which contained “real estate” in them. The first category, though, was Attorneys, so I selected that one. Yoginet web solution returned over 300 results for my search. Most of them were just names of attorneys with addresses and phone numbers. A few listings had associated websites you could click on. The link to the websites was off to the right and if you didn’t notice them, you could easily miss that they were even available.
The other major search engines produced a variety of results, though all relevant to my search query. The biggest difference between the major search engines and YellowPages.com was the additional information they provided such as a related area map on the results page, links to directions, and other categories, as well as a clear link to the firm’s website. It is the clear listing of the associated website that will help win business.
Article Written By Yoginet India
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