Consumers are increasingly turning to specific local search sites to find information about nearby companies, a new report from Local Search Insider suggests.
As of March 2011, local searches account for 13 percent of all queries. The total number of local searches conducted jumped 15 percent in 2010, with more than 5.6 billion local searches.
The Internet Yellow Pages is the most commonly used local search engine, with the majority of consumers leveraging the site when looking for specific products or services or trying to find contact information. IYP remains the most popular due to its strong brand recognition, but also because of its speed and accuracy, the report notes.
Local searches performed through mobile devices have also grown. In January, 77.1 million mobile subscribers accessed local content. This number is up 34 percent year-over-year. The majority of local searches are done through mobile web browsers (73 percent), confirming Brafton’s earlier report that local SEO and mobile marketing are becoming intertwined.
Local Search Insider’s report highlights the importance of leveraging area-specific content to generate clicks and website traffic. A separate report from Chitika indicates local SEO may be even more paramount when businesses are targeting consumers living in cities with smaller population densities, as residents of these regions perform more local searches.
