According to a 2008 ComScore study, there are six basic ways people will find a local business. Over three tenths of the people find local businesses through a search engine without a specific brand name in mind using a combination of words which best describe what they are looking for. For Example- “caterers in New York” In Internet marketing parlance, we refer to them as “long tail keywords” meaning that there are certain winning combinations of words and phrases that will haul in not only more traffic – but targeted traffic of those ready and willing to buy.

Not left behind is the good old way people find local businesses through is through the good old Yellow Pages or White Pages of the phone book. Well, you would say, if it so, what can Internet Marketing do for me? A closer look reveals that there is an evolution of Internet based phone integration and there are a couple of big players dominating the marketplaces like- superpages.com, switchboard.com and many more eyeing this share of the local search market which grows by the day. The list doesn’t end there. For every industry similar internet phone integration has been happening and they have been mushrooming keeping in mind the growing share of the search pie.

Local Search trends strongly indicate that it is important to ensure that your business is listed on all the most important, industry-relevant directories and optimizing your web copy and website to attract local buyers as the last leg of the local search comes from Google Maps, Yahoo Local Search, Business Directories, Social Media sites among others. The trends indicate that Local search will be one of the big Internet marketing focuses for 2009, particularly in the travel and real estate sectors.

It is time to call the internet marketing experts and ensure that your website makes the right buzz to people who are looking for your business and are willing to buy. The important question is -Are you ready to welcome them in or watch them pass by?

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