The Year for Local Internet Marketing

Is this the year for local Internet marketing? What seemed to be a medium that was only for the corporate giants quickly blossomed into a web for the local business.

This year in particular has more opportunity for local small businesses than ever before with prices ranging from literally twenty bucks to thousands of dollars. The best part about it is that the industry shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Local Search Engine Advertising Overview & Statistics
As one of the most popular ways to attract local audiences, local search engine advertising is expected to reach $987 million in 2006 and double that in 2007 according to a study by Borrell Associates.

A study conducted by the Kelsey Group in January of 2006 estimates 350,000 companies participate in pay per click advertising (Define), while a whopping 7 million companies advertise in the Yellow Pages. In addition, The Kelsey Group also estimated back in 2004 that 70 percent of households search for local products and services online, while those that perform local searches, 27 percent of their total search behavior is for local information.

As the above statistics illustrate, it comes to no surprise why local search advertising is heating up. Most of the major search engines now offer multiple solutions for local targeting in addition to their core search offerings such as:

• Google
  By far the largest search giant, Google offers local businesses multiple ways to attract prospects regionally. Just recently, Google released a new way to target local businesses through its already popular Adwords Network (which can also target locally) called Local Business Ads. This new addition is an expansion to Google's already popular local search portal, which listings can be obtained forFree for those whom would like to be included.
• Yahoo!
  As one of the earliest adopters of local search, Yahoo!, which claims has the largest market share of any local search property, also offers several opportunities for businesses wishing to attract local audiences. Local Sponsored Search like Adwords, offers businesses first-rate exposure on the front page of Yahoo! and its large network of partnering sites. In addition, Yahoo also offers several listing options (including a free one) to be included in its increasing popular local search portal.
• MSN
  As a latecomer to the search technology scene, Microsoft's MSN has devoted heavy resources in improving its search capabilities. Within the last year, MSN broke away from Inktomi and Looksmart to develop is very own search engine technology in-house. And if that wasn't enough, MSN also launched its adCenter to combat the ever increasing popularity of Google's Adwords and Yahoo!'s Sponsored search.

But is it too little to late? Not a chance! MSN's adCenter has raised the stakes with its new selective targeting abilities including audience demographics. In addition, MSN now supports a free local search option right from the home page.

MSN's local search (currently in beta) compiles results from local white pages, yellow pages, Microsoft MapPoint, and aerial images from TerraServer-USA. Unfortunately, there is no direct submit option, however if your business is listed within InfoUSA or Axicom, your business listing will likely be found by MSN's search bot.

The Pay Per Call Advertising Push
As a newcomer to the whole advertising scene, pay per call advertising is making its way on the local advertising charts. Although its adoption has been slow to take, many of the major search properties including the big three (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) are taking a hard look at its utility to capture more local business market share.

Unlike most online advertising models, companies that don't even have a website can advertise in pay per call cyberspace for as little as $2.00 for a targeted phone call lead.� In addition, most businesses agree that phone calls certainly carry a unique ability to offer a higher chance for conversion. In fact, one case study demonstrated that the average close rate of 14 days per click is significantly shorted by one day per call.

So what's causing the slow adoption� In short, it could be best described by its distribution. According to an interview conducted by Hollis Thomases (a well respected search authority) and Ross Weinstein, director of business development at Ingenio's Pay Per Call services, Weinstein commented, "Our biggest complaint is the volume of calls." However, Weinstein also stated that for local businesses offering services, local search can be "one more arrow in the quiver."

• Pay Per Call Networks
  Ingenio- one of the largest pay per call networks that distributes results through AOL Search, AOL Yellow Pages, Miva, Local.com, and other leading search and online directory sites.
• eStara's- powering SuperPages.com and Amazon's A9, eStara brings with it a new twist to the traditional pay per call business model called "Click to Call." Web users are shown a web icon that can be clicked on to talk directly with a representative via your computer or have the representative contact you.
• Jambo- new to the pay per call scene but growing, Jambo offers attractive pricing and content distributed by InfoSpace and other online directories.
• VoiceStar- not just any ordinary pay per call network, VoiceStar is truly an e-marketers network. Services range from enabling advertisers to track phone calls from virtually any campaign (online and traditional) to allowing users to record phone calls for future playback. Pricing is flexible and is dependent on pay per call placement.

Summary
As all mediums are evaluated ultimately by their ROI, local Internet advertising is gaining hold into the hearts of small businesses. With the early adoption of local search on the scene, local web goers are finding it easier to gather regional information more quickly than ever before. Additionally, small businesses are discovering that the online landscape is changing and is no longer for the big corporate budgets.

Is pay per call the next step in shortening the information chain? Only time will tell. However, one thing is certain. Local advertising has a strong foothold presence online and is here to stay! By embracing these new technologies, you and your customers will have an edge in competing online and at a likely higher ROI. Moving forward, vertical markets will continue to emerge as we step closer to information paradise. The question is will you be ready?
[tags] local internet advertising, local internet marketing, pay per click, pay per call [/tags]