Web Strategy Digest - Filed under 'local'

97% Research Products and Services Locally Online First

Nearly all consumers (97%) now use online media when researching products or services locally, according to a new report from BIA/Kelsey and ConStat.
Among consumers surveyed, 90 percent use search engines, 48 percent use Internet Yellow Pages, 24 percent use vertical sites, and 42 percent use comparison shopping sites.

via webpronews.com

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Filed under // local

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Most People Buy Stuff OFFLine

via milo.com

Yes, it's true... Most people still buy stuff offline. But did you know that almost all of them will search online before they buy? 82% to be exact...

This is why local internet marketing is so important.

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Filed under // local search

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Google Maps Gets Labs

via searchengineland.com

In Google Maps Labs, you can

1. Drag & Zoom
2. Aerial Imagery
3. Where In the world game
4. Back to Beta
5. Rotatable Maps
6. Smart ZOom
7. What's Around Here?

And More!

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Filed under // google local

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Google Buzz For Local Marketing

I think this makes Buzz a valuable addition to Google’s toolbox as it continues to push aggressively into the local mobile advertising space. Empowering local businesses to self-publish to people around them, with massive Google Mobile distribution, can be a powerful value proposition, especially if Google ties it to recommendations and its Local Business Center. But in the end, will enough people and businesses publish on it, especially given the other social options out there? We’ll wait and see…

via lostremote.com

Great insight here on how Google Buzz is going to charge the local internet marketing space. The implications are huge and the need for an optimized local presence have now become mandatory.

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Filed under // buzz local

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More Details On Google Enhanced Listings

via feedproxy.google.com

Here are more details from the reports of Google Local Enhanced Listings.

Google Enhanced Listings cost $25/mo.

You can "enhance" your listing any of the following ways:
- Link to your website
- Photo page
- Video Page
- Coupons
- Menu for your restaurant
- Reservations
- Driving Directions

The image you see above is an enhanced listing video page... We had some comments about this already being a part of Google Local Business Center.

Technically it is - you can still add YouTube vidoes via your Local Business Center Dashboard. However this monthly fee includes a callout and a link on the main list of results. This is good as it calls out to your business right away from the user's perspective. And this will will likely increase your click through rate on Local Listings.

And last - you get detailed analytics on your enhanced content ... which will likely show you how much it's worth to have it. If it increases your click through rates enough - it may be worth it.

Is it worth it yet? I don't think so.. But by the time it's rolled out to everyone there could be some more features.

What do you think of Google Local Enhanced Listings?

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Filed under // google local

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Google Adds Enhanced Listings To Local Business Center

via searchengineland.com

Google is launching enhanced listings shortly that can help you stand out in local listings - for $25/mo. You can pick from different enhancements including photos, videos, website, coupons, menus, reservations, and directions.

Interesting move... What do you think?

So far it's only live in San Jose, CA and Houston, TX

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Filed under // google local

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70% Of U.S. Households Use The Internet To Shop Local

According to a new study by The Kelsey Group and ConStat, Inc., 70 percent of U.S. households now use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services—an increase of 16 percent since October 2003. This puts the Internet on par with newspapers as a local shopping information resource, with the Internet likely to surpass the impact of newspapers in the very near future.

via kelseygroup.com

Are you targeting local online?

Check out our recent webinar on local internet marketing!

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Google Maps: Now Adding Reviews from News Sites, Hyperlocal Blogs and Other Non Traditional Review Sources

What’s New in Reviews at Google Maps:

With their newly implemented sentiment analysis, Google Maps is apparently now reaching across hyperlocal blogs, local portals and news sites and retrieving blog entries, general editorial reporting and even blog comments for inclusion as reviews on their Places Pages.

via feedproxy.google.com

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