copyright © 2007, by Karyn Greenstreet. All
rights reserved.
What's New about How People Search
Nielsen//NetRatings reports that online search rose 39 percent
between January 2005 and January 2006. The pace of online search
use continues in the double-digits.
In addition (and amazingly,
to me), people are using search engines to find sites that they
already know about and sites that have familiar URLs, such as
using search engines to find "google" or "ebay."
Instead of
simply typing in the URL in the address bar (www.ebay.com)
they're going to Google and typing "ebay" in the search box.
More and more, people are using
search engines as the start page for all their online needs.
According to
WebProNews, three out of five shoppers say that the internet is
their primary source of information when evaluating products and
services. The greater the household income, the more likely it
is that a person will use the internet to compare products and
services.
Nielsen/NetRatings
also reports that Google typically getting 50 percent of all the
searches performed; therefore, it is wise to start with Google
when planning any of your search engine marketing techniques.
For comparison purposes, Yahoo hovers around 23 percent of all
searches performed, and MSN slides in third at 8 percent.
Notes and News about Local Search
One of the
up-and-coming internet marketing techniques is "local search."
Think of local search as an online replacement for the Yellow
Pages. People type in a search phrase to find local service
providers, local retailers, and local restaurants.
For example,
a typical user might go to Google and type in "painting
contractor San Diego," and local contractors will show up at the
top of the page. In addition to listing the contractors, local
search also tells the user how many miles away they are, and
provides a map to show the user where the contractor's location
is. The best part is, if the contractor has a website, local
search will display that URL as well. Bingo!
Here are some tips
for using local search as one of your marketing techniques:
-
Make sure
that all the branch locations of your company are listed.
-
Make sure
your website is in the search engine's organic listings;
most search engines won't include you in their local search
database unless you are in their main database.
-
Be patient;
getting listed in local search can sometimes can 7-8 weeks.
-
Google's
local search:
http://local.google.com/
-
Yahoo's local
search:
http://local.yahoo.com/
See Part 1 of this
article series here:
http://www.passionforbusiness.com/articles/whats-new-seo.htm
