The Money Behind Local Search

If your advertising dollars are focused of the traditional Big Three – newspaper, television and radio – you may be missing out on some potentially big revenue, even if your franchise is a Starbucks or Radio Shack. How? Think about it. The last time you were on a business trip, did you wait for a television or radio ad to pop up so you could find the nearest Cheesecake Factory or Radio Shack? Or did you take your search immediately online?

If you’re like many consumers, you automatically grabbed your phone or PDA to search for the closest establishment. The big tech firms already see the benefit to local searching, which is why so many are coming up with new, more efficient ways for consumers to search. With only a little information - like the city and business name or type - the address, phone number and directions to those locations pops up, along with more local ads. That’s right, local ads. Just in case you didn’t specifically want a Radio Shack, other local electronics dealers put their listings on search results pages. Why? Because with that ad they can list a coupon or other incentives to get people into their stores.

With the beginning of Google’s new Maps-Coupons venture, vendors can display local information and discount coupons on search results and business listings pages. Consumers print the coupons and redeem them at local stores.

Local search ads are wide open territory for large and small businesses. If you aren’t already advertising with local searches, think about harnessing your brand to the power of the Internet.

Tags: Google, Live Search, online coupons