Study: Consumers now use search engines over Yellow Pages

Almost a third of local business searches are now carried out online, according to a comScore study sponsored by TMP Directional Marketing, making search engines a primary source for seeking local services.

by Helen Leggatt

TMPDM's second annual Local Search Consumer Usage Study found that print Yellow Pages has been overtaken by search engines as the first place to turn to when looking for local businesses. In fact, about 30% of local business searchers now spend the majority of their time searching online instead of offline, up from 26% in 2007.

Last year, print Yellow Pages ranked first with 33% trailed by search engines at 30% - this year search engines rank first with 31% closely followed by print Yellow/White Pages (30%), online Yellow Page-type sites (19%) and local search sites (11%).

"As consumer local search grows with online and offline resources, national advertisers must develop strategic plans for integrating the various mediums into their national programs," said Gregg Stewart, senior vice president of interactive, TMPDM, in a recent announcement.

"Our 2008 study again confirms that consumers do a majority of research online, but continue to make purchases offline with a phone call or in-store visit. In addition, marketers need to pay close attention to mobile search and sites that offer consumer user reviews, as they are growing in popularity."

Despite Yellow Pages experiencing a usage decline of 3% from 2007 to 2008, 90% of those surveyed cited Yellow Pages directories as a valuable source of business information.