With consumers leveraging a broader array of online and offline media when searching for local business information — and increasingly relying on smartphones and tablets to conduct searches — local businesses need to expand and refine their advertising approach in order to remain competitive, according to new research released today by the Local Search Association.
Broader Array Of Local Media Offerings
LSA’s annual “Local Media Tracking Study,” conducted by Burke, Inc., measured the reach of various local media sources among U.S. adults throughout 2012. The results showed strong consumer usage of a variety of online and offline media for finding local business information, including new sources such as Daily Deals and Ratings & Review Sites.
The top three media sources that study respondents said they referenced in the past month and over the past year when searching for local business information included: search engines; print and Internet Yellow Pages; and store circulars, email promotions or coupons. Newer local media options like Daily Deals, Internet Social Networks, and Ratings & Reviews Sites show notable, but smaller past-month and past-year reach.
Steve Mitchell is an internet professional with more than sixteen years experience in the field of local search and web based systems.
FixMyInfo is a free service for business to use to verify their business information on most popular yellow pages, directories, search engine and social media websites.
