Of Opportunity For Small Businesses (NAPSA)—If you own a small business, using a local search engine as part of your overall marketing campaign may make a big difference in your bottom line. Experts say companies are quickly adapting to the online world by utilizing local search and online advertising in their marketing campaigns as new ways to reach more customers and increase their revenueandprofit. In addition to targeting customers in a specific area, you can use keywords and phrases designed to pull customers to your site—andyourfront door. The key to making this happen is partnering with a local search company that provides the most relevant search results so your customers can find you quickly and easily. According to comScore, a leading research firm that specializes in measuring Internet usage and tracking Web site access, 63 percent of U.S. Internet users—about 109 million people—performed a local search online in the month of July 2006. That represents a 43 percent increase over July 2005. Plus, the online local search market is estimated to grow to a $2.6 billion market opportunity by 2011, according to the Kelsey Group. Jennifer Black, vice president of marketing for Local.com, a leading local search engine, believes that one of the manyreasons that local search engines are attracting new advertising cus- tomers is that they offer extremely targeted results. In fact, according to Piper Jaffray & Company, local search offers precise targeting capabilities at one of the lowest costs per lead offered by any advertising medium. Experts say companies are using local search and online advertising to reach more customers and increase their revenues and profit. It’s important to note that not all “local” search engines are equal. Somerely on integration with mapping functionality and others count on ratings and reviews. The key is relevant search results. Use the one that’s best for you. With more than 20 patents held or pending for search engine technologies, Local.com designed its local search engine to help users quickly and easily find the most relevant results for local businesses, products and services. Recently, Local.com was named the industry’s most relevant local search site by search technology research firm TeleMapics. In addition to a search engine, it offers products and services designed to help advertisers, business partners and local businesses optimize results for local search queries, effectively matching end users’ searches with advertisers in ways that are beneficial to both. To learn more, visit the Web site at www.local.com.
