Generally speaking, spotting tourists or newcomers doesn’t require a particularly keen eye. They just have that out-of-place look. Speech patterns, vocabulary and accents can also give a person away because there is something in language that often times shouts out that you are not a local. Are you a local? I recently Googled “local search” and received 1,410,000,000 results. That number suggests that quite a few of us are not from around here. In fact, helping people discover local information is big business as “LOCAL” is now the battle cry for search providers. But where this is getting really interesting is in the area of local mobile search. According to a study conducted by comScore Inc., the number of mobile subscribers accessing business directories on a mobile phone increased 14 percent year-over-year to 17.3 million users in March 2010. Mobile search provides on-the-go consumers with a convenient way to find local content and information. The comScore study also reported that mobile media attracts a highly desirable consumer segment:
· 58 percent are 34 or younger.
· More than half have a household income that exceeds $75,000.
· The number of people accessing business directories on a mobile device at least once per week increased more than 16 percent year-over-year to nearly five million in March 2010.
If you own a local business then you must be from around here. Are you ready to help the on-the-go consumer find you?
