As the future of mobile search, Wi-MAX, and cloud computing comes into clear, close-up focus, the picture for Internet marketers and advertisers is looming surprisingly large…it’s Local!
Google’s “10-Pack” of local listings perched atop the Search Engine Results Page with studded Map markers is as big a game changer for RAS and ROI as it is for SMB.
Just a few of the Puget Sound companies who are thinking big by linking local:
Zillow recently launched Showcase Ads – a self-service advertising platform for local professionals interested in reaching Zillow’s audience of homeowners, buyers and sellers. Real estate agents, lenders and other local advertisers can purchase 25, 50, 75 or 100 percent of the available ad views on searches for homes within a given ZIP code, allowing them to target only those localities they are most interested in reaching with their message.
UrbanSpoon Tracking the scent of the best pizza, sushi or seafood restaurant in Belltown, or over 50 other U.S. cities? Just shake your iPhone to trigger a slot machine style delivery of the highest rated nearby restaurants. Sign in to Urban Spoon to track your favorite (and least favorite) restaurants.
OpenList from Marchex . Whether you’re looking for the best auto mechanic in town…a nearby doctor that specializes in family medicine…or a contractor to remodel your kitchen, Open List aggregates third-party reviews and ratings so you can tell at a glance which businesses are most appealing Then rate and review your own experience.
Medeo Systems which already handles digital-content searches for Verizon, could soon play a role in linking in additional content from Medeo to other Internet companies, such as Facebook.
Seattle’s AdReady online display advertising platform is teaming with Seattle’s WhitePages.com to assist marketers with smaller budgets who want to grow their businesses with AdReady display ads, but can’t afford some of the pricier placements. Small businesses will be able to run campaigns for as little as $50 a day, the company said.
Many online pioneers see the ability to build face-to-face communities as the next big breakthrough for the Web. Using a relatively new and little known open-source Twitter-like software program called Plone, Cloud City Coffee is trying to build an online cafe society mirroring its everyday role as a local gathering place.
Even Microsoft Live maps is linking local. The Open Street Map project is an MS-sized attempt to create a user contributed vector map of the entire world. At last July’s mapping party in Seattle, a bunch of folks coordinated coverage with their GPS units and uploaded their collective data.
Local SEO company SearchWrite is a new channel partner for over 75 local directories and Internet Yellow Pages and offers a video package for Google Local.
If you’re not thinking local, you’re missing the global link to local success. [24×7]
