- Are consumers using the Internet to search for local goods and services?
- How do consumers find local merchants?
- How can Localeze help consumers find my listings?
- I have store-locator information on my Web site. Why do I need your service?
- Don't search engines get my data anyway, through Web crawling?
- Can't I just enter my data directly into the major search engines, portals and Internet Yellow Pages sites?
- What does this service cost?
- How do I measure results?
- Are consumers using the Internet to search for local goods and services?
Conservatively, 17% of Web searches are considered to be local (defined as a search term with a local modifier such as city/state or ZIP code). Based on recent Web-search statistics from comScore, this represents over 1 billion local queries each month. - How do consumers find local merchants?
Traditionally, consumers have used word-of-mouth and print Yellow Pages to find local providers of goods and services. Increasingly, they are turning to the Internet by way of search engines or specialized portals to locate merchants. A recent study by Piper Jaffray suggests that 50% of these consumers are searching with an intent to purchase. - How can Localeze help consumers find my listings?
Localeze helps national brands and local merchants to structure, enhance and distribute data that will make them prominent to consumers searching for local goods and services online. Merchants subscribe to the service and interact though an intuitive Web service that prompts them to enter content relevant to their business category, including common search terms. A specialized taxonomy ensures merchants are including all relevant content in their listing profiles. - I have store-locator information on my Web site. Why do I need your service?
While it's important to offer this information on your Web site, it is equally important to understand that 80% of all searches start with a search engine or portal. In other words, the majority of all searches originate "off site." - Don't search engines get my data anyway, through Web crawling?
Search engines have and will continue to use automated technologies to compile information to power search results. However, while national brands will likely be crawled for data, there are many sites that fall below the major search engines' radar. Also, while they may pick up base data (such as names, addresses and phone numbers), Web crawlers do not compile and structure enhanced content, such as brands carried, services offered, payment methods and specialties. And all of these types of information are critical to being relevant and found by consumers. - Can't I just enter my data directly into the major search engines, portals and Internet Yellow Pages sites?
Most properties offer the ability to enter local-listing information, with standard base information such as names and addresses typically being free to enter. But if you want even a minimum of accurate information to be distributed across the Web, you'll have to enter it numerous times and update it continually. Localeze, however, offers the ability to enter your information once and have it distributed to many search engines. With over 45 properties in the Localeze distribution network, our service reaches properties that serve over 85% of all local-search results. - What does this service cost?
Merchants pay an annual subscription fee that ranges from $100 per location to as little as $25 per location based upon volume. The annual fee allows unlimited updates and changes to the database. The data is distributed monthly to the Localeze distribution network. - How do I measure results?
Localeze merchant clients measure success in terms of their Internet presence in local-search results, specifically visibility and content accuracy. Clients will generally seek first to correct inaccurate local-search data and later enhance their content with keyword-rich descriptors of their goods and services.
