The number of searches looking for local goods and services in the US has risen significantly in the past two years, with local searches making up 24% of Google queries, according to new research.
The study, from ad network Chitika, indicates that Bing users are slightly more likely to search for local goods and services then Google or Yahoo! users.
About 28% of Bing searches indicate a user’s interest in local services and products compared to around 25% for Google and Yahoo.
Local businesses have always needed their advertisements to effectively target potential customers in their area.
When it comes to advertising on the Web, this task is made more difficult with ads potentially reaching almost anyone in the world.
One method for targeting messages to local customers is through a search engine, with the top three being Bing, Google and Yahoo! Each search engine handles a hefty amount of Web traffic, and Chitika Insights looked to quantify how often each platform’s users preform local searches.
To ensure a representative sample, the Insights team studied the queries passed on by each search engine for the millions of online ad impressions seen between September 21st and 27th, 2012. The team then measured these queries against its extensive database of local keywords and phrases (e.g. “near me,” “in Boston,” “around St. Louis,” etc.).
The chart below reflects Chitika’s local traffic (PC + mobile) calculation from each engine.
The chart at the bottom of the page shows the new breakdown of local traffic coming from the PC vs. mobile devices.
Google itself previously indicated that 40 to 50 percent of mobile search traffic carries a local intent.
Source: http://insights.chitika.com/2012/local-search-study/
