I’ve said this before: Google will own almost all “name in mind” searches going forward. These are business name lookups or address lookups.
At one time this type of search constituted a majority of yellow pages site queries, perhaps as much as 70% or more. The significance of this I’m sure is already being felt internally at directory companies. This is perhaps most acutely happening in the US but it’s a global phenomenon — with maybe a few exceptions (e.g., YPG, Yell).
There are some major strategic and tactical decisions to be made by publishers in the local space going forward. Where do mobile and other connected devices fit in? Is there one brand or several? Is it worth putting up a fight on the consumer side at all?
Here’s why consumer traffic matters: traffic acquisition costs and margins. If you’re a sales channel or “SMB agency” (as many local media companies now consider themselves) isn’t it better to have your own free traffic than to buy it from others? TAC is inevitable but how much and from whom are the questions.
In your own consumer environment you control the experience and the quality of leads delivered to advertisers in a way you can’t typically otherwise. And brand matters for long-term consumer viability. That in turn goes back to content, UI and overall usability. To a substantial degree your overall SEO viability and ability to deliver “organic” leads relies on the quality of the consumer experience you offer.
Facebook and the diffusion of local traffic sources has created more complexity for advertisers but also perhaps more opportunity for local publishers. They don’t have to rely on Google quite as much. Yet Google cannot be avoided in local.
So what do you do if you’re a local publisher that also sells ads and manages an SMB spend? This has been a persistent question. However it becomes even more pressing going forward — as Google consumes “the bottom of the funnel” and startups with free local data and lean cost structures build an ever growing cacophony of apps and sites supported by the new local ad networks.
Local publishers need to “move up the funnel.”
December 10th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Greg Sterling, markharper, Noah Elkin, KennstDuEinen, SEM Barista and others. SEM Barista said: RT @mongoosemetrics RT @gsterling: Google Owns the Bottom of the Funnel http://bit.ly/hFESH9 [...]
December 10th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
It is my belief that the future of the IYP’s will be an aggregate approach. It will mirror the Clear Channel radio model. The publishers will own multiple “stations” or sites in a market(s). Direct navigation will be key for many sites just as it is now. The publisher will not be married to selling a single site. The reps will present multiple sites IYP’s , city sites, coupon sites, classifieds etc. to local small buisnesses. They will get a piece of the pie(or a piece of the bottom of the funnel) just as they have a piece of the pie with the print product now. Large advantages are present with premise sales calls over a phone presentation. The reps must be able to raise the dollar amount of the sale to make the premise call worth it. This can be accomplished when presenting multiple sites.
December 10th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Interesting. Yes a network is critical (however comprised). However, do you think IYPs can manage several properties and maintain a competitive user experience across each one?
December 10th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Much of the success would be in the simplicity of the back-end. Standard ad units with an ala-carte placement capability on multiple sites and multiple categories. Seniority placement is key also in the selling process. So much of the content inside IYP’s is stagnant and not dynamic already. The user(s) are in the mode of “get it and go” they are not “lolly gagging” around an Internet phonebook. They are buying or shopping locally just like inside a print phonebook.
December 10th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
What I’m saying though is that Google will take those “get it and go” searches away
December 10th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
They are the 800lb gorilla no doubt. I do know that many small businesses get real confused and real frustrated when they are faced with buying multiple keyword etc coupled with the high cost of said keyword(s). I am talking about a piece of the pie not the whole pie. Most phonebooks(print & Internet) are made up of very small businesses. These small businesses can be sold on the fact that they may not know where they will show up on a national search engine at any given time because of the multiple ways that people might search but they can be assured that they will be in the same place everytime inside their category in their local Internet phonebook. They(small biz’s) then can push their own customers to the local sites for specials, coupons etc just like they do now with stickers and so forth that say “Find Us Fast inside.The Real Yellow Pages…” I believe that word of mouth is still alive and well. Owning your own traffic and supplementing it with the search engines is critical as well if you are patient. Either that or give up and I do not see that happening.
February 11th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Interesting!
800lb gorilla, you mean like King Kong. Ok! How do you think King Kong will pick up bananas without turning them to purée? Google is a “keyword index” if it becomes any other index, it does not mean people will like it.
@ Greg
IYP will cover the whole funnel very soon, If they finally stand up, of course. Does Google says who is best in town, in the country, in the industry?. No! Well, IYP are to cover some part of the reputation and maybe FB the rest of it. Does youtube has the videos of the commercial ads for specific product? Does Google offer personal and contextual services? No! IYP and local sites do it very well. FB has a good chance too. Is It Google their for you when you need help. Maybe, if only you could afford it. So no doubt the “digital vacuum” filled initially by the Big names we know today is starting to fill faster than ever with ever better focused and targeted “commerce websites”.
@ JMM
So, the “lolly gagging” is happening on the Google SERP. In IYP and local sites you filter the classical way and start “consuming”. But how do you end up at the friendly local websites, still using Google. That is why local media networks are expanding, to give the big gorilla shake the forest of banana palms. It is local media that has always been the content generator, the rest of the examples are just well funded and managed projects, or lets call it next dimension of localization.
October 24th, 2012 at 4:05 am
[...] is why Google, in comparison, is such a money making machine. Every time I search for a product on Google, I’m showing my intent to buy – and lots of [...]
November 30th, 2012 at 12:51 am
[...] guessed that instead of going bottom of the funnel and specific (which Facebook has the power to do, as explained before), Facebook might likely go [...]