Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Local: The Undiscovered Country
There's a big confab on currently about the future of local search , and the consensus is that verticals will rule the roost. (See Donna Bogatin's attendee survey on trends).Today the amount of money and attention being put into local versus "national" search is pathetic when considering the opportunity. Think about it -- the vast majority of purchases you make are within 10 miles of your home, yet local is no way competitive with generic search. Billions are being left on the table, and it amazes me that print business directories are still making the overwhelming share of the ad dollars.
I've posted on several of the startups in this arena lately, and if someone doesn't own the community and vertical-driven local space, you know who will eventually get around to it.
Google, which could do unto CitySearch et al what it has done to Microsoft and Yahoo, is treating local search as if it is still 2002. Here are the first few things that Google needs to do to dominate local:
Break up Maps from Local search, and put Local on the Google home page. The maps interface does not resemble anything that makes me think shopping.
Remember me: I have entered my zip code and even have a business listing on Google Local, yet I have to enter my damn area every time.
Add national chains: There are only 2 supermarkets within a few miles of my home, and Google should know that and rank those companies high when returning results of the products they carry. Google's sales reps should be banging down the door of Safeway, Gap, and WalMart etc. to get their stores into my local search. If I search "supermarket," I get results from far out of town, yet the stores that I can walk to aren't listed.
Add Personalization: I should be able to add and save my favorite stores, and just as previous results are stored in Google, they should be in Local.
Add Local to all results: Every Google search for a product which can be purchased locally should be a separate set of results.
My blood boils when I think about the money that will be made when someone eventually gets this right. What the heck is taking so long?
Posted By John Gartner at 09:33 AM
Permanent Link: Local: The Undiscovered Country
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