"Local" Search Experiencing Strong Growth - 43% Increase in 2006

About 109 million U.S. Internet users conducted local searches in one month alone, according to comScore Networks. (Local searches have a local intent – city or zip codes are used with search terms).

According to the study, there was a 43% increase in local searches online (from July of 2005 to July of 2006.

What were people looking for? Among those searching in their home area, 59 percent searched for a restaurant or something entertainment-related. Another 52 percent said they were searched specifically for a business phone number or address. Two out of five local searchers (41 percent) looked for information on a local service in their home area, including car rental office, dry cleaner or lawyer.

The study also found that performing a local search drives consumers to take action.
During the second quarter of 2006, 47 percent of local searchers visited a local merchant as a result of their search behavior, while 41 percent made contact offline. More than one-third (37 percent) made contact online as a result of conducting a local area search.

Searching Online and Sending Emails - Two Top Internet Activities for American Adults

According to a December 2006 survey, 70% of American adults use the Internet -about
141 million people.

Mobile Phone Networks Want Their Own Search Engine

February 5, 2007 – Some the world’s largest mobile phone networks will discuss creating their own mobile phone search engine at a conference next week. Some of the big networks like Vodafone already have partnerships with Google and Yahoo!, but a collective deal would be attractive to smaller networks who also want a piece of the mobile advertising market as it starts to grow.

Throughout the mobile phone industry, companies are looking for new ways to lock users in and create new revenue streams as competition drives down call charges.

According to research and marketing experts Informa Telecoms & Media, by 2011, just under half of all mobile subscribers worldwide will use mobile browsing. They predict that the mobile advertising market will climb to more than $11billion in 2011 from less than $900 million last year.
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