Here’s a followup on an article I wrote in June.
IF someone is looking online for a local business, there are several ways they can look:
Search Engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo)
Other Portals (A lot of the good general portals these days are run by periodicals. Here we have the likes of TBO.com and PinellasLife.com).
Local Search (Google Maps, AOL Local).
Internet Yellow Pages
Other (directories like CitySearch)
So what are the numbers? The first two categories add up to 74%. It’s too bad these aren’t broken down but they confirm the numbers we see working with various clients.
Search is king. All the hype from the Internet Yellow Pages sites is smoke and mirrors. They are a minor element.
In order of importance for local businesses, it is:
Google organic search
Google AdWords (pay-per-click)
Bing/Yahoo organic and paid search
Everything else.
And everything else is down in the weeds, less than 10%.
See the original report: Local Search Evolved
Everything else includes Map (local) listings, other directories, Yellow Pages sites, inbound links (in most cases), social media (Facebook, etc.) most of the time, and anything else that comes along and is supposed to be the greatest invention since sliced bread.
There are cases where social media is important. Sometimes search situations make click ads more important than organic search.
There are cases where certain inbound links can deliver large amounts of valued traffic, but mostly they are valuable for helping your organic search rankings.
Anyone who tells you different is trying to sell you something.