Local Search Meets Social Search

Overview

This report evaluates the influence of Social Networking, Social Search tools and User Generated Content on the Local Search Industry. We believe that these innovations are now blurring the edges of Local Search and its advertising revenue models, while the core of Local Search may be refocusing, as a result.

We discuss potential adoption rates, advertising growth, ad revenues and competitive issues in Local Search related to the adoption of Social Networking constructs and tools.

We explore five main factors that will have a significant impact on the evolution of local search over the 18 to 24 months and provide a concise description of the most significant trends, use case examples and major players in each of these areas.

The report begins with very specific and targeted summary and recommendations for each industry constituent including:

• Local Seach and Internet Yellow Page Providers
• Mobile-Local Search Providers
• Social Networking Website Providers
• Business Listings Providers
• Map Database Providers

The main body of the report addresses:

• Defining local search in terms of value chain and the industry adaptive response to social media
• The rise of online social networking, the development of social search tools and techniques that may benefit local search, and the rise of spatial tagging and segmentation in social networking
• Hyper-local (mixture of local-social search) and analysis of its ability to develop into a successful business model
• Evaluation of local search sites that have adopted social search tools and suggest future developments that may enhance the success of the local search industry
• The rise of personalization in web tools, interfaces and deployable applications, and what impact these might have on local search and local advertising
• The report concludes with a section evaluating the future local/social search and discusses potential approaches to the local search market that anticipates an evolution to deployable mini-social networks and community-based referrals services

Key Findings

• Local search is mutating to local-social search through the adoption of social networking structures and the application of social search tools
• User Generated content and the use of social tags may completely rewrite the functionality of local search platforms
• Hyper local search sites have failed to build sustainable audiences in local search. Community based local search sites may not be the future of the industry
• Google' s universal search and its AdWords capabilities may give Google a sustainable and unbeatable position in the search market
• Local search companies that have not embraced the concepts of social search are ignoring a fundamental change in the local search business
• Mobile-local search will mutate into mobile-local-social search in what may be the long awaited breakout move in the location based services industry

Target Audience

• Local Search, Internet Yellow Page companies and their investors: Social networking, social search and User Generated Content are changing the landscape of local search. Companies in this field will need to add an evaluative, social aspect to local search to stay ahead of the competition.
• Social Networking companies and their investors: Although local search companies have learned a great deal from online social networking companies, learning more about spatial tagging, geotargeting and geographic segmentation may be economically advantageous for companies involved in social networking. In addition, online social networking companies might consider a venture in a local- social search platform targeted at their unique audience demographics.
• Mobile Networks: Mobile local search and location based services are mutating to mobile-local-social platforms. The popularity of friend finders and other social search tools can be tied to local search in a potential revenue generating bonanza.
• Investment professionals: Local search will prove a lucrative market in both online and mobile environments. Some players in local search may migrate to local-social search, while social search tools and social networking components will migrate to mobile local search and Location Based Services.
• Advertising and Product Marketing Companies: Local Search' s transition to "local-social" will enhance its ability to promote products, provide brand-lift and micro-target markets for advertisers.
• Business Listings Vendors and their investors: Local search' s adoption of social networking tools and user-generated correction of business listings may produce a fundamental change in how business listing information is collected.
• Map Database Vendors and their investors: Map databases are often put to the test when users of local search attempt to find store locations. Mapping and geocoding accuracy are one of the weakest links in local search accuracy. Local search companies are exploring alternatives to map generation based on User Generated Content.
• Social Tool Software Development Companies: Many of the most interesting and practical social search tools are being generated by smaller software development companies. These tools are finding a second life in local search and companies that are in this niche should consider how to capitalize on this lucrative local-social search market