Local Biz Bits
Local Search Marketing Information for Small Business

Building a mobile ready website is not as easy as it sounds.  I am also a web site designer, with 6+ years of experience and even I am getting confused on all of the options out there right now.  I know as time goes on and the local mobile market stablizes, the standard for mobile web pages/sites will change some.  What is out there right now?

Current options for mobile website creation:
1. hire a professional
2. do it yourself  (either by hand or with some on-line program)

Now the next option or decision to make is, do you:
1. create a new mobile specific web site for your business
2. modify your existing web site to be mobile friendly
3. create  mobile friendly page(s) for your current web site

As I mentioned the other day, folks are using mobile versions of search engines, i.e. Google, Yahoo, Local, Ask.  Now this Friday, Yahoo is coming out with big changes to Yahoo Go . Check it out, also read what Andy Beal said about it on his blog, Marketing Pilgram

Right now, my recommendation is to create (or get someone to do it for you) a mobile specific page(s) for your current web site and then submit  those to the mobile search engines.

One of my current clients is a new restaurant here in town. I am not 100% finish (at the time of writing this post) with the regular site but you can see it here. Now, I created a mobile specific information page for it here.  I have tried this mobile page on my Treo 650 and it looks good.  The big differences  between the two pages are the lack of graphics and fancy layouts on the mobile page.  I tried to be specific and to the point on the mobile friendly page.  Now I could add some color and a small image but for now, this will do.

Ok to wrap this up: local mobile is growing rapidly and if it makes sense for your business type, you should get your feet wet by having some mobile presence.  Start out small and see how this market grows and changes before investing a lot of time  and resources.  Also check in here at LocalBizBits, since I know I will be discussing this more in the future.

Last week, I began discussing local mobile marketing.  As I began writing today,  I decided I wanted to finish up this initial discussion but as always I  found more stuff I want to go over.  Lets start today by looking at two reports.

ICrossing did a study on mobile users and found:

• 30% of mobile users access the Internet
• among that population 75% used their mobile device for searches
• Mobile searchers prefer using mobile-specific versions of Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask to carrier-supplied search

Media Research also did a study that Sebastien Provencher at Praized.com commented on. This study showed 60% of U.S. broadband users currently own an Internet-enabled mobile device, but only 5% of them, approximately five million, use the mobile Internet.

So, this tells us that the mobile search is not the biggest piece of on-line marketing yet. Also that when folks are using mobile search, they are using mobile versions of the big search engines.  Now to the question/title of this post-should you get your business mobile ready?

The answers: it depends.  Why?…

Mobile search has a hugh potential but for right now, you probably will not see a huge surge in traffic if you do participate.  Also to get your business on the mobile scene, there are a few things you need to do, especially if you already have a website, and these will take some effort.  Right now local mobile seems to be focused on a number of business areas, most of which should not surprise you: fast food/eating, entertainment, travel, and such. If your business is not within these areas again, you will need to make a call.

In my next article on local mobile, I want to go over what a business should do if it has a website and wants to be mobile.

So how many of you are waiting for the iPhone? It sounds like it is going to be pretty cool, but if I am not mistaken, right now only one network will support it or is it vice versa.  This week a couple of articles on the iPhone and local search came out that I wanted to bring to your attention.

The Kelsey Group has a nice article on their blog, The iPhone and Local Search. “Most of all, the integration of the Safari browser…could unlock a new way of doing things in mobile search.”  They also provided a link to demo of the iPhone and local searching, very nice.

The other article is from Dick Larkin at Small Business Commando News, Will the iPhone change Local Mobile Search.  “Is there anyone who doesn’t think that mobile will be more important five years from now than it is today? Well, that’s your answer. ”

Mobile search is coming on quickly and devices like the iPhone not doubt will help with its growth but to what extent? It will be interesting to see what the local mobile market looks like in a couple of years. Stay tuned.

If you have to be an expert to write on a suject, well then I guess I am out of luck…I have to admit, I do not do a lot of mobile searching. I have a Treo 650 that I purchased a few years ago. I got it to combine my pda and cell phone together; to save space and to be able to access  the Internet and check email when I needed or wanted to.  Now I love my Treo but when I got it I never thought about mobile searching.

Basically the reason I do not do a lot of mobile searching right now, is because getting Internet access was an additional charge on my plan. I got the family plan and really could not spend much more than that. I can actually get on-line via a dial up number but it is slow.

Would I like to have fast Internet access-you betcha. There have been a few times when it would have been nice. This summer as we travel I know we would be able to use it.

I think money is an obstacle that local mobile will need to clear-cell or smartphones are not cheap and then having to pay for Internet access on top of your cell minutes will discourage many.  Now I only have experience with one cell company (I won’t use name but ‘Can you hear me know?’)  but from what I have seen, most have data and voice plans, each with their own charges. My current plan is up for renewal later this year, I will see how the prices and plans have changed if any.

I just saw a cool rumor on-line…there is going to be a Treo 800w (Mobile Windows, lots of space, and Wi-fi). Cool! Having a wi-fi phone would be nice and open up a new world.  Read about it  at mytreo.net.

What is your experience with mobile search?

Mobile search is the third aspect of local search. I have been meaning to write about it some time but never got around to it-other things got my attention. This is what I love about the local search field-there is something new everyday!

A ton has been written on mobile search. This field is growing quickly with the growth of cell and smartphones. One of the biggies is Apple’s iPhone which comes out later this month. I want to review 3 articles to get the ball rolling at LocalBizBits.

Brian Wool’s Everything’s Local in Mobile Search, is a good article to start off with. “Something north of 10 percent of mobile searches are for local businesses.” Brian’s article provides a nice review on choices of local search on phones, technology needed for both, and some general statistics.

“People won’t make car purchase decisions based on mobile searches, but they will use their PDAs to find the nearest oil-change center, gas station, florist, ATM, or restaurant for a given ethnic cuisine.”  Food for thought. 

The second article is Interview with Barry Schwartz : a quick Q & A with Barry Schwartz by Joe Whyte. This is a small article but I like this point Barry made:

“Mobile search, to me, is more about local search. Small companies can thrive off local search. Be it on a mobile or standard platform, local search can be huge for small businesses.”

The last article is Big Money Little Screens from the New York Times.  It is a long article but a good one about the money and competition growing in mobile advertising. The key statement I took away from it was:

“There is plenty at stake in the mobile search market, which some analysts predict could grow to be even bigger than the desktop variety. There are far more cellphones in the world than there are computers. What’s more, consumers on the go are often searching for information — a restaurant, movie listings, a store — that could result in a transaction, making them attractive targets for advertisers.

Mobile phones are also linked to a single person, and their location can be tracked, potentially allowing advertisers to deliver highly focused messages — and pay a premium for the privilege of doing so.”   Makes you think huh?

As I started this post off, there is a ton of material on-line regarding local mobile but this is field is just beginning to grow. I am very curious to see how it develops.