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Local search has a long way to
go
January 17, 2005 |
So I changed search engine hats over the weekend. I became a user
researching a product I wished to purchase. It was an electronic gadget
so I was able to easily find lots of information on what I was looking
for.
I was looking for a device which will allow you to "share" your
Cable/Satellite/DVD signal with another TV but send the signal
wirelessly. I know they make such things, because I remember seeing them
in various flyers some time ago, but I wasn't sure what they were
called, or who carried them.
Imagine my surprise when my first weak query on Google returned exactly
the right thing in the first position. I think my query was something
like "send signal to another TV" or something like that. Now I knew what
it was I was looking for - an Audio Video transmitter/receiver that also
happens to send the remote signals as well.
After about ½ hour reading to figure out the "best one" I decided to
launch a local search to see who in my area had what I wanted. This is
where I ran into problems.
It turns out that in my city, none of the large electronics stores have
a very good online presence. Google local returned results of stores in
the area which may have what I was looking for, but I was unable to
browse their websites to find out (mainly because of the 6 or so larger
electronics retailers, only 2 have websites, and of that only one has
their catalog online). Essentially, Google local is nothing more than
glorified Yellow Page listings, with directions.
So I tried another avenue - and went to the sites directly which I
thought would have what I wanted. And of those sites (including some
well known large international retailers) I was unable to effectively
navigate their site to find what I wanted.
To be fair, I will list the site that did have what I wanted. Radio
Shack has the product. It was even listed when I did a product number
search in Google (not local - the main index) and Radio Shack came up #2
or 3 in the rankings for that product (good for them!) and they have a
nice page, with a picture, great description and pricing as well.
I was very satisfied with the Radio Shack site, and even browsed around
finding other things to add to my "wish list." Just need a little extra
cash now.
But then I started thinking - if Radio Shack is doing this why aren't
there other large retailers taking advantage of the web? I know at least
one other store in my area (and actually probably ½ dozen or more) have
carried this item because I have seen it in various flyers, and I
remember actually seeing them at various stores in town. So why don't
the stores have them on their site?
Well, part of the problem is that the sites in many cases are nothing
more than glorified online brochures. It seems that many of these
retailers haven't realized the potential their online presence could
have.
One local retailer, who is well known for their prices in both
electronics and CD's, fails to mention that on their site. All they
really advertise is the top 10 selling CD's and a few of the top
electronics, but the information is all pretty dated.
And this is a flaw in local search - and a reason why it may take longer
than many think to become truly successful - there isn't enough local
content to support local search. While I predicted that local search
will continue to grow in a recent article, I was referring to the
technology behind local search, and not the content.
Ideally I'd like to see more local representation. Even local sites
spawned off of larger corporate sites. For example, retailers like
Wal-Mart have used their website to sell online. Which is great, but
that is the only option with this site. A user can't check to see if the
local store has the same items. And that is in the US. If you want to
browse Wal-Mart products online in Canada, for example, you can't.
Wal-Mart's Canadian site is a corporate site, not an e-business site.
In Canada, there are a few sites which I think have hit the nail on the
head. Futureshop, Canadian Tire and others give users the ability to
browse product listings, and even check to see if an item is in stock in
my local store. To me this is when local search will truly work - when
you can perform a product search and have the option to buy online, or
find out if it is available locally.
Of course there are many hurdles which the engines are actively working
on overcoming.
One is being able to reach into the store's website or database to get
the product information out. Stores can help out engines like Google by
providing feeds to Froogle. Also, using tactics such as URL rewriters to
help make the site more search engine friendly can help as well, but it
should be a more seamless procedure. In other words, the engines have to
develop the technology to crawl deeper into the site, regardless of
dynamic variables.
The physical location of the searcher in relation to the store is also
another factor. Because Google doesn't know exactly where I am, it can
make estimates and provide me with a rough idea on driving directions,
but until the technology develops (likely with the wide release of IP
version 6) a best guess is all we are going to get from a search engine.
When IP6 is released an IP address (and more like multiple IP addresses)
will be bound to you. In other words, your home computer, your PDA, your
wireless phone, heck even your web enabled home appliance will have its
own unique IP address. And with the broader usage of GPS, it will be
easier to track, and match your physical location to your destination.
So when that happens (more local content on the web, and a more accurate
idea of where you are located), you should be able to perform a search,
find exactly what you want, and have the option to purchase online
(either through the business' website, or a shopping engine such as
Froogle), check availability online, and get directions to the local
outlet to see the product up close and personal.
Further, the site needs to be able to distinguish where the user is
coming from and attempt to match them to a local location, so that when
they hit the site, the site already has the current inventory from the
local store. The technology is already here, so that a person can
manually pick their location, and a cookie is set, but it needs to
evolve to take the user intervention out of the process.
So while there are a few hurdles to "better" local search, I don't think
they are insurmountable. In fact the technology already exists to make
most of it happen; it just requires the desire of the local businesses
to want to do it. |
Rob Sullivan
Head Organic Search Strategist
Search Engine Positioning by Searchengineposition
Enquiro Full Service Search Engine Marketing
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