Gen Y Points To A Mobile Future For Local Search

Search is a high-stakes business: Forrester estimates that the US search market overall is worth $15 billion in 2009, of which local advertising spend is nearly $4 billion. The companies vying for a piece of this business include: portals like AOL, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo!; directory services like Yellowpages.com and Citysearch; local newspapers; TV stations; and more. These companies have focused foremost on their strategies for PC-based local search, which is the most popular channel for all generations using local search. But those companies that will thrive in the future must heed the call coming from Gen Yers, who are nearly four times as likely as Boomers to use their mobile phones for local search. Consumer behavior demands investment in the local mobile search experience, both from content providers and advertisers — but with the current economy, investment may lag behind consumer demand.