Search Matters …

… and it’s getting local and becoming mobile.

A survey by WebVisible and Nielsen/NetRatings found that most consumers are becoming increasingly de-tuned from traditional advertising media and are instead relying on search engines and other online sources to find products and services from local businesses.

A majority of consumers apparently associate the trustworthiness of a business with the quality of its website. User-generated reviews, local news sites and social networks are other key influencers of consumer perceptions.

Consumers are also starting to use web-enabled mobile devices to access location- and time- specific product information. Such mobile access looks set to become an important driver for local commerce.

This particular survey was conducted in the USA, but a similar survey in Singapore would likely reveal similar trends. Anecdotal reports from many of our own small business contacts echo the increasingly important role that a strong web presence plays in a firm’s marketing effort.

Click here to download the full WebVisible report from GetEntrepreneurial.com (2.11MB PDF).