Nothing speaks to the power of online Local Search tools like a real life example.

A few years back it became clear to my husband and I that we needed to do some excavating work around the foundation of our home or we would risk water damage. It wasn’t urgent but it had to be done at some point.

We promised to look into getting quotes and before we knew it, 3 years had gone by and we hadn’t done a thing about our foundation problem!

While we were driving around last Saturday we passed a waterproofing business and immediately I thought of the trickle of water I saw on the basement floor earlier that week. I wanted to take action that very minute, and I did.

I took out my iPhone, opened up my Safari browser and searched for “waterproofing Markham.” Within seconds I had a terrific handy list of basement waterproofers in my city and region.

Best of all I didn’t have to take notes! I simply reviewed each company online, read the customer reviews provided under the Google listing, then clicked on the telephone number for each company that I felt fit the bill for our needs. I had a conversation with contacts at three firms, made appointments for estimates and added the appointments and notes to my Google calendar.

Convenience on the Go Drives Sales

What I learned from that experience is that convenience is a major driver in my life and in the lives of the millions of other people who are increasingly using their mobile devices to get things done, quickly and efficiently.

We took steps towards making a major purchase with a company while driving to our local food market. I may have had our weekly grocery list in mind, but local triggers (an excavation business sign) reminded me of another purchase I needed to make.

This example is a prime reason why you need to ensure that your business has a local presence in your community and in local search tools like search engines, mapping services, Internet Yellow Pages, local and vertical specific directories (e.g. hotel directories or professional directories in your region), social media (e.g. Yelp and FourSquare) and mobile apps.

Free Guide

I recently came across a useful guide that can help you to better understand how to build a local search presence for your business. You can download that guide for free from the Internet Advertising Bureau.

Think about the purchases have you made recently or items/services you could purchase more conveniently using local search tools. What tools are your favorite and are you using these resources as places to make your business more visible at the local level?

Sharon McMillan is a business marketer who helps small businesses to tap into the income potential of urban and suburban markets. She offers online marketing and copywriting services at www.freshcitymarketing.com.

About Sharon McMillan

For almost 20 years, Sharon McMillan has helped small businesses and organizations to market products, services and ideas. She uses her passion for growing local markets and online marketing to create profitable solutions for people and communities. You can find her at FreshCityMarketing.com.