Local Search and Mobile Search a “Tremendous Oppurtunity” Says Google CEO

There are ever greater opportunities for businesses of all sizes to reap the benefits of emerging local search and mobile search technologies. In an interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, yesterday - an interview credited with bumping Google’s share price 4.7% - Google CEO, Dr. Eric Schmidt, called the emerging capability for consumers to conduct local searches using mobile phone technologies (cell phones, iPhones, BlackBerries etc.) “a tremendous opportunity” for growth.

Google’s research indicates that over the next three or four years, another billion mobile phones will be added worldwide. Eventually, there will be “five or so billion mobile phones in a world of six billion or so,” Dr. Schmidt predicts. Integrating local search and mobile search capabilities will be a key for driving these customers to local businesses.

Schmidt, not surprisingly, travels with the requisite array of laptop, cell phone PDA etc. He notes there has been “a huge increase in maps, Google Maps”, particularly, he says, has been “hugely successful”. Internet mapping, especially Google and Yahoo! maps, is the key ingredient in optimizing both a business’ local search and mobile search capabilities. “When I want to go to the equivalent of Starbucks,” Schmidt says, “I just type ‘Starbucks‘, it says its over there. For me, that’s jusut a huge - a huge improvement. And that service is available almost everywhere in the world.” (As an avid caffeine addict, I can only add my, “Me too!”)

As technical innovations improve local and mobile online searching - and Dr, Schmidt intimates there is a pipeline of innovations at Google awaiting rollout - it seems clear that optimizing your company’s website for local and mobile search - whether you are a turnkey operation, a small business, or a medium-sized growth business - is an imperative. It may seem daunting, especially for the small entrepeneur, but the investment of time, money and effort will be a necessary investment for your company’s success.

Working with a search engine optimization company that specializes in local search and has experience working with a range of clients from small, owner-operated companies to large firms, may be the best way to ensure your company’s footprint is out there and can be found with ease by your potential customers. You do not want to miss the “tremendous opportunity” that industry leaders, like Dr. Schmidt, have so clearly identified.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 8:54 am and is filed under Local Search, Mobile Search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.