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Call-Based Advertising: A Key Extension to Local Search

By Russell C. Horowitz | March 27, 2008

Local advertising has always been about making the phone ring.

As I mentioned in our recently released report, “2008 Perspectives on Local Online Advertising and Content,” we expect the demand for call-based advertising services, such as call tracking and pay-per-phone call, will accompany the growing demand for click-based advertising services.

The majority of the 15 million SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses) are service providers such as real estate agents, auto dealers, attorneys, and doctors that offer their services at their local place of business rather than online. Additionally, Piper Jaffray estimates that less than 60% of SMBs in the U.S. have Web sites and many others are in the early stages of online marketing.* However, nearly all of these businesses do local marketing in some form and connect with customers every day over the phone.

For consumers, the most common activities resulting from an online search are visiting the business and contacting the business over the phone.**

As a result, call-based advertising solutions will be an integral extension of local search as the gap between the vast number of consumers searching locally and the small percentage of local businesses currently participating in search advertising converge.

* Piper Jaffray, 2007.
**comScore and TMP Directional Marketing, 2007.

Topics: Call Tracking, Forecasts, Mobile, Local SEO, Local Search, Community, Advertising |

One Response to “Call-Based Advertising: A Key Extension to Local Search”

  1. Monica Ho Says:
    March 28th, 2008 at 8:55 am

    Hi Russell -

    Thank you so much for sourcing our study in your above post…however, are name is TMP Directional Marketing…not TMP Directional Media. :)

    Thanks again for the mention!

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