Comscore released results showing the growth of the Local search market. Its important that your lawfirm is listed with the Google Local and Yahoo Local programs, its another way that users are looking for businesses online.
"Two out of five local searchers (41 percent) were looking for information on a local service in their home area, including car rental office, dry cleaner or lawyer."
ComScore Networks, a leader in measuring the digital age, today released the results of an analysis revealing the size and growth of the U.S. local search market.
Local search is defined as searches conducted by consumers on the local or directory (Yellow Pages) sections of leading search sites, and other searches identified as having local intent.
According to the study, 63 percent of U.S. Internet users (or approximately 109 million people) performed a local search online in July, a 43-percent increase versus July of 2005. Google Sites (30 percent) and Yahoo! Sites (29 percent) garnered the largest share of local searches in July. Microsoft Sites captured 12 percent of local searches, followed by the Time Warner Network with 7 percent.
Local search is becoming more and more important. It is growing at an even faster rate than regular (organic) search. Also, local search means business usually. There was recenly an article on a blog called Search Perspective http://www.searchperspective.com/local/local-search-means-business/ that spoke about the importance of local search and how people who are searching on a local level are further down in the buying cycle and are more likely to purchase than those searching generically.