The Ideal Local Search Destination

This survey seeks your opinion about the state of local search and the product features necessary to create the optimal user experience.

1. How good is local search today compared to one year ago?

How good is local search today compared to one year ago? Better

About the same

Worse

2. How good is local search compared to how you believe it should perform?

How good is local search compared to how you believe it should perform? It can be 100% better across the board

There can be significant improvement in particular areas, but it's pretty good today

It's about as good as it can be already

3. Which category of online provider is best positioned and likely to gain the most local consumer usage in the future?

Which category of online provider is best positioned and likely to gain the most local consumer usage in the future? Internet Yellow Pages

Vertical search engines or specialized directory providers

General search engines

Newspaper Web sites

4. How would you rate the quality of the business listings data that are currently available in the marketplace?

How would you rate the quality of the business listings data that are currently available in the marketplace? Very high quality

Good

Adequate

Poor

Nearly useless

5. How important is each of the following product features to a competitive local-search site?

	Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Comparison shopping engine	How important is each of the following product features to a competitive local-search site? Comparison shopping engine Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Editorial content (such as news, expert reviews, “how-to” articles or buying guides, etc.)	Editorial content (such as news, expert reviews, “how-to” articles or buying guides, etc.) Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Extensive local business profiles	Extensive local business profiles Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Product inventory information and availability	Product inventory information and availability Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
“Click to call” ability to contact local businesses	“Click to call” ability to contact local businesses Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Coupons/offers	Coupons/offers Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Ability for businesses to enter or update their own information	Ability for businesses to enter or update their own information Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Personalization capabilities	Personalization capabilities Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Basic ratings and reviews	Basic ratings and reviews Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Local service business information	Local service business information Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Local retailer information	Local retailer information Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Major retailer information	Major retailer information Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Search engine that captures and integrates additional, relevant local content from the broader Internet	Search engine that captures and integrates additional, relevant local content from the broader Internet Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Extensive user-generated content and community features	Extensive user-generated content and community features Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Basic maps	Basic maps Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Detailed sorting and browsing capability	Detailed sorting and browsing capability Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
SMS capability (e.g., “send to phone”)	SMS capability (e.g., “send to phone”) Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Dynamic mapping with layered content	Dynamic mapping with layered content Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Ability to deliver e-mail alerts and/or RSS feeds	Ability to deliver e-mail alerts and/or RSS feeds Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Audio and video content	Audio and video content Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include
Search-centric site navigation	Search-centric site navigation Extremely Critical	Very Important	Important	Optional -- Nice to Have	Would Not Include

6. Are there any meaningful features, content or types of functionality missing from the list above? If so, please explain:

Are there any meaningful features, content or types of functionality missing from the list above? If so, please explain:

7. Please indicate your industry or professional affiliation:

Please indicate your industry or professional affiliation: Ad agency

Newspaper

Search engine

Search-engine marketing firm

Industry vendor or consultant

Vertical site/directory

Yellow Pages publisher

Investor/private equity/venture capital

8. I am based in the following geographic location:

I am based in the following geographic location: Asia

Canada

Europe

Latin/South America

United States

1. The State of Local Search