When the World Was New:  About the Brief Opportunity of Local Search Optimization

Local search is new.  Opportunity’s window is open.  But competition will increase, and the opening will narrow with the passage of time.

There is usually a moment after the introduction of a technology when opportunity calls.  If you are among the first to seize the opportunity, your success is greater than those who follow behind you.

There was once a day when Google was new.  When search engines began, it was easy for anyone to rank number one.  But only the few were aware of the opportunity.  Most missed “a chance of a lifetime” when the ranking code was easy to crack and the competition weaker.  But some who had their wits, seized the chance early on and probably netted extreme returns.  You can still rank high if you invest your money or time; but the best gold goes to the first diggers.

There was a day when factories were new as well.  Streamlined manufacturing processes and technologies emerged.  At first, these represented a chance to reap unrivaled profits. But when the competition caught on to the opportunity, these processes and technologies became common.  Soon, they would become necessary for survival.  The early bird ate the worm.

Today, local search is new.  Hundreds of millions of local searches are occurring.  And yet, the competition is slim, weak and fairly easy to beat.  Those who pursue local rankings today stand to reap the best profit.  But if the opportunity is true, then the window will not be forever open.

The signs of increased competition are flashing quickly and brightly.  ZenithOptimedia made the following comment regarding their advertising spend projections,

“No matter how high our expectations for internet advertising, it always seems to exceed them.  We have upgraded our forecasts once again – in light of strong growth in online video ads and local search – and now expect the internet to attract 8.6% of global adspend in 2008 and 9.4% in 2009.”

The Kelsey Group was reported in late 2006 as providing the following projection:

“The forecast asserts the local search segment will grow from $3.4 billion in 2005 to $13 billion in 2010, with online classifieds growing from $12.3 billion to $18.1 billion.”

This is the time to invest in local search.  Local search is new.  And it will not be new later.