"It's a local search for local people"

Google image search goes mobile

Local search on Mobiles

Well I did say it was the next big thing at the Netimperative Paid serach roundtable. As search goes local, so it goes mobile. However I still think local search is going to have problems getting people to use it due to the unattractiveness of the listings and the stringent criteria you need to use to search and find something. Whereas before you could just search for stuff, and browse until you know what you're lookign for, people won't forgive irrelevant results on local search or mobile, becuase of the fiddly nature of reading maps and using phones.

I think in this sense local search is going to face problems of how it makes any money, and becomes more than a clever A-to-Z. I think uptake of local search will need to be matched by a demand for local business to drive local business - and whilst it's definitely there - the fact that these businesses have not already invested in the web is telling. The fact that Google has entered the market is also telling - it shows that a massive and loyal userbase is required to really make local search work and drive business to local people.