The Future of Local Search

@justinsanger

Rise of the human algorithm

The sharing economy is taking root

• A mental shift is

happening within

consumers

• Increased willingness

to share

• Built on common

needs and interests

• Optimizing unused

value to reduce waste

By Jeremiah Owyang

@justinsanger

Social anchors industry changes

• Social directly impacts

search

• Horizontal graphs are

splintering

• We are applying social

to our day-to-day lives

• New dependencies for

internet marketers

@justinsanger

• They are in position to influence

• More than ever, they are contributing content

• Platforms provide them a voice and social reach

• They are empowered with mobile and location context

@justinsanger

People rule in today’s environment

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connect

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postLocal Search

@justinsanger

People provide the signals that fuel search

“…Facebook Graph Search will be an

amazing resource for people. It is a pillar

of Facebook.”

Mark Zuckerberg

“Google+ is Google itself. We’re extending

it across all that we do…”Bradley Horowitz – VP Products for Google+

@justinsanger

A race to form connections and obtain signals

@justinsanger

Online signals are just like offline word-of-mouth

• Google wants results to

mimic the real world

• They want to capture and

index preference

• They understand that there

are better ways to derive

answers

@justinsanger

Say hello to the human algorithm…

People are the new critical links

@justinsanger

• Our job no longer

ends with the

delivery of a lead

• We are responsible

for a wider spectrum

of service

• We are leaving

money and

opportunity on the

table @justinsanger

Local Marketers - Adapt or Die

① Leading social networks don’t adequately represent how people interact at a local level

② Local recommendations from the people we trust are not easily accessible

③ People and local businesses can’t easily connect and communicate reliably and efficiently

④ There is a lack of SMB tools and strategies for cultivating word-of-mouth activity online

@justinsanger

The path isn’t fully paved

It will be a bumpy ride,

but our path is clear…

@justinsanger