Although Social Media Is All the Rage, Search Still Reigns Supreme For Finding Local Business Information

Social Media may be the hot topic of the day (or the last several years actually), but when it comes to finding useful information, the majority of consumers still rely heavily on search (and other specialty niche websites). A recent article over at searchengineland.com indicates that Search Trumps Social For Local Business Information.

Research from the Pew Internet & American Life Foundation found that during a survey in early 2011, a majority of people (51%) looking for information about bars, restaurants and clubs, use the internet for their research. The types of internet technology they use are as follows:

• search engines – 38 percent
• specialty websites – 17 percent
• social media – 3 percent

As for other types of local business, just under a majority (47%) use the internet. Of those:

• search engines – 36 percent
• specialty websites – 16 percent
• social media – 1 percent

Now we still stick by our thoughts that Social Media is great and is especially useful in niche markets and more importantly for assisting your overall SEO efforts (as social signals, like the number of retweets, are a ranking factor), but remember that search still eclipses social media for reaching users looking for information about your local businesses.

Make sure your Search Engine Optimization Strategy and Search Engine Marketing efforts are soundly in place.