With more people using mobile phones to search for local business listings, the Yellow Pages Association has decided to add a new mobile section to its Local Search Guide. The move was announced at the Kelsey Group and Incisive Media’s Search Engine Strategies Local conference in Los Angeles.
The Local Search Guide, located on the Web at www. localsearchguide.org, provides information on Internet Yellow Pages, search engines, search tools and vertical directories. The guide was first launched in late 2004. Its new mobile section will include profiles of companies, including Medio, JumpTap and Call Genie, that provide mobile tools, voice-based search, and free directory assistance.
Stephanie Hobbs, VP of communications for the Yellow Pages Association, said that it started thinking about mobile search about six months ago.
In order to track interest, it decided to poll visitors to its Local Search Guide. The poll indicated that 66% of all respondents used mobile phones to search for local business listings. Of those responders, 37% said they used free directory assistance, 17% most often used SMS/text messaging and 12% used downloadable mobile search applications. The results indicated to the association that mobile search was a burgeoning area.
“People on the go are really looking for information and they want it right now,” Hobbs said.
Originally, the Local Search Guide featured about 100 business profiles.Hobbs said the mobile section has increased that number by about 20.
