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Having a local web strategy is an important part of your company's overall search engine strategy, but don't wait too long to take action. The web is already the tool of choice for most shoppers today, and your company needs to be where the customers are ' on the web.

The latest trend in web search is called 'Local Search,' which helps connect people and places in local communities. For businesses, it's a great way to reach customers close to home.

Customers today use search engines, online business directories, review sites, online communities, and follow links from other web sites or click on ads in order to find local businesses. This means there are many opportunities available for you to advertise your business on the web and target the local shoppers in your own geographic area.

Older types of advertising such as newspapers and paper Yellow Pages books are losing popularity with consumers, while online advertising is growing very rapidly. A recent report by Borrell Associates predicts that by the end of 2007, local online advertising will grow by 31 percent to $7.7 billion, and local paid search will grow by 86 percent to $1.8 billion. If you want your business to be found locally by the people in your community, you need to be found online!

Many small businesses think that search engines like Google and Yahoo are the key to online success. But unless you have your web site professionally optimized to perform well in the search engines, it's pretty unlikely that you will see much in the way of search engine results. Local search and local advertising, however, provide you with a variety of opportunities where you stand a much better chance of being found by the shoppers who are already looking for you ' on the web.