The boom of Location Based Services may oust the traditional methods

Several studies have revealed that a constantly increasing percentage of consumers aged less than 50 prefer to use the Internet to choose the goods and services to buy. It is no mystery that e-commerce in Italy skyrocketed over the past Christmas holidays (source: Netcomm), increasing by 45% compared with 2005.

But perhaps not everyone has realised how much the average user tends to use search engines, Google above all, even just to locate traditional shops and services. Indeed, one of the basic principles of marketing is that users are lazy, and tend to always use the same tools. Google knows better, and in fact it marketed commercial services, combining them with the renowned Google Maps. It is now extremely simple to look for a commercial activity: it is sufficient to type in “pizzeria Roma” and the maps service shows the pertinent map and clickable results.

Not particularly different from the Yellow Pages or other similar services...BUT...

Google allows you to show your advertisements, through the pay-per-click system, with tailored logos and messages. Besides, it is possible to show the results in traditional searches too.

Last but not least, Google’s pricing is unquestionably appealing: licence-free service and pay-per-click for the campaign, which means that a few hundred Euros are sufficient to generate a qualified traffic on your own website, thus ensuring a quick return on investment.

Such an opportunity just has to be seized!