It's hard getting your business noticed at the best of times; And now with all the madness about the credit crunch things got more difficult than ever.

Its a simple truth that the internet is still growing at a quick pace, and advertisers must be in the face of consumers in order to reach them.

- 38.5 million people use the internet in the UK (Nielson Ner//Ratings)
- 86% of all local searches are online (The Kelsey Group)
- 90% of online commercial searches result in offline purchases (comScore)
- 82% of local searchers follow with in-store visits, phone calls or purchases (comScore)
- 90% of consumer purchases are made within 20 miles of where people live or work (The Kelsey Group)

What impresses me the most is 90% of online commercial searches result in an an offline purchase. Can you really afford to miss this opportunity? And more importantly when consumers are searching, will they find you?

What these statistics really mean is finding a businesses locally is now predominantly an internet driven market. Brick and mortar businesses are becoming increasingly visible to local consumers via the internet. And with online business directories supplying the tools to find local information, local businesses listings will only continue to grow.

Most people are not going to look for their local florist, doctor, restaurant, hotel or any other local service unless they plan oto use it. When consumers do search for a local business, they are more than likely ready to buy.

The question again becomes, will they find you?

A simple method is to add your business to as many local directories as you can find. Free listings for your business whether you're the city Solicitor or a local dentist, this is a great way of chopping down advertising costs wherever it is located in the UK.

Most local search directories will give you a free listing where you can add basic information about your business and possibly attach a handful of images. A good website will allow you to add business tags. Tags are mainly terms your customers will use to search for your services, so remember to keep these relevant. You may think you have the best pizza in Manchester, but nobody will be searching those words so try and keep them simple (Pizza, Pasta, Home Delivery, Take away, etc)

When listing your business on different directories try and make your search terms differ slightly "Local Plumber" can become "Plumbing Services", "Italian Food" can become "Pasta Restaurant".

To conclude, the bottom line is Local search is here to stay. It is a trend which embraced, can significantly help the growth of your local business. It can open the doors to many more potential customers within the area you service at little or no cost. So what are you waiting for? It's time to start listing your business!

Best of luck with your internet advertising.

Thanks for listening.