Will mobile search kill online stationery?
Monday, April 19th, 2010One of the more promising developments of online search is the reemergence of ”local search.” This is occurring at a frenetic pace as more search engine companies are targeting mobile phone or mobile device users who prefer to shop locally. With Geo-targeting and GPS positioning, a mobile phone user can quickly find local stores within his shopping radius when he enters in a search such as “best pizza” or “business cards” or “wedding invitations.” The search results will target stores that meet that search criteria within his or her immediate vicinity based on the embedded GPS in the phone.
The conversion rate (sales to search ratio) is reportedly 8 to 10 times higher than traditional search since the mobile phone user generally appears more willing to act on his search results. If true, this will bring about a huge upheaval in Internet search trends. Companies like The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings have corrupted local search by allowing online companies and Internet resellers to “purchase” zip codes and metro-centers at the expense of local resources they claim to tout.
In effect, if you are looking for an experienced stationer in your neighborhood to craft a wedding invitation, your search results on these wedding portals will be compromised by online dealers that have co-opted this space on the pretext that they are “serving” this market. I have been unsuccessful in convincing either The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings that they are deliberately misleading their clients. Needless to say, advertising dollars are more important than integrity.
With the growth of the use of mobile devices for search, wedding portals and online stationers will necessarily suffer as search results will be truly local based on the embedded GPS system in your mobile device. Search results will once again target brick-and-mortar stores selling products and services within the vicinity of the user. Those stores that have optimized their website and store for local search will stand to benefit. This could bring about a much needed change in an industry where product quality has been compromised by deceptive advertising and the predatory practices of companies like The Knot and Martha Stewart Wedding who place the interests of their advertiser in front of the consumer.
If you are a stationery store, looking to optimize your website and/or bricks-and-mortar store for the mobile search revolution, please contact rmay@stationersguild.org . We can help.
Richard W. May
Founding Member of the Stationers Guild






