comScore released new, in depth data on local search.
A summary of highlights from the full release:
Among comScore respondents, 41% of searches were directed near the home, rather than as research for travel. And among those local-to-residence searches, 59% were related to media and entertainment, and 52% focused on a specific businesses. “Two out of five local searchers (41 percent) were looking for information on a local service in their home area, including car rental office, dry cleaner or lawyer.”
Further, and perhaps most significantly, comScore found that “performing a local search drives consumers to take action. During the second quarter of 2006, 47 percent of local searchers visited a local merchant as a result of their search behavior, while 41 percent made contact offline. More than one-third (37 percent) made contact online as a result of conducting a local area search.”
SEW points out that Google (30%) and Yahoo (29%) together dominate the local search field— which this July’s figures described as 63% of US internet users (109 million individuals).
Where is MapQuest in these rankings? The last local search rankings I saw placed MapQuest far ahead of Google.