Ockham’s Razor is a scientific principle that basically states, in layman’s terms, that all other things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the best.
Local search is not complicated. We make it complicated. OK, the technology behind local search, and all of it’s various nuances and offerings, may be complicated, but the market itself, the opportunity, is not complicated. We only make it complicated.
Local search insiders, pundits, analysts, SEO and SEM gurus, entrepreneurs, vendors, and service providers are all contributing immense value to the local search sector. Innovative ideas are sprouting out of the ground every day. Some will stand the test of time, some will not. Those that seem to build the most momentum always seem to be the simplest ones.
It’s no mystery as to why there’s so much innovation too - it’s a huge market opportunity, big problems need to be solved! The earthquake is coming! The money is on the move. It’s just a matter of time until the tectonic plate ceases it’s tremors and finally starts the earthquake that we’re all holding our breath for. We’ve all got our instruments in hand, our gauges, measuring tools, sensors ready for the next tremor, anticipating the big one. It’s a comical vision, yes, and some of the naysayers think we’re all a little nuts, running in circles, waiting for the shift to finally happen.
However, and this shouldn’t come as news to anyone, the “local search market” is not a new market, the only thing that’s new is the delivery mechanism. It’s the same market that’s been under our noses for the last 20 years, 50 years, 100, even 300 years! It’s the same market that paid for advertising in the first American newspaper in 1704. It’s small businesses, it’s local merchants! It’s your neighborhood barber, the accountant down the street. They are the market.
Offerings like pay-per-click, SEM, SEO, call tracking, mobile search, etc, are all fantastic offerings that make complete sense to me and to you, the local search insider, and they work. But sometimes I think we all need to remember that those offerings are buzzwords to the typical advertiser and sounds like techno-speak to 98% of the market. National advertisers, ad agencies, CMRs, sure - they know what you mean, but the vast majority of the market has no idea what you’re talking about. It’s total gibberish - sort of like listening to Wall Street analysts talk about derivatives!
The only thing that these ~17 million local merchants are concerned with is how you can help them obtain and retain customers. Period. That’s it. That’s their only priority! Doing that solves all their problems. Doing that helps them pay their clerk, their rent, their electricity bill, make their inventory payment, their tax payments, and sometimes even themselves.
With every market there’s a need. With every need there’s a solution. It’s up to us to identify those solutions and build them. But selling them is the real test. It’s not a solution until you’ve sold it and proven that it works. So remember, keep it simple - the simplest solution is usually the best.