To sum it up from the start, the changes will likely provide local businesses with the ability to merge aspects of their search optimization and social media strategies into a unified approach via Google+, the company’s new social network.

The new opportunities presented by the revamp will undoubtedly deliver unprecedented search visibility for the products and services of proactive local businesses over time. Their success will be dictated by two basic needs: generating buzz about their offerings on Google+, and creating an effective business page on the site.

Lay of the Land

According to the company, Google’s new ‘Search Plus Your World’ offering “transforms Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships” through three basic ways:

• Further personalizing results: users are now able to find personalized information – including Google+ photos and posts from themselves and their friends – within their basic Google.com search results. Additionally, they can tab out personalized results featuring content from those they’re connected to on Google+.
• Raising profile visibility: users can immediately find people they’re close to or might be interested in following in Google+, both in autocomplete and results
• Raising people and pages’ visibility: users can find Google+ profiles and pages related to specific topics or areas of interest via basic search, and follow them instantly

Relevancy To Local Businesses

More personalized results will enable local businesses to more easily get found by users searching for keywords related to their products and services.

For example, a hungry user searching “hamburger” in their Google search could come across a post from one of their Google+ friends talking about the great meal they just had at [your] local diner.

Not only will the post get your diner’s name right in front of the hunger user – showing up right within top search results on the page – it will have added value because it came from their friend, whose recommendation they most likely trust. And right there, you could very easily have a new customer.

Raised visibility for Google+ profiles and pages via Google search could also help your local business attract new customers.

As the above example shows, users searching for simple topics like “shopping” are presented with recommendations on pages to follow in a “People and Pages on Google+” section. And as we know, once a Google+ page is followed, each time a user searches for something related to or mentioned on that page, it will receive increased visibility with the user.

It will be interesting to see how this feature builds over time. For example, I wonder if a traveling user searching “Bed & Breakfast + [location of your B&B]” will one day see your B&B’s page appear in that section. It seems that placement will be based on how prominently your page ranks in terms of followers with other pages reached by the same keywords.

What You Can Do Now

The full impact of Google’s new search offering and its heavy reliance on Google+, which itself is still in its infancy, is not yet clear. But what you can bet on is that your local business will significantly benefit from high visibility on Google+. Actions you can take now to stay ahead of the competition include:

• Create a Google+ business page. It’s simple, free, and a no-brainer.
• Incorporate your business’s Google+ page into its online presence – including its website, blog and other social media channels – as well as its advertising and offline materials.
• Similar to your business’s approach with other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, encourage customers to follow your Google+ page for special announcements and deals.
• Update your business’s Google+ page constantly with new information, whether its links to articles relevant to your business or photos of new products, not only to keep your page relevant with customers but also to increase the number of keywords that users can search and reach you through. For example, had Domino’s Pizza not posted about its stuffed cheesy bread offering, the hungry user may not have seen it when they searched and ordered from someplace else. And obviously the newer the post, the better visibility it will receive.

Most importantly, keep your eye out regularly for additional recommendations on what your business can and should be doing to leverage Google’s new search tools. This will surely be an evolving topic that will affect how customers find you.

With a fast-growing and appealing consumer base now utilizing mobile devices throughout the purchasing process from pre- to post-sale, local businesses are taking note and investing in mobile marketing at an unprecedented rate.

Here’s a five-step process to better understand the mobile shopping phenomenon to enable your business to influence customer decisions in 2012.

1.  Recognize Mobile Is A Big Deal That’s Only Getting Bigger

Early consumer data from this past Thanksgiving holiday weekend – also known as the busiest shopping weekend of the year – shows mobile surging ahead as a leading medium for shopping digitally.

In 2010, mobile platforms were responsible for just 5.6% of online shopping traffic on Black Friday, according to the IBM Smarter Commerce benchmark of online retail activity.

This year, that number grew to a record 14.3% of online shopping traffic. And consumer activity is not limited to product or store research, but also to actual sales. IBM found that sales from mobile devices during Thanksgiving weekend reached an astonishing 9.8% of digital retail transactions, more than three times the 3.2% rate of the same time last year.

As consumers jump on the mobile bandwagon, so are local businesses – or to be more more direct, your competitors. According to Ad-ology’s 2012 Marketing Forecast released last month, more than 20% of small business decision makers said they plan to commit more resources to mobile marketing in the coming year, up from 12% who said the same last year and 2% in 2009.

Clearly, local businesses understand the value of mobile as a marketing tool and are reallocating budgets to build on the trend.

2. Understand That Mobile = Young & Wealthy Customers

Last week, IAB’s Mobile Marketing division released a comprehensive report on mobile that highlighted the strong appeal of the mobile shopping demographic.

A September 2011 comScore study included in the report found that U.S. consumers accessing mobile shopping content are younger than average mobile users (61% are under the age of 34, compared with 37% of all mobile users).

Additionally, the study showed that the average mobile users have somewhat higher average incomes, with 48% earning more than $75,000 per year, versus 42% of all U.S. mobile users. Local businesses that successfully tap into mobile now will be the best positioned to reach young and wealthy customers over the long term.

3.  Pay Attention To Where Mobile Is Hot

While we already know that urban areas are popular hotbeds for mobile shopping, the IAB report lays out which U.S. cities are home to the most mobile shopping-savvy customers.

Using an index that aggregated stats for mobile phone ownership, mobile coupon usage, mobile retail app ownership, and mobile social media app usage, IAB determined that Houston is the most mobile shopping-savvy city in the country, followed by New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth.

In addition, eBay data validated these findings by showing New York and Houston among the most mobile shopping cities on Black Friday. Local businesses in these cities should be extra diligent about creating and implementing mobile marketing strategies.

That said, the mobile shopping trend is truly national, so many businesses should be moving forward with mobile plans regardless of where they’re located.

4.  Influence Mobile Shoppers’ Pre-Purchase Decisions

The IAB report, citing comScore data, showed that mobile shoppers rely on their devices to help them make a variety of purchasing decisions, ranging from where to shop to what products to buy:

• About 15% of mobile shoppers look for store locations, demonstrating the importance of accurate business address, contact information and business type categorization. Local businesses should ensure that they are listed and strategically advertise on all major local sites including Yelp, Citysearch, Google Places, Yahoo Local, and many others.

• Business owners should also confirm that their print and Internet Yellow Pages listings are correct, since that information streams not only to publishers’ mobile apps, but to many local sites as well. Businesses should also make this information is easily accessible in mobile-friendly versions of their websites.

• Approximately 9.8% of mobile shoppers compare product prices, while 9.5% look for coupons and deals, making it clear that price is a major determining factor in predicting sales.

In the past, the availability of pricing information was limited unless customers scoured through newspaper ads or travelled between stores. Even when online offerings became more prevalent, the associated shipping charges gave local stores some relief.

That said, local businesses today need to take a closer look at the online marketplace to determine the average prices of products they sell, and adapt their own prices as best they can to be more in line with other retailers.

Alternatively, local businesses can make clear in their mobile advertising why buying from their store at higher prices has added benefits (more experienced staff, savings on shipping, immediate availability, better customer service, longer warranties, better deals for bulk purchases, etc.).

Local businesses should also look into posting coupons on their social media channels, featuring daily deals on sites like Groupon or LivingSocial, and other tactics that raise visibility for price-related incentives in the mobile space.

• About 9.1% of mobile shoppers research product features and 8% check product availability at specific stores. Local businesses should build their mobile sites with these considerations in mind as well.

5. Ensure In-Store Visits Result In Sales

Mobile consumers aren’t just using their devices as pre-purchase tools prior to arriving at stores – but also once they’re in stores. According to the IAB report’s comScore data:

• Nearly 20% of mobile shoppers text or call family and friends to discuss a product, while 14.2% take a picture of a product and 11.6% send a picture of a product to family and friends.

Local businesses should think of ways to enable mobile shoppers to provide compelling cases to those they call about why the products they want to buy are worth it. For example, local businesses should provide compelling top-line summaries of products on shelves that shoppers can easily read over the phone.

They can also display QR codes for mobile shoppers to scan that allows them to easily send high-resolution images and other information that makes the products in question look their best.

• More than 7% of mobile shoppers scan a product barcode to check product information, and more importantly, check prices. This new price check method is a major issue for local businesses in that it requires them to compete even more directly with big online retailers immediately prior to the point of sale.

In fact, Amazon is under fire from local businesses concerned with its new price match app, which beginning this past Saturday offers shoppers a 5% discount (up to $15) for using its app in brick-and-mortar stores. Of  more concern, the app collects information about in-store prices, giving Amazon a good sense of where to price products so they beat out local businesses’ prices.

As a result, local businesses not only need to work overtime to ensure that their prices are competitive, they also need to find additional ways to incent their customers and convince them that their higher prices are worth it, as described earlier. Also, local businesses should consider noting on store shelves that they are willing to negotiate or match prices based on what consumers find using their mobile price check app.

Whether testing her functionality to complete basic tasks like setting a calendar appointment or checking the weather – or her responses to some rather ridiculous requests like, “Siri, do you love me?” – I’m quite impressed by her capabilities and the opportunities the feature presents across a wide variety of applications.

Between Siri and Google’s Android’s Voice Actions – which offers many similar features including the ability to dictate text messages, get directions and call contacts – my colleagues in the local search industry are thinking about the impact of voice on the mobile search experience.

Similarly, many local businesses across the country are wondering what they can and should be doing to ensure that they attract and secure visibility on this additional platform.

So what does it take to get voice-activated local search tools like Siri and Android’s Voice actions to like your local business?

1.  Ensure An Accurate & Complete Google Places Page

We all know the importance that Google’s search engine plays in the traditional online and mobile search experience, and it’s not different with voice-activated local search.

Google Places provides the foundation for how local businesses get found on both Siri and Voice Actions. Therefore, it’s critical that local businesses ensure the following:

• Maintain accurate Google Places pages for each local business location – including the right business name, address, phone number and website.
• Incorporate highly descriptive keywords in the listing’s category’s section – ones that current and potential customers will most likely use when searching for the local business. For example, a business that sells women’s shoes can supplement their listing with “high heels,” “tennis shoes” and “flats” to better differentiate their offering.
• Take advantage of the business description field to provide highly-optimized keywords that clearly depict what the business does in ways that those looking for the business will search for it.

2.  Generate Positive Reviews & Add Multimedia Content

While a spiced up Google Places page won’t have an impact on how Siri users find and evaluate a local business location (more on that later), it will play a strong role in the Voice Actions experience.

When Voice Actions users conduct a local business search – for example, asking for the “best Japanese restaurants” – businesses that match those keywords within the user’s area appear in order of the quality and quantity of ratings and reviews received on their Google Places page.

Although Google Places once incorporated reviews from a variety of sites including TripAdvisor and Yelp, the offering now only includes unique reviews and ratings left by users directly on Google Places pages. As a result, it’s important that each local business location build as large of a collection of positive reviews as possible in order to appear among the top of voice-activated search results.

To do this, the local business should look for ways to encourage customers to share details of their great experiences with the business on a consistent basis. This effort can spiral into having an even greater impact, since Google Places provides personalized results that promote recommendations by users’ friends.

Google Places on mobile devices is very similar to the online experience in that it features multimedia content like photos as well, so it’s important to add visually appealing content to a local business page to make it as attractive as possible to potential customers.

3.  See Step 2 & Do it On Yelp

Most local business searches conducted via Siri are done so through Yelp, the popular local reviews site. Similar to the Voice Actions experience, results for local business searches on Siri are ranked by the quality and quantity of reviews provided on the local business’ Yelp page.

Therefore, local businesses should embark on a similar effort to create and maintain highly descriptive Yelp profiles and attract as many positive customer reviews to their Yelp pages as possible. In doing so, local businesses can also take advantage of a variety of free Yelp tools that help connect them with customers.

Once a user selects a local business via Siri’s listing, they are taken to a simple Google Map listing with the address and phone number to visit or contact the business directly.

While photos, deals and other Yelp features don’t yet play a role in the Siri experience, it’s safe to say they likely will be in the future. Additionally, I think we can expect that other popular review sites like OpenTable and TripAdvisor will be added to Siri search in due time – so building a strong depository of positive reviews on these sites will be increasingly essential moving forward.

The annual industry event — which this year included speakers and panelists from the likes of AT&T Interactive, Eniro, Facebook, Local Matters, Microsoft Advertising, Telmetrics, Urbanspoon, Yellow Pages Group and Yellowbook — explored the latest developments and future opportunities for small businesses in digital/online media, performance-based commerce and customer retention.

Here are five key takeaways relevant to local business owners in the process of planning their 2012 marketing budgets from the talks I heard at the gathering.

1.  Small Businesses Increasingly Invest Advertising Dollars Online

Total small business ad spending for online media increased to almost 40% of total ad spend in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 22% in the third quarter of 2009, according to BIA/Kelsey’s Charles Laughlin.

By 2015, BIA/Kelsey estimates that 70% of small business marketing budgets will go to digital/online media (mobile, social, online directories, online display, digital outdoor), performance-based commerce (pay-per-click, deals, couponing) and customer retention business solutions (email, reputation and presence management, websites, social marketing, calendaring/appointment-setting).

Already, small businesses’ spend on their Web presence has increased significantly — almost doubling between 2008 and 2010 — another indication that businesses’ digital presence is becoming critical to their advertising strategies.

While businesses’ online vs. offline advertising spend ratios depend on the types of products or services they sell and their target markets, it’s safe to say that small businesses should be putting a heavy chunk of their advertising dollars into the online space in order to keep up with competitors. It’s also important for small business owners to be familiar with online advertising options available to them.

More than 75% of small businesses surveyed said their marketing budgets would stay the same or increase over the next year, according to a recent survey conducted by Infogroup. This indicates that while local businesses may be changing the way they advertise, they aren’t cutting back but instead maintaining or increasing their investment.

2.  Small Businesses Are Juggling Marketing Tools

With so many tools at their disposal, small businesses are especially struggling with how to manage social media channels and print media based on changing consumer behaviors.

Laughlin pointed out that younger businesses are significantly more oriented to social media than Yellow Pages, which are more popular among older, more established businesses.

Both platforms provide unique opportunities for businesses to reach target consumers. If a business hasn’t explored social media — or if it has, but it’s engagement has been limited — it’s time to move forward more aggressively to engage in order to keep up with new entrants in the field.

To get started, websites like Postling and Wildfire make it easier for small businesses to create and manage their presence on social networks like Facebook.

While social media has received well-deserved hype for its ability to create new connections between local businesses and their customers, Yellow Pages continue to provide strong and reliable leads to local businesses.

In fact, while 74% of consumers said they used Yellow Pages in the past year to find local businesses, only 32% of consumers said they did so via social networks. So while times are changing, Yellow Pages still provide local businesses with a strong platform to reach their target audiences.

Perhaps the most important message here is that integrating online and offline offers provides local businesses with the widest reach possible in order to reach consumers wherever they are — both now and in the future.

3.  Once Websites Are Covered, Mobile-Friendly Sites Are Next

Over the past few years, many small businesses have launched websites that are becoming the cornerstones of their local advertising strategies. But with the number of mobile Internet users set to surpass desktop users by 2015, according to BIA/Kelsey, the emphasis is increasingly on ensuring that websites can be viewed as easily on mobile as they can at the home or office computer.

Today, only a tiny fraction of websites — just 1.25% — are mobile-friendly. This void is a red flag to small businesses that haven’t looked into ways to optimize their sites, and something they should prioritize in the coming year.

Adding to this, research shows that mobile websites have a lower bounce rate and higher customer conversation than traditional websites, so moving forward with creating a mobile site will reap additional rewards down the line.

4.  Daily Deals Are Hot, Customer Retention & Deal Fatigue Are Issues

Over the past year, we’ve become increasingly familiar with Groupon, LivingSocial and the 600 or so other daily deals sites across the country. Many local businesses are embracing the opportunity to attract new customers through discounts publicized through these sites, despite the relatively high costs associated with the one-time offers.

BIA/Kelsey, which estimates that daily deals will be a $4.2 billion market by 2015, notes that increased focus on personalized and geo-targeted deals will help fuel this segment’s growth. Currently, the expansion and subdivision of daily deals sites into specific categories are helping to keep this area fresh for advertisers and consumers.

That said, there are obstacles that local businesses should be aware of. Todd Rose, vice president of business development for AT&T Interactive, who is part of the team rolling out AT&T’s Deal of the Day offering, said one issue facing small businesses who advertise through daily deals is determining how to retain customers on a long-term basis.

Generally, consumers who buy deals cash in their coupons, but they don’t convert into regular customers as much as businesses might hope. A question small businesses should ask when approached by a daily deals site is for additional information on the type of return on investment they should expect — both for the deal and in the weeks and months following.

In that vein, Rose talked about the importance of limiting the number of deals that a local business offers over a specified time frame. AT&T, for example, is capping the number of deals per merchant because sometimes it doesn’t make sense for a small business to repeatedly issue deals.

5.  Use Specific Criteria When Choosing Local Ad Partners

Small and local business owners today are approached by an average of 40 sales reps each month, so it’s often difficult for them to cut through the clutter and determine what advertising partners and offerings work best for them.

What types of characteristics should small businesses look for in their advertising partners? Mike Centorani, VP of sales training and development at MatchCraft, and Paul Plant, founder and principal at Radicle Consulting, hosted a panel to share their insights on effective models for acquiring new small business advertisers in today’s media environment.

Working from their suggestions of what local advertisers should do to attract new small business customers, here’s a list of suggestions of criteria small business owners should measure against when choosing advertising partners.

Chosen advertising partners should:

• Be able to reach the widest distribution possible and seamlessly integrate advertising across print, online, mobile, etc.
• Be focused on delivering new business leads — not simply pushing their advertising company and its products.
• Keep in touch with small business owner, be flexible and provide ROI for their investment before they receive a bill.
• Invest time in the small business, its owner, and its industry generally, and in turn demonstrate that their offerings align with the business’ objectives.
• Offer incentives and offers — such as a “try before you buy” option — so small business owners can see that the offering works for their business.
• Offer shorter-term contacts and/or big entry-level packages as much as possible so the business isn’t tied down to a bad advertising option and gets the most bang for its buck.

While Google has said it is working to fix the issue, the fact that local businesses’ presence can so quickly and effectively be compromised online raises a lot of questions about what businesses should be doing to preempt, identify and effectively mitigate threats to their online presence.

It’s time to leverage areas you control to build a positive and accurate portrayal of your business online, use opportunities with respected third-parties to reinforce those claims, and be at-the-ready to respond to reputational threats outside your grasp.

Here are four tips to take ownership of your online presence:

1.  Send A Clear Message: We’re In Business & We’re Ready To Help

Your business has tools available to reinforce to current and potential customers that it’s prepared to address their needs.

Your website is a living and breathing representation of your real-world business, and the most important online tool available to you that is completely within your control. By keeping it updated and current, you indicate to visitors that you are open, available and can be trusted to handle their requests.

In addition to the basics of outlining your business’ services and contact information, add new content on at least a weekly basis – feature a new product, special, or customer testimonial right on the homepage. Just like you’d change the storefront for each season, update the content and graphics on your site to match the time of year.

Include social media widgets on the homepage to illustrate activity and interest in your business, as well as blog headlines to showcase thought leadership in your local marketplace.

Your blog and social media channels allow you to share real-time information with both current and potential customers. By updating these platforms on a near-daily basis, you indicate to readers and followers that you are not only open, but also active, invested, and up-to-date on the latest trends in your field. Your quick responses to comments or complaints left on these channels show that you care about your customers and have the means to make things right.

As the New York Times story showed, accurate online business listings are critical to your online presence. Use the story as a wakeup call to take advantage of any and all tools available to take ownership of your listings sites like Yelp, CitySearch, YP.com and others. Most of these sites require owner verification when making changes to contact information and services, so make sure you’re registered as the point person for your business.

2. Build Relationships With Local Media & Influencers To Create A Strong Reputation

Do your fair share of PR so you have local allies and conversation in favor of your business.

Is your business opening new locations? Is it the first to sell a new product in its market? Does it have a major anniversary of its opening coming up?

Take advantage of newsworthy opportunities to reach out to local media and influencers to get your business’ name in the press and in blogs and social media. Not only will the third-party support help generate increase awareness and confidence in your company, but local media stories featuring your business will appear high in search rankings – a big plus when current and potential customers search for you directly or indirectly.

The relationships you build with local media and influencers can come in handy should you face online reputational issues like negative blog posts or comments about your business.

By laying the groundwork in advance, you can more easily reach out to and rely on your relationships to help come to your defense, or at least consider your perspective should they write about those complaints. Building trust between you and those who write about you locally is key to helping mitigate both online and offline reputational issues.

3. Have A Response Strategy In Place

Whether it’s an unauthorized change to your online business listing, a negative review, or a competitive SEM campaign that’s drowning out your placements in search, have a response strategy in place so you know exactly what to do if your online reputation is hit hard fast.

• Have a list of your online business listings –including profile URLs, login information, confirmation e-mails, etc. – at the ready in case you learn of false updates to your online business listing.  Know how to update the sites and know the process for contacting the sites in case an issue with your listing arises.

• Draft template responses to the typical complaints you receive both in the real-world and online from your customers. The responses should be drafted for use in response to media inquiries, as well as online forums, blog comments and social media updates (e.g., a post on your business’ Facebook wall, a tweet that includes your Twitter handle, etc.).

• Have the blueprint of an SEM response campaign ready to go on Google, Bing and local sites in case a new or existing competitor launches a campaign to overshadow your search results. You should have the most important keywords selected and set aside some funds to pay for it should the need arise.

4. Monitor Online Conversations & Be Ready To Respond At A Moment’s Notice

As the Google Places story showed, affected businesses saw devastating drops in demand for their services as a result of their businesses being erroneously closed online – and some didn’t even know it happened for weeks!

Monitoring is the only way to completely ensure that you’re not caught off-guard by changes to your business’ online presence, and that you can take the steps necessary to respond in a timely manner.

• Conduct daily searches of what is being said about your business in social media by viewing your Facebook page and scanning Twitter, and search Google, Bing and the major local sites on a regular basis, to evaluate and respond to changes in your profiles and search rankings, customer reviews, and comments.
• Also take advantage of Tweetdeck, Google Alerts, and other free tools to make sure you receive the latest on what’s being said about your business online.

As we head into fall, let’s catch up on the latest trends and developments in local search space – and what you should consider as you start to build out your business’s advertising strategy for 2012.

Take Charge Of Social Media

Social media is playing a significant role in how consumers find and interact with businesses on a national level, and we’re increasingly seeing that trend extend to local businesses as well.

Yet while the majority of local businesses are signing up on social networks, they’re not creating a presence on enough of them. And even when they do, their level of engagement is often too low to leave a meaningful impact with current and potential customers.

These insights are derived from the results of a recent study by Palore, which found that:

Source: Palore

• While nearly six in 10 (58%) of local businesses have a presence on either Facebook or Twitter, only 22% have pages on both Facebook and Twitter.

• The percentage of small businesses with Facebook pages is nearly double the share of those using Twitter. While Facebook dominates the social media space – and one might expect a higher number of pages – Twitter is quickly attracting a very sizable audience as well, counting approximately 13% of U.S. adults among its user base.

• Approximately 38% of Facebook pages had fewer than 100 likes, while nearly 45% of Twitter pages had fewer than 100 followers. Only a handful of small businesses’ Facebook pages had more than 1,000 likes (16%) and more than 1,000 followers (19%).

So what do these results about social media mean for your local business?

• If you haven’t launched a presence on Facebook or Twitter, the time to get on board is now. There’s no longer a doubt about whether consumers are relying on social media for local products and services. In fact, the Local Search Association’s recent Local Media Tracking Study found that 12% of consumers said they leveraged a social network within the past week to find local business information. While this is a small figure next to other major sources, the role of social media will surely grow exponentially as consumers begin to integrate it more into their daily lives.

• Make social media a integral part of your local advertising strategy by dedicating the necessary personnel and resources to ensure that your channels are successful. If you’re not social media savvy, consider hiring or dedicating one of your existing staff members who knows social media to build and manage your accounts. Integrate your sites into all of your communications and launch social media-only contests, discounts and other incentives to get people to “like” or follow your pages.

• Create dynamic content related to your business – links to insightful articles, or top-line tips based your expertise – to provide value to your followers and demonstrate that you are a thought-leader in your field. And most of all – do whatever you can to engage users by asking them for their opinions and answering any questions they may have.

Source: Bloomberg/YouGov Survey

• Always look ahead to what’s next – and right now, it’s Google+. The new Google social network launched in June, and predictions already show that the site may grow to claim 22% of online U.S. adults in a year, passing Twitter and LinkedIn to become the second-most popular social network after Facebook, according to a new Bloomberg/YouGov survey.

Already, Google+ is growing faster than MySpace and Facebook did in their early days, with more than 13% of U.S. adults signed up and another 9% projected to be added over the next year. While Google+ doesn’t have local business-related capabilities just yet, they’re sure to be coming down the line. In the meantime, make sure you or those running social media at your business get signed up fast so when the opportunity comes, you’ll have existing familiarity with the site and be ready to build a presence there.

Prep For Big Mobile Changes

And while we’re talking about Google, last week, the company made major headlines by announcing that it is purchasing Motorola Mobility, effectively rocking the mobile landscape by turning the search engine giant into a full-fledged cell phone manufacturer.

Source: comScore

Today, various manufacturers leverage Google’s Android platform – now used by 2 out of 5 smartphone users – and despite the new deal, Google has said it will keep the platform open. That said, analysts are speculating that some manufacturers may begin looking for new partners (such as Microsoft) now that Google has effectively turned into their competitor.

In addition, Research in Motion (RIM), which makes BlackBerry and has struggled to keep up with Apple and Google in recent years, is thought by some to be next in line to be purchased.

In light of these developments, what should your local business do to ensure it’s ready for what’s next in mobile?

• First of all, recognize the importance that mobile is already playing in how consumers find local business information. According to the Local Search Association’s “State of Local Search” study, 77.1 million mobile subscribers accessed local business content as of January 2011, up an astonishing 34% from a year ago. In fact, local content users now account for one-third (33%) of all mobile subscribers, up from 25% last year. Given this, mobile should play a growing role in your local advertising strategy in order to attract new customers and keep old ones moving forward.

• We can expect ongoing changes in the popularity of different mobile platforms with consumers – now more than ever after Google’s announcement. These trends are increasingly important to local businesses given the rising popularity of mobile applications, which are now used by 56% of local content users, up 34% since last year, according to the study.

• Make sure your local business is listed on as many online and mobile directories as possible – everywhere from CitySearch to Google Places to the Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs). These days, you never know where consumers will search for you, so it’s important to cast as wide net as possible. For many sites, the signup process only takes a few minutes.

While most online business directories and local sites have applications for each of the major mobile platforms, local businesses should make sure that they’re investing in those that are the most popular.

For example, an online directory may have a popular iPhone app, but a lagging Android app – so your business should compensate by finding another directory with a stronger Android presence to supplement your existing directory. On a related note, local businesses can now purchase in-app local ads on the AT&T Interactive mobile ad network, which opens another set of doors for consumer engagement.

Widen Online Exposure

This summer alone, popular search engines and local sites including Microsoft’s Bing and Foursquare continued the trend of teaming up with IYPs to help inform and expand their online directory databases.

These sites are increasingly depending on IYPs to provide comprehensive, accurate listings of local business information. Additionally, we’ve seen strengthening advertising distribution relationships with a variety of local search companies, which is broadening the exposure that local businesses receive.

How should local businesses leverage these growing partnerships in the online local search space?

• Look for opportunities to get the most exposure for your spend by placing your advertising dollars where you’re guaranteed the widest range of consumers, combining the “eyeballs” you’ll receive  with those promised by your provider through its distribution channels.

• Recognize the ongoing value that listings in established and trusted online directories, as well as other types of media, give your business by ensuring that potential and current customers are provided with your accurate contact information.

• Take advantage of opportunities to integrate your online advertising efforts with a smaller set of companies, or even with just one. Today, many online offerings provide packaged services that meet a variety of needs while simplifying and streamlining the advertising process and saving money for your business.

Extending that line of thought, I’d like to talk about another essential trend happening online – especially in local markets – the booming group advertising and daily deal offerings.

Companies like Groupon and LivingSocial have changed the way we all view coupons and deals because of their incredible success in the past year. The premise is also rather simple, which is why they have been so effective.

If this is new to you, the idea is that these companies work with advertisers to offer massive reductions in products or services – sometimes over 50% off regular prices – on everything from restaurants to spa retreats, theater tickets or vacation packages.

They localize many of these deals to various cities across the country and gather a large number of people to go in on the same offering. So the more people who commit to a coupon, the better the deal is for consumers while advertisers see more revenue and promotion.

It’s interesting to see how the landscape has changed in 2011 because we’re now seeing these models integrate into local search engines and social media. While there’s evidence of a decline in Groupon’s revenue as of late, it’s likely because other competitors are leveling the playing field.

Local Deal Sites & Local Search

The large group coupon model is also evolving into programs that offer daily deals and loyalty programs – which are becoming integrated into local search and social media.

While larger, national deals might work for vacations or that television you’ve had your eye on – what about your local restaurant or eyeglass shop? And this has sparked some grumbling from consumers about the availability of local deals.

That’s where local search engines can make a huge difference. Recently, the Wall Street Journal wrote about how AT&T is planning to offer a daily deal in local markets around the country via YP.com and YPMobile.

Through this offering, AT&T is giving users a reason to keep coming back to YP every day to see what’s available in their town. It also gives small- and medium-sized businesses a great way to offer coupons to local customers without having to offer huge bulk discounts like the Groupon and LivingSocial models.

Customer Loyalty Programs Reborn

Another approach to the daily deal market integrates the promotions with social media and a traditional customer loyalty model.

Called Social Select, this service builds on daily deal offerings by rewarding customer loyalty with extra incentives. Customers can punch a physical reward card or even use QR Codes to track their accounts, deals and purchases via mobile phones.

Social Select also gives businesses a great way to improve customer interaction online because it integrates seamlessly with Facebook and other social media. Of course, Facebook also recently announced its own group deal offering and is partnering with companies like ReachLocal, Tippr, Plum District and Zozi.

Attracting and retaining customers has always been a cornerstone of good business and it’s very interesting to see what has happened in our space in the past year. Local search engines, national deal sites and social media alike are all offering these incentives to customers.

It’s exciting to watch the local search industry integrate these new digital models and techniques while preserving its own core business – getting people the right information and listings wherever they live.

In addition to offering dynamic content like videos and virtual tours, small- and medium-sized businesses should definitely be considering the local daily deal and group coupon market through one of these models!

A year ago, we saw evidence of small and medium-sized business increasing budgets for video content – to be used both on their homepages and in advertisements. In 2009, 19% of businesses polled were using video (up from 5% in 2008) and I’m willing to bet that number will be much higher in the 2010 report that should come out later this month.

Now, as technology has become more affordable and increasingly mobile, we’re able to experience virtually anything online. As such, local search engines are evolving into master content synthesizers to meet the needs of consumers and advertisers alike – offering video and photos, local advertising deals, user reviews, QR codes, maps and directions, etc.

Consumer expectations of local search engines have never been higher. Users want to see photo and video reviews of a company’s products, read what other people have to say, and even take a virtual tour of your store or restaurant before they visit.

The same is true of small- and medium-sized business owners looking to find a competitive advantage. Local search engines are offering more dynamic content than ever before to users and it’s up to search marketers to help business owners feed that content.

It’s interesting to see how video content has changed since the advent of YouTube. Instead of traditional video advertising, we’re seeing new technology that lets users look around your business from their own home. Soon, we’ll be able to find virtual creations of almost any environment online – and those virtual tours are being integrated with current deals and other advertising promotions to drive traffic to your business.

Recently, a company called EveryScape partnered with Bing and YP to offer digital advertisers a new local search solution – virtual tours. For example, YP360 will let a user step inside a restaurant in Baltimore while they’re still on the train. They can choose a place and even set a reservation, all within the same application on their phone.

Google Earth has gone indoors and local search engines are responsible for bringing this detailed and vivid content to users while keeping it simple and accessible. And the business case for offering this new content to users and advertisers alike is clear as local advertising is expected to grow to $16.1 billion this year, up from $13.7 billion in 2010.

Even more, mobile phone advertising spending is expected to be more than a billion dollars in 2011, up 48% from 2010. Local search engines like YP and Yelp! are seeing over 20 million visitors a month, many of them accessing via mobile phones.

This is a great opportunity for local search engines and advertisers to embrace this new technology and get ahead of the pack. Effective local advertising goes beyond building a social networking presence and listing in directories – you have to make sure your content is engaging. In the online world, the savviest local search marketers who use this technology well will have the most successful campaigns.

I recommend that any business owner or local search marketer read up on the latest digital advertising solutions and consider offering your customers virtual tours of your products or store. To set your business apart, you need to stay current with the best that local search has to offer.

For local search companies and marketers, the U.S. Census delivers valuable information that helps us understand who we’re trying to reach, how we can best get to them, and considerations that might impact the content of ads.

For example, if you’re a local business hoping to attract a younger demographic, consider this:  according to the New York Times, the U.S. Census showed that young Americans are more diverse than any generation before – with 79 percent of population growth coming from blacks, Asians, and Hispanics between 2000 and 2009.

Businesses hoping to grow top-line sales might want to think about enlisting an expert to help attract consumers from these growing segments. There may be specific local media and search tools, or new ways to explore the content of your marketing, that could extend the business’ reach from the current consumer base to new ones.

Marketers also need to understand the demographics of their local communities. Hudson County in New Jersey was deemed America’s biggest “melting pot,” according to Bloomberg News. A diverse population can have all sorts of implications on local advertising.

Local businesses should consider creating ads in multiple languages and looking at targeted directories –such as Spanish or Chinese-language Yellow Pages – or look at specific Google AdWords strategies to reach a wider demographic.

In the South, the New York Times reports a growth in gay-parented families. Census data found that Jacksonville, Florida, has one of the biggest populations of gay parents in the United States and that LGBT couples in the South are more likely to have children than gay couples on the East or West coasts.

For local businesses in family-related categories, this growth presents a great opportunity.

Whether you’re a family lawyer, a pediatrician, a daycare or a baby shop, you can reach LGBT parents through the regular advertising channels but also through other strategies designed to reach this specific audience.

Many markets have print and online LGBT Yellow Pages, or a social networking strategy can help tap into communities or gay parents who are helping one another find businesses they support.

The Census reports also reveal important information about consumers’ financial resources. It’s certainly no secret that the economic recession has hurt shoppers’ ability to spend.  The Census can help us track the spending power of consumers and their financial points of pain.

The Associated Press reports that Census data shows transportation, commuting and child costs are weighing on working Americans. What can local businesses take from that?  It depends on the business, but a car dealer may use this information to tout the gas mileage or value of cars in locally targeted ads online or in print directories.

So far, we’ve only scratched the surface of data that will be available from the 2010 Census.

But soon, we’ll have a full well of government data that we, as marketers, can take from. And we should drink in that data fully, as it reveals so much about our target customers. The ultimate goal is for local businesses to extend their reach and get found by new consumers who are ready to buy.

I’d suggest following the U.S. Census Bureau online. And if you’re interested in following local demographic data related to diversity, check on USA Today’s interactive map, which will be updated as individual state data is released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

But for small, local businesses, a website can serve as digital storefront, providing a platform to convince consumers that the company is a reliable, trusted operation and provides them with the information necessary to easily and quickly make a purchase.

The research firm BIA/Kelsey notes that the website now serves as the core of local business marketing, combining all other forms of advertising including print, Internet Yellow Pages, mobile, SEO/SEM, video, reputation management and e-mail/direct mail.

So what do you need to develop a high-quality website for your business? Here are five tips to get you started:

1. Create A Website!

There’s no excuse for a local business not to have a website in 2011. There are a variety of online tools available for businesses to quickly and cheaply create their first websites, and to help them add on additional offerings like search engine optimization to better promote their sites in local search.

The last thing you want is for a user typing in the name and location of your business on Google or Bing to not find a website—today, it’s expected for any credible business to have a site. Furthermore, whether it’s a search on a major search engine or increasingly popular local sites like Yelp, CitySearch, and YP.com, it’s vital that your company have its own online presence for these sites to direct potential customers for more information, customer service, e-commerce and more.

The website will serve as a hub for your various social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, etc., helping to cross-promote traffic and build your online presence.

2. Ensure That Your Site Has Accurate, Up-To-Date General Information

Put simply, it’s important to make sure that all content on your site is always accurate and up-to-date. This includes everything from store locations, contact information, acceptable credit cards and store hours to detailed products and services descriptions and pricing (including sales items).

Inaccuracies or outdated information can potentially lose a new customer sale or start it off on the wrong foot. Make the investment in regularly updating your site and it will definitely pay off in the long run.

3. Create Customer Service Options On Your Site

Whether it’s a new customer with questions about your products or services, or an existing customer who has a complaint or inquiry about something sold to them, it’s important for your website to have the tools available to easily assist those in need of your help.

These tools can include a direct phone number, regularly monitored e-mail addresses and/or comment forms, and links to your social media pages. It’s important that you respond to customers directly, as quickly as possible, to address their needs. In today’s digital world, any delay can result in a negative online review, post, or tweet that can damage your online reputation and affect future sales.

4. Launch e-Commerce Tools & Reservation/Appointment Options

Consumers are increasingly making purchases online, so it’s important that your business consider offering your products and services there as well. While adding e-commerce to your site requires an investment, it may be well worth the cost in the long run, attracting new customers who may not be willing to come to your actual stores or prefer to make an immediate purchase from the comfort of their own home.

Additionally, consider adding reservation and appointment options for consumers who prefer setting up their schedules online and/or on their own. Why lose a customer eager to make a reservation, but not willing to wait until you open shop?

5. Launch A Blog To Share Thought-Leadership In Your Field

A blog is a great way to offer your perspective on key issues relevant to your business and demonstrate your leadership role in the field. For example, if you’re a local bridal apparel business, you can share your thoughts on the latest fashion lines in your stores and why you chose them, photos of your best dresses on wedding day, or how to budget for the dress of your dreams.

Showing that you’re an expert gives customers the confidence they need to choose your business over the competition. It also provides you with a platform to showcase your products and services in a friendly, conversational way. After all, you’re the expert!

As your New Years’ resolution for 2011, make sure to launch or update your local business website. There will be no shortage of potential customers who will be searching for you throughout the year. Make sure to win the business you deserve by investing in your site now. I work with many Yellow Pages publishers that are bringing website development within reach of small businesses, and there are other vendors out there that are focusing on this market. It’s all within reach.