Mid-way through 2010 Google released Local search in Australia, combining their new Places pages for local business with map listings and Local search results. By allocating a page on their own computers to over 50 million Western businesses, Google greatly leveled the playing field, making it possible for small business to appear on page one for their service in their local area, above major companies.

Also these local search results are tailored to both Android and iPhone smartphones, so can provide incredibly good exposure to local business as consumer searching becomes more-and-more mobile.  But while many Australian businesses have claimed their Places pages, there are few that have taken full advantage of them and far more that haven't claimed them at all.

A Google Places page allows the business owner to add basic information about their business, photos, video and coupons ( coupons are a big seller for many consumers ) and be on the web, even without having a website.  Of course businesses often need to provide further data to their customers and a website allows them to do this, but also hardly any businesses provide mobile-friendly versions that adapt to smaller screens.

The majority of local businesses are busy managing their business and servicing their customers. They don't have the time to properly set up a Places page, mobilize their website or study-up on best promotional practices.  So with 10 years of online marketing experience Spellbound Web are directly aiming to help local businesses - getting them an online presence using Google Places pages and other online directories and making it possible for them to be easily found on both smartphones and regular desktop computers by people searching locally.

You only need to walk down any Sydney street to see how popular smartphones and searching while on-the-move has become. The ability of businesses to keep up with consumer use of this new technology has rapidly become essential, so if you'd like to learn more about local search, visit spellboundweb.com