This is a guest post by Emily Thompson, Online Marketing Coordinator for Kutenda.
Local search has quickly become one of the most cost-effective opportunities for businesses to connect with local prospects. Not only are you getting found by locals searching for YOUR products or services, but statistics show nearly 82 percent of local searches online result in further action: a phone call, site view, in store visit or immediate purchase.* (Source: TMP/comScore, October 2008)
Wondering how to tackle Local Search for your business?
As more and more consumers start using social media to talk about companies, it becomes even more important for those companies to try to keep track of what is being said. Social media has increased the use of the web in terms of having real-time conversations (which used to happen mostly via instant messaging). Now customers can start talking about something immediately and companies often need to respond quickly to preserve their brand. 
Usually when people come to a website, they’re looking for something. And they hope they can find it on the first page, but if not, most are willing to scan the page to see if there’s a link that may lead them there. This behavior really points out the importance both of properly organizing the information on your website, as well as having a navigation/menu system that people can quickly and easily understand.