Consumer Search Trends: What Your Business Needs to Know

Picture this scenario: Your basement drain backs up and the room begins to flood. You grab your copy of the Yellow Pages, flip through to the “Plumbers” section and scan the listings — all of which offer company names, contact information and maybe some overheated ad copy. Feels a little inefficient, doesn’t it? And yet that was the standard until the Internet changed the equation.

Now you can find details on plumbers (including consumer reviews) with a few clicks of a mouse or a few taps on your smartphone. In short, the way people search has changed, and businesses aren’t immune from the new reality.

One recent study found that approximately 75 percent of people searching for a particular business category now go online at some point in the search process.

You can assume that figure will only grow in the years ahead.