Not too long ago, if you owned, say a little local butchery or boutique, there really wasn’t much point in having a website. Some places hopped on to the bandwagon and used it as an “online brochure”. However, a website did not really bring more “feet” into the store.

Search by Location

This has changed and there are a few good reasons for that:

Google lists businesses that match search-terms by location. And not just any location, YOUR location. What this means is, if you’re in the mood for pizza and you type the term “pizza” into Google, (apart from recipes and images) you will find an interesting new trend. About halfway down the front page you’ll find a little map of your immediate surroundings and a list of the local, pizza related businesses.

Why have they done this? People are online everywhere now and the easiest way to find anything is to Google it. Why waste time paging through a directory when you can simply type what you want and get the information in a matter of seconds?

Another interesting phenomenon is how few local businesses seem to register their location to GPS providers. There are many tourists and business people who might be new to an area. They depend on their GPS to give them information on local shops, restaurants or guesthouses.

I think it’s fair to say at this point, that no business can do without some sort of Digital Strategy.

Sound Idea Digital specialises in Digital Marketing. For more information, contact

012 66 44 227 or email to info@soundidea.co.za