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Arroyo Grande, CA, Nov. 11, 2014 A new type of search engine is providing important technology to help local businesses and community services connect with the people they serve. FindUsLocal (FindUsLocal.com) builds on recent Internet technology and browser capability to help local consumers and community members find the local companies & services and products they want in their own neighborhoods.
In 2008, the financial world came tumbling down, leaving many local businesses struggling in its wake. The economic crisis prodded many community leaders and activists to find ways of vitalizing their communities. These post-crisis activists hit on the “Buy Local” movement, already well underway, as a strategy to help infuse cash into local businesses by keeping it in the community. There was one small problem, though. Consumers have become accustomed to searching for products and services online, where small local restaurants, grocers and businesses of all types were competing for customers with huge national and international corporations. Even as Internet browsers became sophisticated enough to deliver local results to generic queries, big corporations were finding ways to ensure that their local branches and affiliates dominated the top local search results. That’s where FindUsLocal is different.
FindUsLocal takes a step beyond search engine technology to provide localized landing pages for communities. When a community resident visits FindUsLocal.com, they find a community home page that features their local weather, headlines from community news, listings for upcoming music, theater and sports events at local venues and even Twitter updates from their neighbors and local businesses. The secret behind the FindUsLocal website is geo targeting, an Internet technology that uses geographic information stored in the visitors Web browser to build a page of community-based results. Even the ads on the page are from local businesses and community organizations.
Beyond the front page, FindUsLocal provides a full directory of businesses and services available within a few miles of the website visitor. Visitors can search the database for nearby local grocery stores and restaurants, local churches and hometown professionals of all sorts. Most local businesses are listed automatically, and those who don’t find their listing can send a submission request through the website to have their business added.
In addition to the free listings for local businesses, FindUsLocal offers premium enhanced listings for a small monthly fee to businesses that want to increase their visibility within their community. For those people who want to be part of the Buy Local movement, FindUsLocal provides a valuable service by helping them connect to community businesses, professionals and organizations in a way that search engines don’t provide.
Release ID: 67949