LocalBizBits Local Search Marketing Information and Resources
A couple of year ago is when the toolbar mania began. It seemed like everyone was creating their own custom toolbar. Yes I must admit it, I did too. In general the toolbar is not a bad idea. They can be very helpful. The question is though, how many toolbars can you use at one time? If you have too many, you won’t be able to even see the web page! 🙂
I came across some search tools the other day, so I decided to do some investigating on what local related tools and toolbars are out there.
Toolbars: All of the major local related search engines and directories have one. Some that I have found :
Google
Yahoo
MSN
Superpages
Citysearch
Yellowbook
Jumptoyourcity
Skype toolbar
Other tools: I also found a couple of other neat and interesting looking browser plugins and tools.
Coupon widget: a widget you can add to your blog to allow folks to search coupons on Coupon Looker (from Judy’s Pages)
Schmap: Provides “world travel guides” either on-line or off-line via a desktop download program. They provide some very nicely detailed information about different cities and locations around the world. Great if you are traveling.
Schmaplocal: This is a small browser plug from the folks at Schmap that will recognize and saves addresses and phone numbers from the webs pages you browse. The plug will also, links to a map and driving directions for any address, integrates with Skype, prints and emails addresses and phone numbers or copies them on your computer, or text message them via SMS.
Palore: Is a search engine companion, that “identifies businesses in every web page you visit, and adds information icons next to their phone numbers. When you move the cursor over an icon, a tooltip with more details will appear, and when you click on an icon, the Palore bubble will open with detailed information” (from their website)
A nice post about them can be found at Screenwerk by Greg Sterling.
Loki: This is a new toolbar that uses your physical location, found via WiFi locations, to provide links to local content. They have been around a little while and are really building a nice product. They have channels, you can download and add to the toolbar, you can add links to various search engines, you can of course add your own custom links to it, and even suggest channels or search engines to the developers. For a video about Loki, run over to CNET. I have just downloaded it myself and will give it a whirl this weekend.
