Searching online for LOCAL can be FRUSTRATING

Keep It Local, by Barbara Lawrence – Sept. 19, 2012

Imagine that you are a visitor to your community. When you want a specific product or service, you ask a friend, look at the Yellow Pages (book), or search on the Internet. When a referral isn't available, finding what you are looking for on the Internet is like looking for a "needle in a haystack." The internet is better at being globally oriented than locally oriented.

Online search engines can be helpful and very frustrating. We haven't even touched mobile applications yet!

Whether you are a local resident or a visitor, we are going to do some online "exploring" of our Catawba River District community and see what we find. This week we begin with Belmont restaurants. Out of the top rated results below, I personally haven't heard of four of these businesses. It is a good bet that these are authentic locally owned restaurants with a special following. On the other hand, these could be restaurants that closed their doors years ago, because information on the Internet tends to stay forever, including listings of long-closed businesses. Information on these restaurants is something to explore further for next week. 

Belmont, NC Restaurants Online: A Very Short Exploration   

Presented below is a short list of a few of the first online search results for this specific category. What you already know about searches is that you get different results from different search services. Intrusive ads can push a result to the top of the list, even when the business in the ad isn't even located in the geographic area you desire. 

Ratings and entries may or may not be beneficial. Do you rely on the search information you find if it is not bolstered by your own knowledge of the business or a friend's recommendation?

First up, showing the top rated choices: Yahoo

www.Local.yahoo.com/nc/Belmont

1. Chick-Fil-A (704) 825-8600 801 Park St, Belmont, NC 
2. Deep Forest Barbecue (704) 820-8373 1420 Perfection Ave, Belmont, NC  
3. Caravan Coffee & Dessert Bar (704) 829-7711 7 S Main St, Belmont, NC 

Results:  With Local.yahoo, you do get Belmont restaurants and these are the top rated out of 10, advertisers are included showing 3 restaurants out of Belmont with 2 in Gastonia, 1 in Charlotte.

Next on list: Yellow Pages

yellowpages.com/belmont-nc/restaurants

Top rated on this website search engine: 

1. Mot's Diner, 501 Woodlawn Ave, Belmont, NC 28012 Map (704) 827-6200  
2. Papa John's Pizza, 6511 E Wilkinson Blvd, Belmont, NC 28012 Map (704) 825-7272 
3. Arby's, 700 Park St, Belmont, NC 28012 Map (704) 825-4950   
4. Cowboys BS, 1420 Perfection Ave, Belmont, NC 28012 Map (704) 820-8652  

Results: The Yellow Pages heading states there are 2,022 restaurants in Belmont listed. I imagine many of this number are not in Belmont. On the first page of search results we get 30 choices, all but one located in Belmont.  

Next up: Superpages

superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Restaurants/S-NC/T-belmont/

Top rated:

1. Captain's Cap: 670 Park St, Belmont, NC
2. MC Donald's:  505 N Main St, Belmont, NC
3. Rita's Northend Grill: 1420 Perfection Ave, Belmont, NC

Results: Superpages brings up 25 of 46 results. One out of the first 7 restaurants shown is actually anywhere near Belmont; one is even in Banner Elk, NC. The out-of-area restaurants come up first but aren’t actually counted in the numbered 25 of the 46 Belmont restaurants.

Another search measure: Boorah "buzz"

http://business.intuit.com/boorah-restaurants/best-of/18613/NC/Belmont.html

Top rated restaurants:

1. Sammy’s Deli & Neighborhood Pub, 25 S Main St, Belmont, NC 704-825-4266 – Nice casual atmosphere.
2. New China, 6517 W Wilkinson Blvd, Belmont, NC 704-829-1010 – The sesame chicken is soft and very tasty.
3. The Captain’s Cap, 670 Park St, Belmont, NC 704-825-4103 – Kids under four eat free and the portion sizes are very large.

Results: Boorah is a different way of rating restaurants. According to the website, "Boorah is the ultimate, personalized review guide providing consumers a smarter way to find great restaurants. BooRah's patent-pending natural language processing technology automatically summarizes a collection of online reviews from bloggers, professional critics and consumers, and allows consumers to search based on their personal preferences."
In my search for Belmont restaurants, the first 10 of 34 listings are in Belmont. 

How do you find your list?

The greatest advertising for local business is still a word-of-mouth referral. It helps to be able to have information available to you when you need it. There is so much information presented in so many ways that sometimes finding what you want can be frustrating, even if you know what you are looking for.

The geographic business centers of the Catawba District include Belmont, Mount Holly and Mountain Island Lake. In the months ahead I will be working on a new initiative to improve your search capabilities so that you can "explore," visit, and increase word-of-mouth referrals for our local community and those who visit occasionally.

Feedback welcome!

Share your stories about local businesses, referrals, and suggestions to improve our local business search capabilities.  What makes a local business so special that we tell a visitor "you have to go there." 

About Barbara Lawrence – Barbara has a background in economic development and real-estate research. Her work has included revitalization of downtown Boone, downtown Gastonia and now Mount Holly.