10% of Display Ads in Major US Markets Locally Targeted

comScore says that advertisers were deemed to be locally-targeting ads in a particular market if their relative share of display ads was substantially higher than that market's share of display ads nationally. According to the study, between 9 and 11 percent of display ads in the four markets among all publisher sites were locally targeted. In the regional/local site category, which includes sites like Yahoo Local, CitySearch, and Yelp, the share of display ads that were locally targeted was substantially higher.

"Our research indicates that advertisers understand the value of locally targeted ads and are willing to pay a premium for them - anywhere from 20 to 100 percent - depending on the geography and vertical," said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media,
Google's latest local advertising offering is bound to be quite popular among small businesses looking to reach local customers. The company