Local Advertising Isn't Jumping Online

 As the newspaper industry crumbles, online sites figured they'd cash in on local advertising. But "local" doesn't mean much online. For at least a decade, Web startups have spun visions of conquering local ad markets. Their dream is to tap that vast array of attorneys, lawyers, dentists, shoe shops, restaurants, and other close-to-home businesses that tend to advertise in the yellow pages. No single local business spends a lot on ads, but in aggregate, they represent a lot of money.Local interactive advertising is headed for a big slowdown this year, according to Borrell Associates, an online advertising researcher. This year "will be the first in many in which some components of interactive advertising show little or no growth, or may even decline," Borrell said in a November report. The market will grow 4.7%, to $13.3 billion in 2009, after 50% growth in 2008, Borrell says. more