Fundamental behavioral changes are taking place in the way people interact and communicate today. For your business to reach its local customers you need to find and optimize this change in your business marketing plan.

The mobile phone is like an extension of us. In fact, we feel naked if we leave the house without it. Young people text each other constantly; and more than 50% of social media interactions are done in mobile currencies.

More people will soon have a smartphone than an older cell phone with basic Internet access. This will continue to drive the use of mobile Internet access. And, in turn, boost mobile marketing in business.

In 2010, mobile Internet penetration reached 50%. And Google predicts that by 2013 there will be more searches online using mobile currencies than on desktop.

People access the Internet on their smartphones instead of their home computers to find the information they need.

So what do smartphone owners use the device for? Interestingly, the main searches are for local places and maps; followed by music downloads; access news and weather information; then instant messages.

Internet searches for maps and directions continue to increase dramatically.

What does this mean for your company? Translate to people in your area, doing searches on the mobile internet in search of your products or services. It is vital then that your business can be found online by these local mobile consumers.

Claiming your Google Places page is the most cost effective method of mobile marketing. It ensures that your business is visible to these mobile shoppers as they search locally online. And it costs you nothing to claim it. But you need to make sure that you optimize your listing so that when a potential local buyer searches for the top keywords for your business, the listing will rank at the top.

How can you optimize your Google Places pages? Initially uploading media such as photos and videos; the more you have, the better your ranking will be.

The most important method for your business to rank well on Google Places is with positive online reviews. This is difficult to control, but can be achieved by manually taking over the review process internally. Simply asking customers to fill out a review sheet and then uploading these results online can really boost your business’s local rankings.

Reaching mobile consumers in your local area using the geographic features of mobile marketing, like making sure your business is at the top of search sites like Google Places for your primary keywords, is vital.