Pew Study: 28% of Americans Now Using Location-Based Social and Mobile Services

The Pew Internet and American Life Project, an undertaking of the Pew Research Center, has released a new survey that sheds light on the growing use of location-based internet services and smartphone apps.

The survey, in which 2,277 adults from across the country were questioned, found that 28 percent of Americans are now using location-based features either through smartphone applications like Yelp or Foursquare or though social networking websites such as Facebook or Twitter. The survey was Pew's most extensive survey on geosocial services to date.

Here are a few more quick facts from the survey:

• 23 percent of all Americans use location-based apps on their mobile phones to find directions.

• 58 percent of smartphone users take advantage of location-based apps and services.

• 7 percent of all adults automatically share their location on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn.

• 4 percent of adults use location-based sites such as Foursquare to "check in" at their current location.

• Significantly more minorities use geosocial services than whites, with 25 percent of all Latinos taking advantage of location-based smart phone apps and 31 percent adding location tags to their social networking updates.

What does this new information mean for web marketers and business owners who are looking for local clients? More and more Americans are turning to both their computers and their mobile phones to find local information.

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