The Importance of Local Search
For those of you who may not necessarily
know what the term “local search” relates to, it refers to the search results
displayed when a potential customer types in a local search query into one of
the search engines, e.g. Jewellers in Canterbury (example below).
Google has released statistics that
highlights why local search is important and how it can have a significant
impact on customers either buying your products/services, or visiting your
store in person.
- Local searches lead to more purchases than non-local searches.
- 18% of local searches on smartphone lead to a purchase within a day vs. 7% of non-local searches.
- 50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day, and 34% who searched on computer/tablet did the same.
- 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information.
- 72% of consumers who searched for local information on smartphone visit a store within 5 miles.
The importance of local search for a Kent
based businesses can’t be underestimated and if you don’t have a local search
strategy in place, you could be missing out on traffic, visibility and revenue.
But the issue many marketers face is understanding what the search engines are
looking for. And to make things more complicated this rarely stays the same.
When I first started working in the world
of Search Engine Optimisation in 2006, I was in Sydney, Australia; and things
were very different. Aside from glorious weather, golden beaches and the
frequent cremation of shrimps on a barbie, the world of search engine
optimisation was relatively simple. The concept of improving your search
results was relatively new and working in a country with a third of the
population of the UK meant there was much less competition. Improvements were
often quick and easily obtained.
Fast forward 9 years and back in the UK,
almost everyone is aware of the acronym SEO, what it means and the benefit it
can have on a businesses success. The algorithm Google uses to determine a websites
rankings has also become much more sophisticated and with it, a wider remit for
digital marketers to cover. Links, content, social media, PR, reviews,
citations and reporting are just some of the areas the modern day marketer must
understand.
The end result of all of this activity is
to improve the “authority” of your website. If you’re seen as a popular and
authoritative company, you’re much more likely to have improved rankings. This
can take time and often a lot of work. But local search is one area that can
still offer relatively quick results. The reason for this is that it’s less
competitive. Rather than competing with all the “bookshops” in the country,
your only competition is those in your immediate vicinity; and it’s surprising
how few businesses have optimised their website for the local search results.
If you’re fed up with low rankings in the
search results, all is not lost. On the 28th July, Digital in Kent
will be holding a breakfast seminar
where you will learn how to optimise your business for the local search
results. It’s not overly complicated and by understanding what the search
engines are looking for, you will ensure that you can dedicate any resources
you may have to the areas that will ultimately give you the best results. We’ll
also cover off how to cook the perfect shrimp on an Australian BBQ.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Nick Huxsted – Gooey Digital