Local SEO Statistics 2019
Local SEO Statistics 2019
If you’re looking for somewhere nearby to buy socks, what’s the first thing you do?
If you’re like most people, you pick up your smartphone, open your browser and type in something like “clothes shop near me.” Then, almost magically, up pops where you need to go. Some search engines, like Google, even include a mini-map with the location, just to be extra helpful.
If you run a business, you need to know about the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that make all this possible. Ideally, you want your business to be the one that pops up when people search for your products or services locally.
The practice of getting your pages to appear when people type in relevant local keywords is called local SEO. In 2019, it’s more important than ever.
Take a look at these mind-boggling statistics.
• There’s been a 900 per cent increase in the number of people typing search terms like “close by” and “near me” in the last two years
• More than 67 per cent of smartphone users and 72 per cent of PC and tablet users want ads that are customised to the local area
• Local searches have high conversion rates: more than 28 per cent result in a sale
• 92 per cent of customers will choose a business which appears on the first page after typing in a local search term
• More than 80 per cent of consumers use local search to find information about companies online
• More than 72 per cent of people who searched for a local store online visit it if it is within five miles of their location
• Over 88 per cent of people who search for a business online visit it within the next 24 hours
As the statistics above show, local SEO is important to your business. Let’s delve a little deeper and find out why it should be a part of your marketing plan.
Local SEO Prevents You From Losing Money
Local SEO might seem like an expense, but it’s actually a way to help you avoid losing money.
Search engines are the main tool that people use to find businesses near them. The easier you are to find online, the more likely it is that a prospect will come and check you out. Companies find that they can dramatically increase lead generation when they use local SEO by capturing searches made locally and forwarding customers to their website, opening hours, and contact options.
Local SEO also helps you to capture visiting or passing business. When people are new to a place, they often don’t know where they should go to find the services they want. If you can rank high for local SEO, then you put yourself in pride of place to capture passing trade.
Local SEO Cuts Your Search Ads Expense
Paying to appear on page one of search results for local keywords is expensive. Often you have to compete against local businesses, some of which have more money to spend on advertising than you. It can be a losing battle.
With local SEO, however, you can cut down on the amount that you spend on paid advertising. When you invest in local search, people find your services organically, without the need to outbid your rivals for limited advertising space. Moreover, local customers are much more likely to trust a business with a high organic ranking than one that is top of the results because it paid to get there.
Local SEO Benefits Your Customers
When people search for a local business, they want convenience. The last thing customers want is to have to spend hours trawling through websites, looking for something that meets their needs. All they want is to type in a relevant term into search and for you to take care of the rest of the process for them.
Local SEO helps to make life more comfortable for your customers. With excellent local SEO, prospects can find your contact information more quickly, see when you’re open and get in touch with your firm.
Innovative companies now make it easy for customers to get in touch with them from the search results page. By using Google My Business and other business citation platforms, you can provide links for your customers to call you, visit your website, or get directions to your store.
So, in summary, local SEO continues to be important in 2019. The higher you can rank for local keywords and the easier it is for customers to find you, the more business you’ll generate.
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/local-seo-stats
