Google Shares 4 Shocking Facts About SEO and Your Small Business

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Local Search

1. 88% of consumers conduct their local searches on smartphones and 84% do so on a tablet or computer.

Local is in demand. Let’s face it: convenience matters and people will make purchase decisions based on their location and which businesses happen to be nearby to them. Furthermore, consumers look to technology to guide them, and if you want to capture customers, you need to make sure that search engines can easily point potential buyers in your direction.

2. 50% of people who make local searches on a phone visit a store within a day, and 34% of tablet and desktop searchers do the same.

Local searchers are ready to act — many visit a nearby location within a day! Businesses that appear in local search results are not only getting seen by consumers, but are also being visited by online searchers who have converted to real customers. Making your business easy to find online can substantially affect opportunities for sales and business growth.

3. 2 out of 3 of consumers would still buy online, even if they knew they were  close to the store.

Proximity to a store’s location, fast access to a product, and competitive pricing all make a difference when it comes to encouraging customers to stop by your store or shop online. In order for potential customers to know whether you even offer such values, however, they first have to know your business is an option by seeing its information in their search results. That’s where SEO comes in and makes sure that consumers know that your local business provides benefits that matter to them.

4. Consumers conduct local searches throughout the entire buying process. When it comes to searching on a tablet or computer 66% of consumers search locally to simply find inspiration for future purchases, while 83% conduct active research on products and services using local searches, 64% search locally in order to make a purchase, and 40% search locally after making their purchase.

Online local searching undeniably plays a big role in assisting the consumer’s decision-making process, leading them to buy products and choose one business over another. It’s not only smart to lead the pack when it comes to SEO for local searches, it’s a modern-day requirement for business growth.

*All statistics referred to in above information come from Google’s report, “Understanding Consumer’s Local Search Behavior,” May 2014.

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