Online marketing Research

20 Local SEO Stats for Online Marketing in 2021

If you are engaged with the online marketing industry as a business owner, there is something that I would want you to understand about the nature of this process that would help you consolidate your ground and conduct your business in an improved manner.

That ‘something’ is about the way search marketing functions. Marketing yourself on the internet is no less than a game. Just like you have a set of rules and a framework that you need to understand and adhere to in a game, you have a similar framework for the online marketing business.

In a game, you need to be completely aware of the nature and trends of how things function and their implications in order to craft a decent strategy to level up your performance. Guess what, marketing on the search engine is no different.

As a business you must establish and prove your authority in the local market and the only way of doing it is by keeping an account of the varying SEO based trends and framing a strategy in consonance with the same. I understand that as a business owner who already has so much on the shoulders, carrying the additional burden of analysing the trends means biting more than you could chew.

Therefore as an expert Local SEO Consultant, I bring to you a list of 20 local SEO stats and their implications that will boost your online marketing in 2021.

Local Search Trends on Google

In order to gain a good enough understanding of the local market that can help us assess our SEO strategy for local marketing, the first and foremost thing that we should focus on is the how customers behave when it comes to conducting searches for products/services, particularly in the local arena. To help you figure that out, here are a few stats that reveal the local search trends on Google.

  1. 46% of searches conducted on Google seek local information.
  2. 97% of consumers conduct an online search to find a local business and 86% of them locate the business through Google Maps. (Hubspot)
  3. 92% of consumers end up choosing businesses that are visible on the first page of Google search results for what they have looked for.
  4. 88% of consumers that conduct local search end up contacting/visiting the business within 24 hours of making the search. (Nectafy)
  5. 70% of all consumers contact/visit a business based on the information that they find online.
  6. 50% of all the ‘near me’ concludes with a visit to the store/business. (Mediapost)
  7. 56% of online business owners are yet to claim/create a verified business listing for their business on the internet.
  8. Over 60% of online marketers realize the importance and value of ranking higher on the search engines and keep it as their top priority when it comes to their business agendas. (Hubspot)
  9. Companies/businesses that invest time and resources in Search Engine Optimization experience higher conversion of leads into sales, compared to such businesses who only invest in Social Media Marketing and Email Marketing or other such modes.
  10. 85% of online business owners have experienced the potency of Search Engine Marketing strategy as the single most effective strategy to successfully market their business on the internet and experience exponential progress and growth. (Forester)

Implications:

A thorough and relative analysis of these stats reveals a lot about the local online market and search trends. Most of the customers are looking for locally-based service providers when they make a search. This goes on to show that in order to establish your business as a market leader, you need to first focus on building your presence and authority in the local market.

It can also be observed that half of the online businesses are yet to take the first proper step since they do not have a registered business listing. As such, the only way to get an upper hand is to not be one of these businesses and invest in an exclusive local SEO strategy that will focus on all components such as targeting the right keywords, maps marketing etc.

Mobile Search Trends

When it comes to local searches on Google, mobile devices become the go-to mode for conducting the searches. This goes on to show that it is critically important to design the online profile of your business in a way that it is optimised to attract the larger number of consumers who make searches through mobile devices. Let us take a look at these stats.

  1. Mobile-device users account for almost 53% of all existing web traffic. (Statista)
  2. 65% of all consumers use their mobile devices when it comes to buying products/services. (Think with Google)
  3. Over 75% of consumers making searches for local businesses on mobile devices end up buying from local stores.
  4. 50% of these consumers end up visiting/contacting the store within one day. (Search Engine Land)
  5. 67% people choose businesses whose sites/apps customise information on the basis of the location. (Think with Google)
  6. 33% of those who search for local companies are actually looking for location details of the business. (Hubspot)
  7. Through the years, mobile devices have continued to influence and contribute to majority of locally based sales.

Implications:

These points demonstrate the degree of usage of mobile devices to look for local businesses and how majority of the traffic in the local market comes from the same. This should make you realise the importance of creating and optimising the online profile of business-the website and all corresponding elements, to attract and convert customers that look for businesses through mobile devices into successful leads and prosper in the local scene.

The best way to do so is tailoring your local search optimisation strategy to include proper on-page optimisation to make your business appealing to the customers and in turn gain from them.

Role of Reviews in Local SEO Marketing

What you have to say about your business and what the customers have to say about it are two entirely different things and the latter is more important and has more value for your customers. When new potential customers come across your business, the reviews left for your services by other clients and customers are what help them make their mind up.

Reviews serve as a reflection of the credibility of your business and a lot depends on it as can be concluded based on the following stats:

  1. Over 70% of customers refer to the reviews left for your business before contacting/visiting you themselves. They trust and prefer businesses that have considerable positive reviews. (BrightLocal)
  2. On an average, a customer reads 7 reviews to get an understanding and frame an opinion for your business.
  3. People are more likely to trust reviews left by other customers more than what you have to say about your business. As such, reviews play a crucial role in sealing the deal.

Implications:

No matter how convincing you sound while marketing your business, the true assessment of your business comes through what the reviews left by fellow consumers show. While positive reviews add up to the authenticity and credibility of your business, negative reviews are red flags for your customers.

Building up on positive reviews is paramount. There is no such complex strategy to do so. The only way is to serve your customers in the right manner and ensuring that their needs are properly taken care of. Walk the talk and you will have the reviews do the talking for your business.

Local Search Optimisation is the Heart of the Matter

That’s about 20 stats related to local searches and marketing. But what do they entail?

Upon analysing and understanding these stats, we can deduce the fact that local searches and local marketing are on the pinnacle of their relevance. When most of the customers are looking for local service providers, not focusing on building a solid presence in the local market simply translates to losing on business opportunities.

You cannot afford to let these opportunities slip away. You must grab them by both hands and investing in an exclusive local SEO strategy that is tailored to match your business is the only tool that you need to do so. Don’t waste another minute. If you would like to discuss more on this, feel free to hit me up.