Local search is changing the game for businesses looking to market locally online, particularly small businesses.
Here are some startling statistics about local search:
- 97% of American internet users use the internet to shop of which 57% characterize their behavior as "shop online, purchase offline" (NPD Group)
- 90% of online commercial searches result in offline bricks and mortar purchases (proprietary research / comScore)
- 82% of local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or purchase (TMP / comScore)
- 80% of budgets are spent within 50 miles of the home (DMA / proprietary)
- 74% of internet users perform local searches (Kelsey Group)
- 73% of online activity is related to local content (Google)
- 66% of American use online local search, like Google local search to locate local businesses (TMP / comScore / proprietary average)
- 61% of local searches result in purchases (TMP / comScore)
- 54% of Americans have substituted the internet and local search for phone books (comScore networks)
- 35% of all searches are local (DM News)
- 25% of internet searches have a purely local, commercial focus (Kelsey-Bizrate)
What's most impressive to me is that 90% of online commerical searches results in local offline purchases and 61% of all local searches results in a transaction. Is this an opportunity you can afford to miss? More precisely, what you need to ask yourself is, when local customers search for what you sell, do they find you?
So many local search statistics, but what do they mean for the local business search?
Really what all those statistics mean is that finding businesses locally is becoming an internet driven task. Thanks to local search tools, real local businesses are increasingly visible to local customers online. As a result, the internet is now driving local sales as well as e-commerce. And as consumers continue to move online, their reliance on online tools to perform searches for local information, local businesses and everything else local will only continue to grow.
And what about that conversion rate – 61%? Almost 2/3 of customers using local search will go on to buy? Is this an opportunity that any local business can pass up on?
Does a high local search conversion rate really make sense?
When you think about it, a high local search conversion rate makes perfect sense. Most people are not going to look for a local restaurant, plumber, accountant, or anyone other local service that matter unless they plan on using it.
When people search for a local seller, they are more than likely motivated to buy. The question again becomes, will they find you?
In Conclusion
A short post, I know... However, one with profound impact. The bottom line? Local search is here to stay. It is a trend that ,if embraced, can significantly fuel the growth of your local business. It can open the doors to every customer located within the area you service at little or no cost. So then, what are you waiting for?
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I've had a passion for marketing local business, and especially local small business, for some time. This info is stated well and I'll be able to use it as reference and in conversation. Many times small local businesses rely too heavily on reputation, and while that's very important, the future depends greatly on their online presence. Nice job.
I've already seen this article used as a source once, and Susan is saying she'll reference it as well.
But you provide no source for the stats, leaving their origin and the reliability of the methodology used unverifiable, thus it is irresponsible to use them as proof of anything.
tom, thanks for your comments and I apologize for not siting the sources. they are from a combination of sources including the Kelsey Groups research and some proporietary research done my the marketing firm I used to run. over the next few days, per your request, I will gather the information and source everything. the point of the article was to make an impact, not necessarily to be academic in nature, but none the less I can appreciate your concern.
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