50+ Local SEO Statistics Every Local Business & Marketer Should Read

Imagine you are looking for a local business, where do you start your search?

With a search engine, probably Google.

Your (potential) customers are no different. When they are looking for a product, service or solution to a problem, online is where the go to find it.

But it’s competitive online. The success of your local business comes down to how people are finding it on the web, (aka; your local SEO strategy). That’s why it’s so important to keep up to date with local SEO statistics. Knowing these trends around local search can help you to make better decisions (backed by data).

Don’t worry, you don’t need to do hours and hours of research on your own to find this useful information. We’ve done it for you.

Here are the best local marketing statistics and trends (organised into 5 categories) every marketer and business owner needs to know:

Local SEO Statistics

• 72% of people conducting a local search will visit a store within 5 miles. (Source: HubSpot)
• 900% growth in “near me tonight/today” searches over the past 2 years. (Source: ChatMeter)
• 200% increase in mobile searches for “open” + “now” + “near me”. (Source: Think With Google)
• 46% of all searches on Google are local searches. (Source: Go Globe)
• 78% of local mobile searches lead to a purchase in-store or online. (Source: Search Engine Land)
• 56% of consumers shop both online & offline. (Source: Local Search Association)
• 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. (Source: HubSpot)
• By 2020, online advertising will be 70% larger than TV advertising. (Source: Local Search Association)
• 88% of local business searches performed by consumers using a mobile device will either call or visit the business within 24 hours. (Source: Nectafy)
• 97% searches online are done so in order to find a local business (Source: Hubspot)
• Google accounted for over 72.47% of all global desktop search traffic, with Baidu at 13.47%, Bing at 7.64% and Yahoo at 4.74% in June 2018. (Source: NetMarketShare)
• 86% of people will use Google Maps to lookup the location of a business. (Source: HubSpot)
• 72% of consumers searching for local businesses, will end up visiting stores that are within five miles. (Source: HubSpot)
• 46% of all Google searches are local, with 60% of the people who search for local business using their smartphones. (Source: HubSpot)
• 76% of consumers prefer to go shopping in physical stores during holiday seasons. (Source: Geo Marketing)
• Over 50% of ‘near me’ searches result in a physical store visit. (Source: Mediapost)
• Online search beats social media by more than 300% as a traffic source. (Source: imForza)
• 61% of digital marketers view SEO as a top priority. (Source: HubSpot).
• 76% of potential customers who conduct a local mobile search will visit a business within 24 hours. (Source: Think With Google)
• Position 1 of local search rankings get 24.46% of all clicks, with position 2 getting 13.38% & Position 3 getting 10.12%. (Source: AWR)
• After the 6th ranking position each local listing get less than 2% of the clicks. (Source: ChatMeter)

Online Review Statistics

• 97% of consumers say that reviews do influence their decision to buy. (Source: Fan And Fuel)
• There can be a 270% increase in customer conversions by displaying reviews on your website.. (Source: Spiegel Research Center)
• 95% of shoppers will read reviews before making a buying decision. (Source: Spiegel Research Center)
• Consumers are more likely to purchase when ratings are between 4.0 & 4.7. This decreases as the ratings get closer to a 5.0 star rating. (Source: Spiegel Research Center)
• 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family. (Source: Search Engine Land)
• 82% of Yelp users said they will typically visit Yelp because they want to buy a product or service. (Source: Yelp)
• 82% of consumers actively look for negative reviews. (Source: Spiegel Research Center)
• 68% of consumers have left a local business review following a purchase. (Source: Local Search Association)
• 95% of consumers are suspicious of reviews if there are no bad reviews, suspecting that some may be fake.. (Source: Reevoo)
• 73% of consumers trust a local business based on positive online reviews. (Source: BrightLocal)
• 88% of local clients trust online reviews. (Source: Search Engine Land)

Social Media Statistics

• Over 50 million businesses use Facebook Business Pages as part of their marketing. (Source: Hootsuite)
• 76% of US consumers have purchased a product because they have seen it in a social media post. (Source: Curalate)
• 71% of US internet users use social media at least once a month. (Source: Local Search Association)
• Nearly 80% of the time social media happens on a mobile. (Source: Marketing Land)
• 200 million Instagram users visit the social page of at least one brand every day. (Source: Instagram)
• 72% of consumers follow brands on social media in order to get discounts. (Source: Local Search Association)
• 78.5% of Twitter users have tweeted at a brand. (Source: Twitter)

Mobile Search Statistics

• Google holds the majority share of the mobile search at 84.36%. (Source: Net Market Share)
• Customers have twice more brand interactions on mobile than anywhere else online. (Source: Local Search Association)
• Mobile searches that include the word “best” have grown by 80% during the past two years. (Source: Think With Google)
• Travel-related searches (like “today” or “tonight”) have grown 150% over mobile in the past two years.. (Source: Think With Google)
• 28% of local mobile searches conclude in an in-store purchase on the same day. (Source: Think With Google)
• 89% of people are more likely to recommend a brand after having a positive mobile experience. (Source: Think With Google)
• 30% of all mobile searches are related to location. (Source: Think With Google)
• 51% of smartphone users will look for local business information while on the go. (Source: Think With Google)
• 89% of people search for a local business using their phone at least once a week. (Source: Go Globe)
• 42% of all mobile brand experiences involve search. (Source: Think With Google)
• 50% of people who search for a local business using their mobile will visit the store within one day. (Source: Search Engine Watch)
• Almost 2 of 3 mobile users are more likely to purchase from businesses whose mobile sites (or apps) tailor information to their location. (Source: Think with Google)
• 52.2% of all web traffic worldwide is from mobile phones. (Source: Statista)
• By 2022, mobile devices will influence over $1.4 trillion in locally based sales. (Source: Forrester).
• 65% of people use their mobile phone when in their buying moments. (Source: Think with Google)

Voice Search Statistics

• By 2020, 50% of all searches will be conducted via voice. (Source: Campaign Live)
• In the past year, 58% of US adults have used voice search to research information about a local business. (Source: Local Search Association)
• 35% of voice assistant users have made a purchase whilst using a voice device. (Source: Local Search Association)
• 1 in 6 Americans own a smart speaker, which is roughly 39 million people. (Source: TechCrunch)
• 52.8% of voice assistant users perform voice searches while driving. (Source: Marketing Profs)
• Voice-based searches on mobile devices are three times more likely than text. (Source: Search Engine Watch)
• 2 in 5 adults use voice search daily. (Source: Edit)
• 39% of smart speaker users use voice search to find local business information. (Source: Marketing Profs)

Wrapping up Local Search Statistics

Local SEO is always changing. So keeping up with the latest trends and local search data is the only way to keep ahead of the curve.

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