87% use search engines like Google, Yahoo & Bing, and 93% of those users never go past the first 2 pages of search results.
75% of people searching are looking for services and products and of those searching, 40% are looking for a local business to purchase from (add stat about how many buy)and are often ready to buy.
Research has shown that 74% of people searching believe that the top organic search results (ie. page 1 on Google) are the most relevent and trusted. Organic search results generate 72% of the click through volumes compared to paid search results which drive approximately 28%.
Local Search Engine Marketing raises your online profile and builds brand awareness, promoting your business as the trusted local authority, leading to increased sales.
Customers in Your Local Area are searching Online for your Business “NOW’
Did They find you? Or Your Local Competitor?
An actual competitor analysis study
If you own a Pizza shop in Mentone, chances are no one is finding your service online. A quick search on Google has shown only 3 local results, one of which is not a traditional "Pizza" shop but a local restaurant, and the two pizza shops have no online presence other than a very basic Google maps listing supplied by Yellow Pages.
These businesses are missing 7 potential clients every day - that’s more than 210 orders not taken every month!
The first page results for the keyword “Pizza Mentone”
1. Paid search - competiton is Nil
2. Organic search - not one business has an actual website, the listings are all provided by third party directory listings
3. Local search - 2 pizza shops without any web presence
What’s does this mean to the Business owner?
Basically the first pizza shop in the general Mentone area to have a well optimised website, that is targeted for local search, will be very hard to move from the top position on Google, if at all! With more than 2500 customer searches every year, and 60% of those people searching ready to order online, not taking advantage of this opportunity is dollars down the drain.
Competitor Analysis Study 2
Competitor Analysis for the keyword “Melbourne Plumber”
Here is another market that we have focused on for local search and the results are nothing short of amazing - the Melbourne plumbing industry is wide open when it comes to local search engine marketing.
Just a quick view of the search results for page one of Google shows us that there are basically only two businesses competing for the keyword phrase "Melbourne Plumber" - in the organic search results two Plumbers have a listing in both the organic and the local search listings, and one has a listing in all of the Organic, Local and Paid search results.
1. Of the top 10 paid results there are 6 plumbing services, all others are directory or listing websites
2. 6 of the 7 Local results are services only. One has chosen to stand out by using the Coupon feature. Of the others 6 of the 7 have been verified by the business own . This is an opening for the savvy business owner to capitalise on this feature of the search page
3. Of the 10 top organic search results, 5 are actual Plumbing services, the other 5 are 3rd party directory listings
4. For the whole of the Melbourne Plumbing industry, only one business has a result in all three search results on the first page. This is an opportunity that 90% of these businesses will never realise.
This one keyword phrase (Melbourne Plumber), that is virtually untouched, receives a daily average of 178 unique searches.
178 x 30 = 5340 local searches monthly and 5340 potential customers. Simple maths tells us that the Plumber that has optimised their website to appear in all three search results will have a 90% chance of getting the business - 64080 searches every year!
These results are based on the one key phrase - a well optimised website would rank on many targeted high value keywords and key phrases relating to that specific industry, therefore generating high quality traffic and leads.
5 Key Benefits of Local Search Engine Marketing.
1. Increased Sales
2. Exposure to new clients in your area
3. Brand Awareness and trust
4. Qualified Leads and Increased conversion
5. Targeted Advertising for Increased ROI
