UK Local Business Search Report and Statistics

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LOCAL SEARCHREPORT 2010

by www.spiderhousepr.com

This report may be distributed freely - no changes may be made.

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Table of Contents

........................................................................................Introduction! 3

..................................................Why You Should Use Local Search! 4

........................................................Local Search Trends (September 2010)! 4....................................................................................Google Places ! 8

...........................................................Other Local Search Engines! 10

......................................................................................................Bing Local! 10..................................................................................................Yahoo! Local! 10

.....................................................Local Listings: A Website Helps! 11

..............................................................Google Maps Optimization!

12

.......................................................................Things that HELP your listing! 12......................................................................Things that HURT your listing! 12

.............................................................................FACT OR FALSE?! 13


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Introduction

As a business owner, you understand how important it is to make sure your business can be

found whenever someone is searching. This usually means ge?ng your ad in the local Yellow

Pages, adverBsing on local television and radio, and pu?ng ads in local publicaBons like

newspapers and magazines.

Many business owners feel the internet cannot be beneficial to them, because its meant

solely for global searches. This is not true. The internet can sBll be enormously beneficialeven to very small local businesses.

With a growing number of tech-savvy, search-savvy consumers (virtually everyone under 30

years old has grown up with a computer) local search cannot be ignored if your business is to

succeed.

March 2010:

Diana Pouliot director of mobile adverBsing at Google revealed that one-third of all

Google searches via the mobile web pertain to some aspect of the searchers local

environment.

20% of all Google searches have local intent(hOp://sites.google.com/a/pressatgoogle.com/googleplaces/metrics)

If you dont have an internet presence and your compeBtors do, you could be losing out on a

lot of business!

In this report, Im going to show you why you need to make your presence known online,

and provide hints and Bps as to how to do it.

** see page 7 / * HItwise via Impact Media (March 2010)



52% of 18-45 year olds**search engines & local searchis their primary source of local business

informaHon

(or 47.5% of 18-54 year olds)

90% UK*

SEARCERS USE

GOOGLE
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Why You Should Use Local Search

All of the major search engines are now using some sort of local

search technology to display informaBon about companies that are

based in one specific geographic locaBon.

Local search results appear at the top of the results, before the standard results

are shown. This means that they get a lot of aOenBon, oZen more so than the

actual search results.

If your business is not listed here, but your compeBtors are, you will be losing a lot

of business. In some areas, thousands of people use Google and other search engines to find

local businesses just like yours every single day!

It just makes sense to make use of this technology. Its free to submit your business, and it

can make a big difference to your boOom line.

Local Search Trends (September 2010)The following data has been taken from the 2010 whitepaper by TMP DirecBonal MarkeBng and 15miles. It isan annual study, commissioned through comScore, to monitor the shiZs in consumer behaviors, opinions and

media selecBon within the framework of local search.

TMP Direc*onal Marke*ng/15miles & comScore, Local Search Usage Study, Q3 2010.

Trend 1 : Online is the preferred media for local search

The majority of consumers prefer to shop within 15 miles of their homes or places of

employment.

The majority of local-business searches are conducted online, with 70 percent of consumers

ciBng online sites as their primary sources.

Trend 2 : Search engines are most popular, but other mediums are growing faster

Search engines comprise more than 60 percent of the online-search market share.

Since 2009 non-search engines (social media, directories, mobile media) have grown at a

faster rate.




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Trend 3 : Local searchers are more likely to buy

Following their online searches, local searchers are more likely than general searchers to

contact businesses or to purchase from them.

Trend 4: Incomplete web presence wont complete the sale.

A third of searchers simply give up if there is nothing to match their search.

17 percent are dissaBsfied with the informaBon provided when searching for localbusinesses online or via mobile devices. The most-common reason for being dissaBsfied is

the inability to find the desired businesses.

Trend 5: Print is declining, but it still holds value for todays consumers.

Yellow Pages are holding their ground as a secondary source for business informaBon

(ranked second behind search engines). As in years past, this data supports the trend that

consumers research online, then go offline to contact or visit businesses.

Trend 7: With emerging media on the rise, a diverse media mix must nowinclude social and mobile marketing.

In the quest for local-business informaBon, more age groups are adopBng social and mobile

media. In fact, our study revealed double-digit growth in usage, parBcularly due to smart-

phone adopBon and the burgeoning popularity of raBngs and reviews.

Not only are more consumers engaging with new media, users are also demonstraBng a

higher propensity to contact businesses and/or purchase from them aZer conducBng online

searches.

Develop your search presence across various online plaorms, from general search to

social media. Failure to do so could result in missing a major segment of your target

consumers. Consumers conHnue to be scaYered.




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Intent

Fact: Consumers engage in different types of searches at various stages of the purchase

cycle. Their searches primarily consist of gathering research about the products/services that

meet their needs, as well as finding local businesses that carry those products/services.

Did you know that 45 percent of consumers dont have specific businesses

in mind when conducHng local searches?

General searchers are more likely than local and IYP (Internet Yellow Pages) searchers tohave the goal of researching products and services online. 48% of general searchers look for

business websites, while local searchers expect driving direcBons and maps (thanks, in large

part, to Google Maps and ing Maps). Phone numbers, addresses and hours of operaBon

remain the top features that local-business searchers expect to find, parBcularly on IYP sites.

As was the case last year,

business locaHon is the top

selecBon criteria among local-

business searchers online.usiness locaBon is followed

closely by business familiarity.

Other factors influencing purchase selecHon include:

First business lisBngs in search results

Consumer raBngs and reviews online

Ads in print Yellow Pages.

As the local-search industry conHnues to boom, consumers will demand improved search

results with added relevance for their lives. Not only does GeneraHon Now want

informaHon faster, it wants informaHon thats closer to home. Within 15 miles of the

consumer home or place of work is where sales happen.




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This years data indicates that a majority of searchers contact at least one business, with

only 21 percent not making any form of contact at all.

NB. in the above table (taken direct from the report) search engines and local search sites are quoted

separately, however now there are generally 7 local search results displayed within the search engine results. If

you can get into this posi*on you can benefit from a combined percentage!

Assuming that their searches prove successful, consumers react in various ways. ut

searchers across all categories share one thing in common:

They research online, but they make contact offline.

That is proven by the fact that only 9 percent of searchers contact businesses online,

whereas 38 percent use the telephone(so remember to ask where they got your number!) .

To bridge the gap, from search to sales, your search presence must be complete with the

informaBon consumers need to make transacBons.

NB We have focused on local search using local search engines. Readers should note that social media is one of

the fastest growing areas detailed in the report (also see Table 1.1 above).

[END: TMP Direc*onal Marke*ng/15miles & comScore, Local Search Usage Study, Q3 2010.]




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Google Places

IMPORTANT: Google have been changing their search results page. As of 27th ct 2010 the

new search has been widely available. We will be updaBng this document in November

once the changes have fully seOled. You will be able to download the new document here

(when it is ready!): www.spiderhousepr.com/shpr_emails/google-places-report-2010v2.pdf

Google Places is the new name for the Google usiness Center. Using this service, you canclaim your business in Google and customize your lisBng on Google Maps and other

important services.

Google is the largest search engine, with an esBmated 75-85% market share globally and

more than 90% market share in the UK. Most of your online efforts should be focused on

making sure your business has a prominent presence on Google.

This can be accomplished by creaBng a website for your company and using search engine

opBmizaBon techniques, however the best way to make sure your local company has a

strong presence is through the use ofGoogle Places.

If you have ever done a search for a local business on Google, youve probably noBced the

Google Places lisBngs at the top of the search results. They appear before the standard

results, making them especially lucraBve. It is very important to make sure your business has

a presence here!


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As you can see, the Google Places results appear before the standard lisBngs, making them

very prominent.

As you can see from those results, Google Places shows users a number of different pieces of

informaBon about each business. The name of the business, the phone number, the website

URL (if there is one available), as well as reviews for the company.

If a user clicks for further informaBon, they are taken to that companys business page (or

website). There is a map that shows the companys locaBon, reviews and photos, hours of

operaBon, and more.

This feature is especially helpful to users, because they can quickly and easily find the local

businesses that have what theyre looking for. Its also helpful for those businesses, because

they can sBll get a top lisBng in Google without spending a lot of money on a flashy website

and search engine opBmizaBon.

If youre not taking advantage of Google Places, you could be missing out on a lot of trade!




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Other Local Search Engines

Bing LocalGoogle isnt the only search engine that has a local search plaorm. ing is a relaBvely new

search engine that was developed by MicrosoZ to replace its aging MSN.

Like other local search systems, lisBngs appear with a map at the top of the lisBngs on

ing.com. While ing doesnt have the market share that Google has, its innovaBve

algorithms and fresh technologies are causing it to slowly emerge, taking a larger and larger

slice of the search engine pie as Bme goes on.

Its a good idea to get your business listed in ing now, while more people are focused on

Google. If ing happens to jump ahead in the market, your business will already be

posiBoned to take advantage of the situaBon, while many of your compeBtors struggle to

keep up. Currently this is less of a concern for the UK market, where Google sHll holds over

90% of market share.

LisBngs on ing Local are free, and they can be updated at any Bme. You can also add

mulBple locaBons if you have several different stores or branches.

ahoo! LocalYahoo! also has its own local search plaorm called Yahoo Local. Yahoo currently has a larger

share of the search engine market than ing.

Yahoo! has two levels of lisBngs for their local search plaorm. The free lisBng is very basic

and includes the companys name, URL, and a short descripBon. The enhanced lisBngs also

include the companys logo and tagline, photos, a longer descripBon, links to coupons, andthe addiBon of the companys lisBng in up to five categories.

Currently, enhanced lisBngs cost just $9.95 per month. As a paying customer, you will receive

reports that will show you how many Bmes your lisBng was viewed and how many Bmes it

was clicked. This will help you refine your lisBng in order to maximize its effecBveness.

You can always start out with a standard lisBng and upgrade at a later date. This might be a

good opBon if you just want to test the water before you are locked into a monthly fee.




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Local Listings: A Website Helps

There are a few things you can do to enhance your local lisBngs (Google, Yellow Pages,

Directories etc), but one is to have a website. When you have a website, your URL will be

displayed in your lisBng, which will draw aOenBon to the lisBng. This is important, because it

helps you stand out from the compeBBon. The other advantage is that your website could

appear in the search engines when a local maps do not appear.

In most cases, you dont need a complex website. Unless you plan to sell products or servicesdirectly online, all you really need is a website lisBng somewhat like an ad in the Yellow

Pages.

our website should contain:

Your business locaBon, including a map and direcBons

InformaBon about your products and services

Hours of operaBon

Contact informaBon

N. Google are now offering a free website service. If you are short of cash and rich in Bme,

this may be a good place to start! (hOps://sites.google.com/)

Most companies dont need much more than this on their website, but you can enhance

your sites effecBveness by adding addiBonal features. For example, if you add an opt-in box

to your site, visitors can subscribe to your email list, allowing you to send them news about

special offers, coupons, sales, and new product offerings. This will help keep your customers

reminded to shop with you, and you can offer incenBves to keep them coming in.

It costs a lot more to acquire a new customer than it does to get repeat business fromexisBng and former customers. y ge?ng people on your mailing list, you can enBce them to

buy from you again and again. It just makes sense to do this, because you can turn one-Bme

customers into lifelong buyers.

Why let people drop by your website once and leave, possibly

forever, without ge?ng them onto your mailing list Its an

efficient use of your web space to provide a way for customers

to be noBfied about your latest offers.


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IfyoudonthaveHm

etosetupyourlisHn

gyourself

(oryoucannotgett

opageone)

contactus-setupa

ndopHmizaHonisw

hatwespecializein

!

Google Local Submission & Optimization

Submi?ng your business to these search engines is relaBvely simple, but it can be Bme

consuming a liOle confusing if youve never done it before.

Things that ELP improve your rankingFully complete the lisBng informaBon

Conduct keyword research

Encourage reviews

e listed on other websites (you will eventually gain citaBons)

Things that URT your lisHngNon-geographic telephone number

Changing your telephone number

usinesses with same details (eg telephone number, address)

Fake reviews

There are many things spiderhousepr can do to opBmize your lisBng (and thus improve yourranking). We intensively focus on your business lisBng to acquire page one rankings and can

conBnue opBmizaBon on a monthly basis to keep you at the top.

The sooner you get listed, the sooner you get to page one and the sooner your business will

start ge?ng more customers!

Regards

Carley

[email protected]

PS. we can offer special pricing to franchises whereby we opBmize a number of businesses inthe same industry across mulBple locaBons - contact us for a chat!


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UK Local Business Search Report and Statistics

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