Millions of people are looking for products and services every day. When they search, they want to find businesses near them that can learn more about and buy from. With so much competition our there, this presentation looks at local became such an important focus and how to make sure you get found whether you have one location or one thousand.

1. Confidential1
Winning the “Near Me”
Moments that Matter
Presented by:
Luigi Ferguson

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Meet your presenter
• Marketer of 15 years
• Raised in New York
• Traveled to over 35 countries
• Lover of
○ Art
○ History
○ 90’s sitcoms

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Local brands that I’ve worked with
….and many others

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Agenda
• The Evolution of Local Search
• Local Search Landscape Overview
• What Your Customers Think About Local Listings
• How to Stand Out From the Crowd

5. The Evolution of Local Search

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Local SEO used to be a lot easier
• Companies paid each year to be
featured in the “phone book”
• Listings were broken down by
business name and category
• Phone books were delivered to each
household and placed in public
areas (ex. phone booths, libraries,
etc.)
• Everyone wanted to be “AAAA”

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Discovering local businesses has
changed a lot over the last 100 years
In a “near me” world, local listings are where people turn to instead of organic listings. Local listings contain a
lot of the basic information that people are looking for and show up higher on the page.
1920s 1950s 2000s now
Business Cards Phone Directories Websites Local
Listings

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This change started with the shift to
smartphones
Feature Phones (flip phones)
None / Limited
Slow (2G / 3G)
T9
Limited; few models
$599+ ($729+ in 2019)
Category
Touch Capabilities
Internet Connection
Text Input
Built-in Voice Assistance
Pricing
Smartphones
Full
Fast (4G / LTE / 5G)
On screen keyboard / Voice
Full
$749+
2007 2017
Cordless Phone
None
N/A
N/A
N/A
$19+
1997

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Smartphones are our go-to device
Over the last 10+ years, US smartphone adoption has grown exponentially.
Source: ComScore, eMarketer

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We’re spending 10x more time on our
phones
Source: Kleiner Perkins

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This created a shift in how we search
By 2015, more searches were taking place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries -
including the US.

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PC and smartphone search results began to put a heavy focus on localized results, starting with the Map Pack.
The Map Pack contains three local listings Google deems relevant to your search.
Search engines adapted to this shift
making it easier to find what we need

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With local results front and center, our
focus shifted to what’s “near me”
From 2014 to 2015, ”near me” searches grew 130%+. From 2015 to 2016, “near me” searches grew 146%.
Since 2011, “near me” searches are
up over 34x.
Source: Google - https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/i-want-to-go-micro-moments/

14. Confidential14
As a result, more of our searches
centered around local intent
Regardless of the device, people want to know when a business is open and how to get there.
Source: Google / Ipsos Survey - https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/advertising-channels/search/how-advertisers-can-extend-their-relevance-with-search-download/

15. Confidential15
Local Search Landscape
Overview

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In 2014, Google My Business launches
Google My Business (GMB) is a portal where local businesses and multi-location businesses can claim,
edit and update information about their business to make it easier for searches to find you.

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Google My Business is…
• A free and easy to use tool to manage your online presence within Google – Local
Map Pack, Knowledge Graph, and Google Maps
• A way to interact with new and potential customers and to tell the story of you
business
• An important way to improve search engine results to help drive customers to
your location(s)
• A tool to draw in new customers with photos and images of what is unique to your
franchise
• A way to complement your existing website with a public identity and presence
with a listing on Google
• A way to engage with your customers, respond to reviews and answer questions

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In 2015, the Map Pack launches
By introducing the “Map Pack”, Google limits the number of local listings it highlights creating competition
and consolidates local engagement. This is a significant change in the Local Search landscape.
Source: Link Assistant - https://www.link-assistant.com/news/google-local-3-pack-update.html

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Your listing is key to drive sales and
contact from customers
Many people that are searching for a grocery store, restaurant or auto shop “near me” are looking for an
option they can immediately go to. Businesses that aren’t found during this moment lose out on the
business they didn’t realize they could have earned.

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A Google business listing gives you the ability
to control multiple data points
Source: Google
Photos
Name
URL
Reviews
Category
Address
Phone
Q & A
Google Search
Popular Times
Google Maps
Smart Campaigns (Paid)
Voice Search
Red text = What a business can edit / control

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Accurate information and timely
updates create strong listings
There are hundreds of local search sites and
directories.
Despite this, Google typically drives over
90% of local search views and engagement.
For this reason, optimizing your presence for
Google is the best and easiest way to help
your business get found when people search
online.

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Getting found on Google is complex but
can be boiled down to three pillars
In a rare move, Google has disclosed the three primary local ranking factors they consider when
someone searches online.

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You CAN’T change where your store is, you
CAN change what Google knows about it
Proximity
How far a business is from a user can impact if Google decides to show that business.
Relevance
How well your business matches what someone is looking for determines if and where you business
shows when someone searches.
Prominence
Prominence refers to how well-known a business is. Some places are more prominent in the offline
world, and search results try to reflect this in local ranking.
Are you actively working to increase store reviews? Are you responding to them as they come in?
This points to the importance of local listing management.

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Consider using a local listing partner*
* - Mention is not an endorsement

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Things to ask a potential partner
How much does it cost?
Costs can sometimes vary based on how many locations you have and how many sites you want to distribute
to. There can sometimes be set up fees that aren’t clearly spelled out in your contract.
How fast is your data updated?
Some partners promise “real-time updates” and others distribute to data aggregators which could cause
significant delays in having any changes to your listings reflected online.
What features do you get access to?
As local search becomes more of what we do, more functionality is available on local sites / directories. Some
partners provide different levels of service that limit the features and functionality that you’re able to access.
What happen to my data when we stop working together?
While local data changes frequently, make sure that your data doesn’t revert once you stop paying them to
distribute correct data on your behalf.

26. What Your Customers Think
About Local Listings

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Your store listing is the source of truth
people look to when looking local

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29% of people may look for a different
business if your listing has bad data

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93% of people are frustrated when they
find incorrect store information

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Incorrect listing information leads to
customers losing trust in your business

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Lost trust leads to lost business from
potential customers

32. How to Stand Out From
the Crowd

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Create a local page hierarchy
Home
Store Locator
Store 1 Store 3
Store 4 Store 5
Store 2
Home
Store Locator
State Page
City Page(s)
Store 1
Store 3
Store 4 Store 5Store 2
State Page
City Page(s) City Page(s)

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Benefits of a local page strategy
• Customers can easily see all locations in an area
• Easier to run non-brand paid search for city + keyword
search terms
• Search engines don’t have to decide which store page is
the most relevant when multiple stores are near each other
• Potential for increased internal linking

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Optimized store pages can drive local
engagement
Other Tips:
• Use JSON-LD
Schema markup
• Use targeted
keywords in H1s and
body content
• Clearly indicate when
you’re open
Source: Nifty - https://niftymarketing.com/optimal-local-landing-page-infographic/

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Google Posts drive FREE local
engagement at scale
Use Google Posts to highlight:
• Store openings / renovations
• New product launches
• Sales / promotions
• Job openings
• Recent positive reviews

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Grow store reviews and respond promptly
to both positive and negative reviews

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Growing your reviews doesn’t have to
require a lot of tech or money
Imagine a
customer
leaving your
store and they
see something
like this

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Test. Test. Then test some more

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(Major) Key Takeaways
• Search is local and search engines are finding more
ways to make local discovery easier
• Distributing local listings with accurate data will help
increase visibility and engagement
• Google Posts are an easy (and free) way to highlight
updates about your business
• Earning and responding to reviews on a consistent
basis will help you reach more new potential
customers