Pete YoungSearch DirectorMediaCom i-Lab UK & Ireland

Local search – bigger than you think

Back in 2011

Local impacts a huge proportion of searches

1 in 3searches have local intent

Source: Ed Parsons: Google 2013

2,161,530,000,000a year

There are

Source: Google Official History / Comscore - http://www.statisticbrain.com/google-searches/

720,510,000,000a year

That equates to

1,974,000,000

a day

or

20%of queries on

desktop

Local accounts for around

Over 50%of queries are local

On mobile – that’s even higher

Mobile penetration has doubled in 2 years

Source: Google: Our Mobile Planet

2011 2012 20130.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

This affects certain verticals more than others

Vertical Mobile Penetration(including tablets)

Gaming 35%

Travel 46%

Automotive 43%

Finance – BankingFinance - Insurance

24%28%

49%Search on their smartphone

every day

Source: Google: Our Mobile Planet

37%13%

Search for local information at least once a week

Source: Google: Our Mobile Planet

Look for local information daily

58%27%

Search for local information at least once a week

Source: Google: Our Mobile Planet US

Look for local information daily

57%21%

Search for local information at least once a week

Source: Google: Our Mobile Planet US

Look for local information daily

Whilst searchers aren’t necessarily searching for local content, global considerations are

increasingly influencing your search experience

“Shopping Centre”

Explicit query

“Shopping Centre”

Explicit query

iPad User, in Manchester

Implicit query

Modern day search is more than just the searched phrase

The introduction of Venice means that we cannot rely on a single source of truthbrighton Manchester Westminster blackpoolhttp://www.which.co.uk http://www.which.co.uk http://www.which.co.uk http://www.which.co.uk

http://www.ceswindows.co.uk http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.directwindowco.com http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.malbernwindows.co.uk http://www.brightwindows.co.uk http://www.directwindowco.com http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

http://maps.google.co.uk http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk http://maps.google.co.uk http://www.weatherseal.co.uk

http://www.elitewindows.co.ukhttp://www.lordshipdoubleglazing.co.uk http://www.yell.com http://www.everest.co.uk

http://www.yell.com http://www.weatherseal.co.uk http://www.abelglass.co.uk http://www.anglianhome.co.uk

http://www.clearviewhome.co.ukhttp://www.summitdoubleglazing.com

http://www.jardineconservatories.co.uk http://www.fensa.co.uk

http://www.didsburyglass.co.uk http://www.squareglazing.co.uk http://www.jcwindows.com http://www.ggf.org.uk

http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.everest.co.ukhttp://www.doubleglazingblackpool.com http://www.dgcos.org.uk

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk http://www.nolanglass.com http://en.wikipedia.orghttp://www.lancashiredoubleglazing.co.uk

http://www.weatherseal.co.uk - http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk -

Source: GroupM/Experian Keyword Study - 2013

Travel Retail Automotive Finance Insurance0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Keyword Breakdown by Vertical

Organic Clicks Positions 10+

Organic Clicks Position 10

Organic Clicks Position 9

Organic Clicks Position 8

Organic Clicks Position 7

Organic Clicks Position 6

Organic Clicks Position 5

Organic Clicks Position 4

Organic Clicks Position 3

Organic Clicks Position 2

Organic Clicks Position 1

Paid Search Clicks

Unsuccessful Searches

Coverage above the fold is crucial to generating the click

Source: Google: Eye Tracking Study 2012

This is even more important on mobile

Your resultset is increasingly localised across the board

Certain results are “hyperlocal”

Increasing interactivity through local

That functionality can be further expanded to include more interactivity

http://www.manchesterbusinessphotos.co.uk/tourdash-your-google-virtual-tour-evolved/

Getting yourself in the local results isnt difficult Ensure you claim all relevant

addresses

Make sure you spend time

associating your entries with

appropriate categories – particularly

the primary category

Make sure you provide as much

information as you can with

particular focus on:

Opening Hours

Contact Details

Photos & Videos if available

Payment

Location + Relevance + Engagement = Local Visibility Location

Proximity to location of search (specified or inferred)

Relevance

Business Name

Categories (in paritcular primary category)

Engagement

Quantity of Reviews

Secondary citations

Interaction

The do’s and don’ts of local search

DO

Spend time choosing the most

appropriate category for your

locations

Use Local Telephone numbers

where possible

Reference your Google+ Local

pages from the relevant local

content on site

Encourage reviews via Google+

Local via integration with wider

CRM activity

Don’t

Don’t keyword stuff – its so 1999

Use of irrelevant keywords in your

business title is not advised

Limit use of non-specified

categories. Spammy categories can

actually work against you

Don’t just leave things once you’ve

finished submitting your info –

that’s just the start….

Reviews are increasingly important for social proofing

Shared endorsements are only going to get bigger

Organic Local can only take you so far … to get more granular, PPC can provide some quick, easy and scalable wins

One of the biggest reasons is this

Before you start…..

External tools such as GA, Adwords,

Hitwise, TGI and Moasic can guide

potential opportunities

Always cross reference with internal

data where possible

Offline vs Online

Proximity Analysis (particularly

against offline data)

Click vs Conversion

Test, learn, refine

And then choose the right tool for the job

Local Extensions

Location based

upweights

Localised campaigns

List based retargeting

So where do we go from here….

Glass may have a big part to play in the future of Local

Local integration with wider Google products

Google becomes the aggregator for more products

To conclude

If you haven’t got Local as part of your current

strategy – get cracking

Local search isn’t one dimensional – utilise both

paid and organic opportunities to maximise

share of traffic

Make sure you verify your places – 3 weeks and

counting

Make sure you include Google+ Local reviews as

part of your CRM Strategy – this is only going to

get more and more important

Google is the new landing page …..

The beauty of paid search is in the flexibility

Localised campaigns

Where local is a factor in the

customer journey (ie Travel –

Airport)

High volume sectors where volume

is unlikely to impact quality score

Where conversion could be

significantly improved by the usage

of local relevance

Bid Upweights by location

Useful where local is not a direct

factor in the customer journey

Particularly useful for tactical

activity

Localised Television

Locallised doordrops/inserts etc

90%Of mobile users took action after

performing a local search !

Source: Google: Mobile Playbook - http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/action-after-searching_statistics.pdf