Why your business needs Local Search Marketing and why Mimi is your best choice
By Mimi Vanderhaven
What is “Local Search?”
Local Search is any search aimed at finding something in a specific geography, such as “kitchen remodeler Cleveland” or “coffee shop near me.”
Gone are the days when these search results were a list of blue links. Today’s pages are a mix of images, graphics and text that YOU must manage. The goal now is literally to get on the map.
How Local Customers Find You Online
Here's some statistics:
- 77% of Americans use a smartphone to access the internet—and mobile searches are more likely to be local searches
- 75% of consumers who perform a local search visit a store within five miles
- 33% of all Google mobile searches are related to location. In the past, consumers had to manually signal that a search was local. With smartphones, that happens automatically!
- 30% of "nearby" searches result in a purchase
$1.4 Trillion!?!
By 2021, mobile devices are expected to influence $1.4 trillion in local sales.
Yes, you read that correctly. $1.4 TRILLION.
Local search is a major driver of this growth because local searches often lead directly to action. In fact, over 75% of local searches end in a sale!
How People Search for Information About Your Business
More people will explore your Google listing than will EVER visit your website.
Local SEO Has Changed
Today, your Google listing, citations and reviews are more important than your own website.
The Google Algorithm
- 25% Google Listing (Manually claimed, fresh content, categories, keywords)
- 17% Citation Signals (Name/Address/Phone Number consistency, volume, quality)
- 16% Reviews (Review quantity and diversity, quality of reviewers)
- 14% Old SEO Strategies (Backlinks, meta tags, anchor links, etc.)
- 12% Website Content (Name/Address/Phone Number consistency, strategic narrative, domain authority)
- 9% Behavioral Signals (Click-through rate, check-ins, directions)
- 7% Other (User browsing history, Google/Facebook/Twitter engagement)
Local Search is Intertwined with Review Management
Reviews and ratings are ESSENTIAL to Local Search Results.
Today, your Google listing, citations and reviews are MORE important than your own website.
- 93% of consumers read local reviews to decide if a business is good or not
- 68% say that positive reviews make them more likely to use a local business
- 40% say that negative reviews make them less likely to use a local business
To succeed in being found and boosting sales, it is essential to embrace a range of different tactics, including enhancing your Google My Business listing and other directory listings and monitoring your online reputation.
Mimi does all this for you!
Take Control of Your Online Brand
YOU GET ALL THIS:
- OPTIMIZED GOOGLE LISTING. Your Google My Business listing is the most important online content for your business. Mimi will optimize your Google listing with professional photography and accurate, comprehensive data about your organization. More people rely on your Google listing than are visiting your website!
- STRATEGIC NARRATIVE™. Our professional writers will boost your SEO by crafting a Strategic Narrative™ exclusively for your business—featuring your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and essential longtail keywords enhanced by Mimi’s keyword research tools and competitive analysis.
- PROFESSIONAL ONLINE PRESENCE. Mimi will ensure your business information is active, correct and consistent across more than 50 of the most popular directories. We’ll enhance your listings with professional images and descriptions of your business, like name/address/phone number, website, hours, products, services, promotions, etc.—and repress duplicate listings. You’ll stand out on sites like Google, Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor, Yahoo and many more.
- REVIEW MONITORING. A whopping 93% of consumers reply on online reviews. We’ll help you manage your online reputation by alerting you when someone leaves a review about your business—positive or negative—with tips on how you should respond. And you should ALWAYS respond.
- FEATURED BUSINESS LISTING. You’ll be featured on Mimi’s popular website with a Featured Business Listing, including professional photography, business summary, hours, map, website link, links to your feature stories, and more.
- MONTHLY CHECK-IN / QUARTERLY ANALYTICS. Mimi’s Digital Support Team will contact you monthly in case you’ve made changes in hours, products, services or promotions. We’ll also send you quarterly marketing metrics that help you track and measure your results.
- ANNUAL CITATION BUILDING. Increasingly, the Google algorithm relies on citation signals to determine rankings. Every year Mimi will add 10 new citations about your business— across the internet!