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In the wake of his investigation of local ranking factors, Moz released a report on "The State of Local SEO". The results are based on the responses of approximately 1,400 local marketers, segmented by type of marketing (agency or internal) and by size of business.
Confusion and fragmentation of efforts. The report contains many interesting conclusions about the local SEO knowledge and practices of marketers. In general, however, the report points to a sense of fragmentation and a high degree of confusion among those seeking local SEO.
In addition to its formal survey of local search rankings cited above, the survey asked this population what factors influenced local search rankings. Proximity was cited as a primary factor by 32%. However, the second highest response stated that there was no higher ranking factor and 11% did not understand the question.
Proximity undermines the quality of the results and other key findings. Below you will find a selection of the main conclusions of the survey:
- Ninety percent of respondents believe that Google's focus on proximity hurts or sometimes harms the quality of search results.
- 64% of marketers now see Google as the new "homepage" for local businesses.
- 66% of customers and agencies are more concerned with conversions and revenue than rankings themselves.
- 65% of marketers use between 2 and 5 local SEO tools and software (Google's tools dominate).
- 43% of organizations have only one or no full-time SEO practitioners.
- 35% of local marketers have no link building strategy.
The graph below shows the distribution of local SEO efforts and the absence of tactics or priority activity areas.
The study also found that more than half of marketers (55%) were confident that their sites were mobile-enabled, while 45% were not sure they were ready. Finally, nearly 70% of the companies surveyed also broadcast paid advertising on Google.
The report contains much more data and discussion than I have touched on. The full report can be viewed here (after registration).
Why should marketers be concerned? A significant percentage of what people do on their mobile phones is finding products, services or entertainment in the offline world. As we saw last weekend, mobile devices generated more traffic on retail sites than desktops. And regardless of the official percentage of search with "local intent" (currently 30% according to Google), the company is increasingly focusing on delivering locally relevant content to mobile users in order to maintain engagement with the properties. from Google.
Local research is not a niche phenomenon, it is an almost universal concern. Indeed, unless you sell exclusively online, all brands, retailers and service providers must deploy more effort and energy to respond to local queries, especially in a mobile context.
About the author
Greg Sterling is a collaborative editor at Search Engine Land. He wrote a personal blog, Screenwerk, about the connection between digital media and consumer behavior in the real world. He is also Vice President of Strategy and Knowledge for the Local Search Association. Follow on Twitter or find it on Google+.
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