Part 2: Where people are looking to find local businesses
Online or off? Google? Local directories? Facebook? Where?
Last week I showed you some data that revealed where people were looking online to find local businesses. That was part 1 of this series on where people are looking for local businesses.
That report was published in October, 2011. The same research firm released some other numbers back in March. I’m not sure what they say is much different, but I think the chart is clearer, so I wanted to share this with you as well.
ONLINE sources people check BEFORE visiting a local business or restaurant
It should be noted that this report is referring to ONLINE yellow pages, and that this would encompass all yellow page sites (yp, yellowbook, superpages, etc). In case you didn’t know it, but yellow pages is not a brand. Instead, it’s a generic term that refers to more than 2,300 local business directories in the US.
Notable facts
Of particular interest to me is the fact that only 17% click on the first link in the search results.
Earlier reports showed this to be about 42% and this number seems to confirm the results of more recent studies. This indicates to me that people are being more selective and careful in their click choices, probably because of getting used to poor, spammy results. And this is very good news for local businesses. I don’t think they have to break their backs trying to be #1 anymore. A good strong presence on the first page, inviting title and description meta tags, and a landing page that convinces or converts should do it.
Local business search in Facebook is big!
The other fascinating tidbit is that a whopping 12% – almost as many as those who hit review sites like Yelp – went looking for local businesses in Facebook! If you were on the fence about getting a Facebook business page, this should be a wakeup call for you.
Evidently “Yellow Pages” is not dead
30% search in online business yellow page directories (that come in many colors), but just as many never look online at all! That’s a huge number. Could it be they are still using their print Yellow Pages? What else could it be?
So what does that mean for you the local business owner? Well, what it says to me is that maybe, just maybe, the print yellow pages is still a good place to advertise.
Are any of you out there having success with your print yellow page ads? If so, I’d like to hear about it in the comments below.
Are you where the eyeballs are?
Part 3 of this series is live now and shows some interesting eye studies on where people are looking for local businesses on the search results page. Are you where their eyeballs gaze, or are you in the dark.
- How to get reviews using QR codes and boost your rank in Google - November 14, 2023
- How to Improve Behavioral Signals on Your GBP to Help Rank - May 14, 2023
- Yelp Is Hiding My Reviews. What Can I Do? - March 12, 2020
Related posts:
SEO site audit: 7 essential steps for optimizing a local consulting business to show up in Google’s Lucky 7 Pak
Part 4: Where customers can find you online. Hint: Google Places.
Site audit: How can a local limousine service get found in dozens of cities?
Site audit: Helping a vacation rental company get off the PPC treadmill
Like what you read? Then get the Scoop!
Tags: Local Business, Local Directories, Local SEO
