Whether you are a small business, ecommerce website, or an international brand, digital consumer trends are evolving and affecting your sales. Recent studies reveal that when preparing to make a major purchase costing $500 or more, 80% of consumers start their search process online from home (a steep increase from 20% in 2014) and spend an average of 79 days gathering information before making a their final decision and purchase (BusinessWire).
So what are these consumers doing with all that time online?
Industry research has uncovered the answer to this question: in short, they are looking at your product’s ratings and reviews and researching your competitors. Approximately 92% of consumers read online reviews before buying, up from 88% in 2014 (BrightLocal). Consumers are reading your reviews because they find the insight extremely valuable — 68% of consumers say that a positive review makes them trust a business more (BrightLocal). Since Google wants to present its users with information they find useful and informative, it favors businesses with multiple reviews and ranks them highly in search.
Your online presence can greatly affect how you measure up to your competition. While customers love local SEO-boosting features like online pricing, directions, reviews, and social media, one in four shoppers agree they’ll completely disregard a nearby store altogether if this type of information is not available online (Google).
To ensure that you’re standing out amongst your competitors, a comprehensive local SEO strategy needs to be in place. Distinguish your online presence by claiming your G+ profile, utilizing keywords, and making product information (price, availability, etc) easily accessible for potential customers. A local SEO company understands how to implement these tactics effectively, along with the technical coding needed to make your site search friendly.
Kick-off a marketing campaign that works for 2016’s digital consumers by contacting Kirk’s team of local SEO experts at 603-766-4945.
