According to Google, 95% of the customers look for local businesses online.
Another fact has it that 73% of online activity is related to local
content. Since Google is the only search giant that boasts of a 66%
share in the market, we can only assume the facts are accurate. But one
thing is for certain - local businesses stand to gain much with online
promotion. And since Google just released a new algorithm to provide
more useful and relevant local search results to users, this area has
now become very important for local business owners to look at.
The new algorithm aims to provide more useful, relevant and accurate
local search results that are tied more closely to traditional web
search ranking signals. This means that they'll be ranked in much the
same as normal search results.
For now, the changes will only effect Google Maps and Google Web search
results - no news or in-depth article results, no image or video
results.
According to Google, the new local search algorithm ties deeper into
their web search capabilities, including the hundreds of ranking signals
they use in web search. It also takes other signals into account, such
as Knowledge Graph, spelling correction, synonyms and more.
Furthermore, the algorithm is supposed to improve Google's distance and
location ranking parameters, which means it gives local businesses such
as shops, restaurants, and so on to attract a lot of local customers
living nearby.
Right now, the new algorithm is only being tested out for U.S. (English)
search results. There hasn't been an update on if, and when Google will
roll the update to more countries and languages. But it's gotta be
soon, we estimate a few weeks or months at most.
Right now, there has not been an indication of the percent of total
queries impacted by this algorithm. Most of the changes are behind the
scenes, but some local businesses may suddenly notice an increase or
decrease in traffic, leads or conversions.
If you deal in local business, and have seen an increase or decrease in
traffic lately, let us know about it in the comments section below! All
the best :)