Sixty-four percent of marketers who participated in a recent survey from SEO technology firm Moz about local search trends, strategies and tactics said that local search results on Google act as their business’s “homepage”—but one-third of them find local rankings too complex to understand or control.
“Search engines are becoming increasingly efficient at delivering results users actually find useful. In some cases, search results are eliminating the need to visit merchant websites to find directions, contact info and hours of operation,” said Sarah Bird, CEO of Moz, in a news release. “However, how search engines aggregate at-a-glance information, such as Google’s Knowledge Panel, eludes many marketers.”
The firm’s new State of Local SEO report highlights a number of promising trends in local search, including the fact that more than 80 percent of in-house marketers are applying some level of SEO in their current marketing efforts. Additionally, nearly a quarter of respondents plan to spend additional time—including personal time—learning about local SEO in the next 12 months.
“As search engines work to be the one-stop shop for user needs, businesses need to move quickly to adopt local search best practices, or risk being left behind,” says Dr. Peter J. Meyers, marketing scientist at Moz, in the release. “As an industry, we need to do a better job sharing knowledge, resources and education with our peers.”
Download the full report here.
Moz surveyed more than 1,400 local marketers with 30 questions about their work in the industry. Responses were analyzed and segmented individually, by marketer type (agency vs. in-house), company size, and as a whole. The respondents represent a broad range of local marketers across industries, marketing job titles, and role level.
