The world is becoming more interconnected every day, which has forever changed the way that people do business. Aside from the tremendous growth of eCommerce giants like Amazon and eBay, the internet has changed the way that people shop locally as well.
Referrals, reviews, and recommendations are still extremely important to consumers making buying decisions, but that conversation has moved online and is dominated by a few major players like Google & Yelp.
These aggregators have taken millions of conversations about local businesses (“best HVAC installer in the bay area”, “top water damage repair in Houston”, etc.) and delivered a single, authoritative answer: the listing with the most positive reviews.
What does that mean for local businesses competing in today’s marketplace? Local businesses need to make sure that they are not only represented in these results, but that they are positioned as the only choice. In fact, a recent analysis from BrightLocal found that Local and Organic search provide the best ROI for local businesses and drive 40% of traffic