‘Near Me’ Google Searches Have Almost Doubled Since Last Year

The importance for dealerships and other businesses to make their location information easily accessible on mobile is growing rapidly, as consumers increasingly turn to their smartphones to make decisions quickly. It’s also essential to understand that customers want to be able to search for products and make purchases in the way that suits them best, and businesses must adapt their mobile presence to work effectively for the specific types of expectations that exist among consumers.

Matt Lawson, director of search ads marketing at Google, says that turning to our smartphones when we need something has become a reflex. “We want things right, and we want things right away,” Lawson says in a new article on Think with Google. “As a result, the consumer journey looks markedly different than it did just five years ago. Instead of a few moments of truth, it’s a series of ‘micro-moments’ when we turn to mobile to act on a need.”

Lawson analyzed Google data and conducted online surveys to see just how widespread these ‘micro-moments’ have become. He found that words such as “near me,” “closest,” and “nearby” have been rapidly growing in popularity in Google queries. Largely due to the rise of mobile, more and more people are searching for businesses in their current vicinity. Google search interest in “near me” has increased 34 times since 2011, and has almost doubled since last year. The vast majority of these queries come from mobile, at 80 percent in Q4 2014.

Clearly, mobile searches for nearby businesses are growing at a staggering rate, and dealerships must work to make their mobile presence as strong as possible to ensure that they rank high in mobile search results and that their information is easily accessible and highly relevant.

Beyond searches, a growing number of consumers are choosing to make purchases based on information they find on their smartphone. Lawson’s data indicates that an impressive 50 percent of consumers who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a store within a day, and 18 percent of those searches lead to an actual purchase within a day. There’s no question that consumers’ expectations for immediacy and relevance are increasing due to mobile searches, and all brands must have an effective mobile presence to offer the information that will get customers into their location, or to make a purchase, or both.

“The consumer today, especially with the technology they have available, they expect immediacy,” said Serena Potter, group vice president of marketing at Macys.com. “I think search is really one of those tools that allows her to quickly find exactly what she’s looking for and better understand where it’s available.”

Although these micro-moments happen quickly, there are methods that brands can use to plan for them accordingly. Digital marketers can use a combination of hypotheses, observations and data to create campaigns that focus on the times that are most likely for consumers to be searching for their services and the expected needs of those customers. For example, Lawson found that “near me” searches are more common when people travel, such as during holidays, as well as on weekends. However, sometimes convenience becomes more important than brand loyalty when conducting “near me” mobile searches, so it’s essential that marketers provide exceptional mobile experiences with the most useful and relevant information possible.

Many brands are using new ad types and innovative techniques to accomplish this goal. For dealerships and other businesses, one example of an effective technique is to have local inventory ads showing nearby availability right in the search ad. Not only will the mobile searcher be able to see the product itself, but they will also know whether or not it is in stock at a local store and will be aware of how close by the store is to their current location. This kind of instant gratification is desired by more and more mobile users, and businesses can benefit greatly by coming up with innovative methods to meet these expectations.

“The intent-rich moments when people seek location information are incredibly valuable,” said Lawson. “Based on the insight that 10 to 18 percent of clicks on search ads lead to a store visit, PetSmart is investing more in ads that drive customers to retail stores, like location extensions and directions. Businesses are also fine-tuning their location bid adjustments to show search and display ads to people who are within a certain distance from their stores.”

The essential takeaway from Lawson’s data is all businesses must strive to deliver highly effective information for “near me” mobile searches. It’s important to think about how customers interact with your business when they are near one of your locations, and to harness what they can now do with their smartphones that they couldn’t do in the past. The key is to focus on the consumer’s context and intent in these moments, to offer highly relevant, localized information that will drive sales by providing an easy and engaging mobile experience. Businesses who do the most to seamlessly advance the consumer journey will not only benefit in the immediate short-term, but will also increase brand loyalty over time by meeting the changing expectations of modern consumers.