{"id":117298,"date":"2017-11-30T20:54:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T01:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/2018-predictions-local-presence-management\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T09:21:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T14:21:48","slug":"2018-predictions-local-presence-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-ca\/insights\/blog\/local-search\/2018-predictions-local-presence-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Year of the Local Presence Management Marketers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like all aspects of digital marketing, local presence management is evolving quickly. The consumer shift to mobile-first has changed the game for location-based businesses \u2014 and embracing technology and understanding changes to Google\u2019s search algorithms continues to hold the key to business success. Here are our top five predictions in the local presence management space for 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. IoT data will become a ranking factor as Google leans on content to push user engagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n

From wait times at restaurants to the availability and price of gas and live product inventory, consumers don\u2019t just want to know where your business is: they want to make sure they\u2019ll have a satisfying experience once they arrive. Finding ways to leverage IoT data and integrate it into search engines will become essential fuel for standing out in a crowd.<\/p>\n

2. Traffic to company websites will drop as Google tries to keep people on Google instead of sending them to clients\u2019 websites<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In an effort to hold onto web traffic, Google has already launched Q&A, Reserve with Google and Posts to help users find the information they need without ever visiting company websites. Normally to see an FAQ, book an appointment or learn about events, consumers would have to go to our client\u2019s website; now they get this on Google without ever going to the website. It is still important to have a website, as websites are still a major factor in ranking well. However, more and more web traffic will stay on Google instead of your website, which advances companies\u2019 exposure in the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Online to offline tracking will become a lot clearer \u2014 and will influence rankings on search engines<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Google will know through different avenues such as location tracking if somebody saw a listing and then visited a store. Their ability to show a listing and track through a physical world conversion will influence what listings they show.<\/p>\n

4. Paid map listings will continue to increase<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It is going to get even harder to win from an SEO standpoint in the maps channel. Additional expansion will need to be fueled by pay-to-play media buys. No longer will you be able to rely on the free organic traffic that search engines send you. This inventory of advertising space is going to shrink as search engines monetize this traffic source. So if you want to continue to grow your business you\u2019ll need to invest in paid search.<\/p>\n

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