{"id":106720,"date":"2018-12-11T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/5-huge-changes-coming-to-local-search-and-how-to-get-ahead-2\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T09:21:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T14:21:57","slug":"5-huge-changes-coming-to-local-search-and-how-to-get-ahead-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/local-search\/5-huge-changes-coming-to-local-search-and-how-to-get-ahead-2\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Huge Changes Coming to Local Search\u2014and How to Get Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

The specifics of local search have changed mightily since we sat down to write last year’s LPM predictions<\/a>. In November 2017, most marketers were taking a desktop-first approach and worrying about citations. They didn’t yet have a full sense of the importance of reviews\u2014and they weren’t really paying much attention to voice search at all.<\/p>\n

But so much changes in a year. As ever, it’s important to understand the past as we look forward to the future and try to predict how corporate giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple will mould the local search ecosystem. Brands that want to navigate this landscape successfully will need to embrace change and continue to innovate, so here are our top five predictions for Local Listings Management<\/a>\u00a0in 2019.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Apple Maps will steal some of Google Maps’ market share<\/h2>\n

    Apple has been working incredibly hard to improve their maps channel, incorporating detailed satellite imagery and adding a vast amount of information on vegetation and local businesses. Benefiting from an improved user experience and its status as the default map on iPhones, we can very easily see more and more consumers moving over to Apple Maps.<\/p>\n

    Brands with distributed local footprints will need to ensure that their business information is listed properly on all online maps. Google Maps alone is no longer enough for businesses who are serious about capturing every possible lead.<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Voice search will start to move beyond command-based actions<\/h2>\n

    Voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and Google seem to improve almost daily\u2014and users are beginning to expect more. Right now, people use voice assistants to “turn on the lights” or “play Justin Bieber on Spotify”, but in 2019 we could easily see people asking much more. Questions like “what’s the right mattress for me?” and “should I get an electric or manual toothbrush?” will result in much more credible, detailed, and personalised answers.<\/p>\n

    When people start to trust the recommendations of voice assistants, the latter will pass the tipping point from command-based entities to true personal assistants. Brands that earn a place as the single recommended solution to a problem\u2014with a transaction that takes place entirely via voice\u2014will be the true beneficiaries of this revolution.<\/p>\n

    \"Google<\/p>\n

    So, what should your business be doing now? Ensure that you build a future-ready voice search strategy<\/a> that focuses on Skills\/Actions, structured data, integrated partners, and reputation management.<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Google Duplex will streamline how businesses update information online<\/h2>\n

    Google My Business is already asking business owners if they are comfortable getting calls from an AI entity called Google Assistant. We think this is a precursor to Google Duplex<\/a> calling business owners to verify information like holiday hours, menu pricing, or attributes. This will mitigate Google’s need to rely on business owners logging into GMB or utilising the GMB API to pass through their business details.<\/p>\n

    In other words, Google is going to take an active role in generating business details for businesses instead of waiting for them to be provided by local guides or the businesses themselves. Google will depend less on third-party data once it starts to generate location data for itself, signalling a massive reduction in the importance of citations.<\/li>\n

    \n \n
    \n
    \n

    \n Stay Forward <\/h2>\n

    \n Get exclusive insights into digital
    media's top-trending topics delivered
    directly to your inbox. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n \n