{"id":110694,"date":"2017-02-15T16:42:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T21:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/rise-local-search-helping-businesses-break-silos\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T05:51:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:51:06","slug":"rise-local-search-helping-businesses-break-silos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/local-search\/rise-local-search-helping-businesses-break-silos\/","title":{"rendered":"How the rise of local search is helping businesses break down silos"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the past two years, we\u2019ve witnessed a significant change in businesses with both ecommerce functionality and a high-street footprint.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, the split between ecommerce and retail teams was obvious in the brands we met. The lines were clear demarcated – anything website based was considered ecommerce, while store performance was considered the responsibility of the retail teams – (while there are many different naming conventions for teams and business units, for the purpose of consistency, this post will stick with ecommerce vs. retail.)<\/p>\n

When meeting these brands, the first thing DAC worked to establish was who or which team was responsible for specific channels. Usually local search\/local SEO\/maps listings<\/a> (however you choose to name the channel), was treated as an afterthought and managed by the ecommerce team.<\/p>\n

Generally, most local listings pointed to the brand\u2019s homepage: when we questioned why, the answer usually given was\u00a0that it was managed by the ecommerce team, and they wanted users to be exposed to the latest communications\/promotions to generate ecommerce revenue.<\/p>\n

Our problem with this is that it doesn\u2019t answer the user\u2019s query; if the user is searching for a location, you need to serve the store page. Generally, ecommerce teams are not aware that they are servicing stores with their activity because they are singularly focused on meeting their targets.<\/p>\n

This blind spot pushed us to ask:<\/p>\n

\u201cBut how do you manage location based keywords and searches via PPC?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The usual answer:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t target these keywords.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In most cases, we were\u00a0then able to demonstrate to the brand how they were, in fact, picking up these searches via phrase match.<\/p>\n

\"Picture1\"<\/p>\n

In most cases, ecommerce teams were working with their retail team without even knowing it. Seeing as they were spending PPC budget on these terms, we’d ask why not serve a more relevant ad or local listing landing page to the user?<\/p>\n

When it comes to local, we’d specifically ask how the business submits changes to Google, Bing, Apple, Facebook etc. This process is especially important during seasonal periods, when opening hours are changed. In most cases, opening hours were changed on the website by the retail team, but this is often fails to reflect on search engines and directories. The retail team doesn\u2019t even consider the various digital tools available to them to help footfall; they are unaware that these listings often point to the homepage and not the store page.<\/p>\n

This is a massive oversight; incorrect opening hours result in negative reviews. Many brands we\u2019ve met over the past two years have had no visibility of these reviews, let alone responded to them.<\/p>\n

Breaking down silos?<\/strong><\/p>\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