{"id":111208,"date":"2020-12-08T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/making-meaningful-connections-local-seo-in-the-pandemic-era-2\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T05:51:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:51:44","slug":"making-meaningful-connections-local-seo-in-the-pandemic-era-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/search-optimization\/making-meaningful-connections-local-seo-in-the-pandemic-era-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Making meaningful connections: Local SEO in the pandemic era"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the world begins moving out of lockdowns and into new tiered systems, there’s even more uncertainty about what people can and can’t do. For businesses with local brick-and-mortar locations, this means a shift not only in operations but in the way they need to engage with their audiences.<\/p>\n

In times like these, local SEO<\/a> has the potential to help businesses connect with existing customers and even attract new ones. It all boils down to understanding how users are searching\u2014and, as with most things in this crazy year, the most effective strategies look at things a little differently.<\/p>\n

An “open” query doesn’t just mean opening hours anymore<\/h2>\n

In simpler times, you would expect a query containing the term “open” to be answered with the opening hours of the establishment. Now a query with the term “open” comes with a lot more baggage.<\/p>\n

After the lifting of initial lockdowns, many countries saw a blanket reopening of restaurants, gyms, and pubs. But with tiered systems creating a much more fluid experience alongside a wider array of searches with local intent, there is now further uncertainty about which businesses are open\u2014and in what capacity\u2014at the local level.<\/p>\n

For instance, since the last major lockdown in the UK ended, there has been a surge in queries about businesses being open or closed:<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

What is open near me?<\/h2>\n

We have also seen the rise of “open near me” searches. In pre-pandemic times, these searches were normally reserved for those of us not blessed with perfect planning skills. The volume of “hairdresser open near me” searches shortly prior to Christmas 2019 was higher than the peak of similar searches during the initial lockdown:<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

In most other industries, “open near me” search trends seem to be a phenomenon that is unique to 2020:<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

This trend is not only seen in the UK, but is also replicated in the US and Canada:<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

Searcher uncertainty is further exhibited by a sharp rise in searches including “what”. This strongly suggests that users are actively looking for options rather than making a navigational search:<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

With the uncertainty that has been introduced by tiered lockdown systems, we fully expect “open near me” searches to continue surging through the holiday period and beyond:<\/p>\n

\"Search<\/p>\n

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