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We all check our smartphones around 220 times a day and pick up our devices an incredible 1,500 times per week. Locality and mobility go hand in hand. In his article, \u2018Think with Google\u2019, Matt Lawson, the company\u2019s director of search ads marketing, says: \u201cWe want things right, and we want things right away. As a result, the consumer journey looks markedly different than it did just five years ago. Instead of a few moments of truth, it\u2019s a series of \u2018micro-moments\u2019 when we turn to mobile to act on a need.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve grown to expect our smartphones to serve relevant, local results. \u2018Near me\u2019, \u2018closest\u2019, and \u2018nearby\u2019. All phrases that would have meant little just a decade ago are beginning to dominate the billions of queries every month. In fact, \u2018x near me\u2019 searches have nearly doubled in the last year. People are making purchase decisions on the go.<\/p>\n
The customer expects personalisation<\/strong><\/h2>\nConsumers and customers alike expect personalised and localised results. Identities and individuals need to be understood across all channels, bridging the gap between on and offline, all the way down to their specific location. To do this cookies, email addresses, mobile IDs, locational data and other identifiers need to be woven into one cross-channel history. Marketing budgets often focus on brand level engagement without looking at the smaller picture of how consumers engage on a hyperlocal level. That last step in the consumer journey often takes place at that local level and it is a waste of marketing budgets spent higher up the purchase funnel to neglect this. Joining in local conversations that speak the language of that local audience and communicates to their characteristics and desires is the best way to approach this. ![\"Europe\"](\"http:\/\/www.make-it-rain.co.uk\/wpe-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/shutterstock_133120046-600x600.jpg\")
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Hyperlocal engulfs Google<\/strong><\/h2>\nThese forces have impacted Google\u2019s organic results. This is a massive opportunity for businesses. Recently Google tested a hyperlocal ad unit featuring pre-qualified listings for tradespeople. The unit makes up a part of a beta programme called \u2018home service ads\u2019. From what\u2019s been observed in testing, the ads appear to replace organic local search engine results. Is this further indication that local is a rising star in Google\u2019s armoury? Undoubtedly. Another tool that has seen its stock rise recently is a new feature for mobile browsers. It provides details on when a given business is at its most busy. Anonymous and aggregated visits to places from Google users form the basis of the feature. The fact that this data exists means it\u2019s surely only a matter of time until we see it fed into local search rankings. Be warned Google gets at least some of this data wrong around 40 per cent of the time. So as a business it would be in your favour to clean up the accuracy of your local listings.<\/p>\n\n \n \n \n
<\/p>\nThese forces have impacted Google\u2019s organic results. This is a massive opportunity for businesses. Recently Google tested a hyperlocal ad unit featuring pre-qualified listings for tradespeople. The unit makes up a part of a beta programme called \u2018home service ads\u2019. From what\u2019s been observed in testing, the ads appear to replace organic local search engine results. Is this further indication that local is a rising star in Google\u2019s armoury? Undoubtedly. Another tool that has seen its stock rise recently is a new feature for mobile browsers. It provides details on when a given business is at its most busy. Anonymous and aggregated visits to places from Google users form the basis of the feature. The fact that this data exists means it\u2019s surely only a matter of time until we see it fed into local search rankings. Be warned Google gets at least some of this data wrong around 40 per cent of the time. So as a business it would be in your favour to clean up the accuracy of your local listings.<\/p>\n\n \n