10 Local SEO Statistics Backed by Real Data for 2024

When searching for local SEO statistics online, it’s hard to find data points that are current and accurate.

For example, there’s a common statistic thrown around about how 97% of search engine users search for local businesses online. While that sounds believable and might be true, I couldn’t find a source of evidence for this.

Here are 10 local SEO statistics that I was able to confirm are backed by real data, studies, and research.

1. In the United States, more than 1 billion searches that contain the phrase “near me” are used every month (source)

We found this data point in a tool called SEMrush that we use to do keyword research for our local SEO clients. This tool is regarded as one of the best keyword research tools by a number of SEO professionals online.

Their “keyword variants” tool gives us an idea of how many times this phrase is used. This is because this tool pulls phrases that include your original keyword as well as additional modifying words.

So when we put “near me” in the search box, the “keyword variations” data point gives us an idea of how many people are using “near me” style keywords every month in search engines like Google.

It also gives us a total of the search volume for all of these keywords, which is where we get the “1 billion” number.

This data point is referenced as “more than 1 billion” because SEMrush doesn’t pick up every keyword people search and is estimating. Because many search phrases put into Google every day are unique and unattributable, I decided to overestimate here.

2. For local searches, 42% of searchers click on results inside of the Local Pack (source)

For local searches (like “cafe in Boston”) and even queries that Google can consider local with some additional context, they present users with a “Local Pack” above the standard organic results.

When presented with the Local Pack option, 42% of searchers click this instead of scrolling down to the organic results, which are the ones under the Map Pack.

This adds significant weight to the importance of a clean Google Business Profile (formerly Google Business Profile). Optimizing your Google Business Profile or building local backlinks with the help of local link building services could help you improve your performance in this area.

3. 99% of consumers have used the internet to find information about a local business in the last year (source)

According to this survey, 99% of consumers used the internet to find information about a local business in 2021.

This is far fewer people than those who were searching for online businesses every single day in 2020.

Initially, this might suggest a lessening need for their use. However, looking across the board, the frequency of use has gone up overall as people from lower usage brackets move up into higher usage ones.

Overall, there’s been a 9% year-on-year increase of people using the internet more than once a week to find information about local businesses.

4. 81% of consumers have used Google to read reviews about a business in the last 12 months (source)

According to the survey conducted by BrightLocal, and other Google review statistics, consumers trust Google reviews more than reviews on platforms like Yelp and Facebook. In 2020, 63% of consumers were using Google, so this represents significant growth for them.

Here are some other interesting points from the above:

• Consumer use of Google to evaluate local businesses increased from 63% in 2020 to 81% in 2021.
• Consumer use of Yelp to evaluate local businesses went from 32% in 2020 to 53% in 2021.
• Consumer use of Facebook to evaluate local businesses dropped from 54% in 2020 to 48% in 2021.
• 13% of consumers used Apple Maps to evaluate local businesses in 2021.

While some platforms are more important than others, there’s clear diversity in how consumers research before they buy. This means businesses could benefit from leveraging multiple platforms to share information with their customers.

5. 46% of voice search users look for a local business on a daily basis (source)

Voice interaction is directly linked to local search and an increase in valuable phone calls. This is why getting the information in your Google Business Profile and on your website is so important.

This number is expected to rise as the adoption of smart speakers grows and voice recognition algorithms improve with the help of AI.

For more info on how to optimize your website for voice search, check out this guide. For most businesses, though, getting your Google Business Profile correct is a majority of what’s needed to drive results here.

6. 50% of smartphone users visit stores within 1 day of a local search (source)

This comes from Google. Of smartphone users, 50% will visit the store within 24 hours after conducting a local search. And 34% of consumers on tablets or computers will do the same.

Google did this study to support and further validate their advertising business. But these data points are useful to look at when determining the value of local SEO because the search intent is the same.

7. 70% of mobile searchers use click-to-call on Google (source)

For this study, Google commissioned Ipsos to see how consumers are using the click-to-call features within organic and paid mobile search results.

In their research, they found that 70% of mobile users have used the click-to-call feature.

Many consumers cite the reasons for calling as things that can otherwise be on a business’s Google Business Profile or website. These include checking for hours or scheduling appointments.

While frequent phone calls can be seen as a positive, many of these take up the time of your employees. This can become costly as your business gains traction.

Maintaining up-to-date information online helps your team stay focused on calls that are actually likely to result in sales because you enable the customers who already want to buy from you to help themselves.

8. 58% of companies still don’t optimize for local search (source)

A recent survey revealed that 58% of businesses don’t do any work to optimize for local search.

Additionally, nearly 30% of businesses have no plans to invest in improving local search rankings. This presents significant opportunities for those that do.

To get started on this, check out our website SEO optimization guide.

9. The average price for local SEO services is $497/month (source)

Backlinko conducted research on SEO pricing and concluded that the average monthly price for SEO services is $497/month.

This presents a few opportunities for local businesses.

First, if your competitors are spending only $500/month on SEO services, you can easily outspend them and get to the top of your local keywords much faster than if they were spending $5,000/month or more, for example. This is because SEO takes quality time, and more budget allows you to buy better people to do better work.

The reality with SEO is that more budget drives more results. This is why the same study concluded that larger budgets = happier clients.

$500/month might be enough for some business in uncompetitive industries. But in some cases, if you don’t spend enough on SEO, you won’t get any results because your competitors are doing more.

10. The average ROI for a local SEO campaign is over 500% after 3 years (source)

First Page Sage used 12 years of proprietary data from SEO campaigns to answer this question.

They found that, after 3 years, the average local SEO campaign saw a return of over 500%.

It’s also worth noting that it took 6-12 months for the campaign to break even. So this is the number of months it takes for your net revenue from an SEO campaign to exceed your spend on that campaign.

This is why we tell clients to budget at least 6 months of spending to get an SEO campaign going.

Get your business noticed on Google

If the above statistics are encouraging, there are a number of things you can do to make sure your business is visible on Google.

The strategy you should take entirely depends on which local SEO ranking factors you should tackle, which Whitespark summarized nicely in this graphic.

If you need help with this or want to learn more about how these factors impact your search position, fill out the form at the bottom of this page to contact us and we’ll help you out. 👇

Good luck!