Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
30% of all mobile searches are related to location
76% of people who search on their smartphones for something nearby visit a business within a day
82% of smartphone shoppers conduct 'near me' searches
28% of local searches result in a purchase
78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase
18% of local smartphone searches lead to a purchase within one day
87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2020
48% of consumers will only visit a business with 4 or more stars
73% of consumers pay attention to only reviews written in the last month
Google My Business signals are the most important ranking factor for the Local Pack
The top 3 Local Pack results capture 44% of total clicks on the search results page
Proximity to the searcher is the #1 ranking factor for local search results
58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information
27% of the global online population is using voice search on mobile
46% of voice search users look for a local business daily
Conversion & Action
- 128% of local searches result in a purchase
- 278% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase
- 318% of local smartphone searches lead to a purchase within one day
- 488% of consumers who do a local search on their smartphone visit or call a store within 24 hours
- 5Local listings are the third most influential factor in search conversion
- 660% of smartphone users have contacted a business directly using the search results 'click to call' option
- 7Businesses with complete Google Profiles are twice as likely to generate interest and conversion
- 8Mobile offers are redeemed 10 times more frequently than print offers
- 975% of mobile searchers have visited a store as a result of a promotion or message received on their device
- 1072% of consumers say that their next step after a local find is to visit the establishment
- 11Adding a phone number to mobile ads leads to an 8% increase in Click-Through Rate
- 1257% of local searchers on mobile are looking to get their product immediately
- 13Clicks on the 'Get Directions' button have increased by 40% year over year for local businesses
- 14Local mobile searches result in a 14.6% close rate for leads compared to 1.7% for outbound leads
- 1550% of consumers visit a store within a day of their local search on their smartphone
- 1670% of mobile searchers use the 'call' button in Google Local Results
- 1766% of calls to local businesses come from mobile search
- 18Organic results on page one receive 90% of local mobile conversions
- 19Restaurants with online ordering capabilities via local search see a 20% increase in conversion
- 20In-store visits increase by 35% when local inventory ads are displayed on mobile
Interpretation
Mobile local search is a retail conversion engine in your pocket, driving immediate, measurable action: people call, click for directions, redeem mobile offers and visit stores within hours, so businesses that optimize local listings, complete their Google Profiles and make calling or buying effortless see dramatically higher traffic, calls and sales.
Local SEO & Rankings
- 1Google My Business signals are the most important ranking factor for the Local Pack
- 2The top 3 Local Pack results capture 44% of total clicks on the search results page
- 3Proximity to the searcher is the #1 ranking factor for local search results
- 497% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else
- 556% of local retailers have not claimed their Google My Business listing
- 6Consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across directories improves rankings by 16%
- 7Mobile load speed is a confirmed ranking factor for local mobile search
- 829% of the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) features a local pack
- 9100% of the top-ranking local results have mobile-friendly websites
- 10Businesses with photos on their listings receive 42% more requests for driving directions
- 1193% of the Local Pack results feature Google My Business cover photos
- 12The Service Area Business factor is critical for service-based companies hiding addresses in local SEO
- 13Primary Category on GMB affects ranking by nearly 20% in the Local Pack
- 14Keywords in the business title are the second most important ranking factor for Local Pack
- 1586% of potential customers use Google Maps to find local businesses
- 16Location pages with unique content rank 30% higher than those with duplicate content
- 17Schema markup usage is present in 70% of high-ranking local mobile sites
- 1864% of local customers use search engines and directories as their main way to find local business
- 19The average number of images for a business in the Local Pack is 11
- 20Keywords in local reviews are a top 10 ranking factor for the Local Pack
Interpretation
Want foot traffic and clicks? Treat your Google My Business profile like prime real estate—claim and optimize it with the right category and title keywords, consistent NAP, plenty of photos, a fast mobile-friendly site with schema and unique location content, and be close to your customers, because proximity, GMB signals, mobile performance and rich listings largely determine Local Pack rankings and capture the bulk of local search attention.
Mobile Usage & Search Trends
- 130% of all mobile searches are related to location
- 276% of people who search on their smartphones for something nearby visit a business within a day
- 382% of smartphone shoppers conduct 'near me' searches
- 4Over 1 billion functions are performed on Google Maps every month due to mobile usage
- 5Global localization content on mobile has grown by over 50% year over year
- 661% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site
- 7Google Maps is the preferred navigation app for 67% of smartphone users
- 835% of product searches start on Google with a significant portion being local
- 9Mobile searches for 'open now' have tripled in the past two years
- 1054% of smartphone users search for business hours
- 1153% of smartphone users search for directions to a local store
- 1245% of shoppers searching for local businesses on mobile are looking for store addresses
- 13Mobile queries for 'where to buy' grew by over 85% in two years
- 1492% of searchers will pick a business on the first page of local search results
- 15Near me' mobile searches that contain a variant of 'can I buy' or 'to buy' have grown over 500%
- 16Smartphone users are significantly more likely to have local intent than desktop users
- 1784% of 'near me' searches on mobile are for food and dining related terms
- 18Mobile users are 2x more likely to share their location for relevant searches
- 1983% of US searchers use Google Search to find local business information on mobile
- 20Usage of the term 'curbside pickup' in mobile search grew 3000% during the pandemic era
Interpretation
Think of every smartphone as a local storefront and customers as impatient, GPS-steered shoppers: about 30% of mobile searches are location-related, Google Maps handles over a billion actions a month with two-thirds of users preferring it for navigation, 'near me', 'open now', 'where to buy' and 'curbside pickup' queries have surged by hundreds to thousands of percent, and with 76% visiting a business within a day and 92% choosing first-page results, a business that is not mobile-ready for local search might as well be invisible.
Reviews & Reputation
- 187% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2020
- 248% of consumers will only visit a business with 4 or more stars
- 373% of consumers pay attention to only reviews written in the last month
- 4A 0.1 increase in star rating increases conversion of a business location by 25%
- 579% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
- 6Mobile users are 3 times more likely to leave a review than desktop users utilizing apps
- 792% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review
- 863.6% of consumers say they are likely to check reviews on Google before visiting a business location
- 9Businesses with more than 82 total reviews earn 54% more annual revenue
- 1059% of people use Google as their primary source of reviews on mobile
- 1194% of consumers say that a bad review has convinced them to avoid a business
- 1220% of consumers expect a business to respond to their review within one day
- 1353% of customers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week
- 14Listings with photos and reviews are twice as likely to generate reputation trust
- 15Sentiment analysis of local reviews impacts mobile voice search results significantly
- 1662% of consumers will not use a business if they find old or fake reviews
- 17Healthcare businesses have seen the largest growth in review volume on mobile
- 1872% of customers will write a review if a local business asks them to
- 19On average, a business needs 40 reviews before consumers believe its star rating is accurate
- 20Consumers read an average of 10 reviews before feeling able to trust a local business
Interpretation
These statistics make one thing clear: reviews are the new storefront; 87% of consumers read them and 79% trust them like personal recommendations; 48% will only visit businesses with four stars or more and even a 0.1 star bump can lift conversions by 25%; consumers typically read about ten reviews and need roughly 40 before a rating feels accurate, while businesses with more than 82 reviews earn about 54% more revenue; 73% care only about recent feedback and 62% reject old or fake reviews, so companies that collect photo-backed reviews, ask customers to write one (72% will if asked), respond quickly to complaints (20% expect a reply within a day and 53% want negatives addressed within a week), and lean into mobile behaviors—mobile users are three times more likely to leave reviews via apps and trusted reviews even sway B2B buyers—will dominate local search while those with bad or stale reputations will be avoided.
Voice Search & Future Trends
- 158% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information
- 227% of the global online population is using voice search on mobile
- 346% of voice search users look for a local business daily
- 476% of smart speaker users perform local searches at least once a week
- 5Voice search queries are 30% more likely to be question-based than text queries
- 620% of all Google searches on mobile are voice searches
- 7Near me' voice searches have increased by 146% year over year
- 828% of consumers call the business after doing a voice search for a local business
- 951% of consumers use voice search to research restaurants
- 1031% of smartphone users use voice search at least once a week
- 11By 2024 the global voice recognition market is expected to reach 26.8 billion dollars
- 1252% of voice search owners would like to receive information about deals and sales
- 1371% of wearable device owners say they use voice search features
- 14Featured snippets are the source for 40.7% of voice search answers
- 15The average voice search result page loads in 4.6 seconds
- 16Voice search results tend to be concise with an average length of 29 words
- 1743% of voice-enabled device owners use them to shop
- 18Visual search on mobile using tools like Google Lens is used over 10 billion times a month
- 1970.4% of voice search result pages are HTTPS secured
- 2061% of consumers aged 25-64 say they'll use their voice devices more in the future
Interpretation
Voice search has quietly become the impatient, always-on concierge for local discovery, with over half of consumers asking phones, speakers and wearables concise "near me" questions that load in seconds, often sourced from featured snippets and frequently leading to calls, restaurant visits and purchases, all fueling a fast-growing, deal-hungry multibillion-dollar market.
