Online expert shares tips to help businesses capitalize on web searches
K-State’s First Friday speaker says customers most often use online tools to find a local business
At a glance: More than 16.4 billion Google searches take place every day in the United States. This month's First Friday e-call speaker shares tips on making sure online customers are finding your business.
More information: Nancy Daniels, 785-410-6352, nkdaniels@ksu.edu
Related: First Friday e-call
Aug. 5, 2024
By Pat Melgares, K-State Research and Extension news service
MANHATTAN, Kan. – In every U.S. community – no matter the size – the Internet is a major gateway to local businesses.
Sheri Hart, the Group Discoverability Director for the Kansas City-based global marketing and creative company VML, said recently that each day in the United States, more than 16.4 billion Google searches take place. About 46% -- 7.5 billion – are local searches, of which 28% -- more than 2.1 billion – turn into a local sale or service.
“Your customers can not do business with you if they can not find you,” Hart said. “And they can’t find you if your online presence is out of date, confusing or nonexistent.”
Hart was the featured speaker during the Aug. 1 First Friday e-Call, a monthly online series hosted by K-State Extension that helps to nurture small businesses and inspire entrepreneurship in Kansas. The online discussions, which routinely host dozens of Kansas citizens from the public and private sectors, are available free each month.
“What we’re talking about is the landscape of local discovery,” Hart said. “Many people are familiar with what local search looks like when you’re online; you may just not have understood the engine that was behind it and why you’re getting served up certain materials.”
For successful businesses, Hart said local search optimization is no longer optional – it’s critical.
“How your customers find you is what we term local search optimization,” Hart said. “It focuses on optimizing your online presence, getting those customers to you, including knowing where you are and what you offer in order to increase your visibility.”
To improve visibility, Hart said businesses should make sure their online presence has accurate information (including address and a detailed description of your service), compelling photos, mobile-friendly websites and updated hours.
“If you want to compete – not just globally, but within your own zip code – your business has to show up, look good and be easy to find,” she said. “That digital storefront is just as important as your front window.”
She added that more than 90% of all online searches are done with Google, and 97% of people learn about local businesses online before even stepping foot in the front door.
Hart said this holds true even in small Kansas towns. Using an example of a town with 6,264 people, she noted that the average citizen performs 4.2 Google searches per day. If 46% of those searches are local (2,881), then 28% (806) will turn into a sale or service.
Further, she notes, 709 of those would be purchases made within 24 hours of the initial search.
“Local search is a race against time,” Hart said. “People want what they need, and they want it now and nearby.”
Hart’s full Aug. 1 talk and other First Friday presentations are available online from K-State Extension.
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K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.