I may have rambled a little in the video above 
, but the point I was trying to make is that a very large percentage of all searches have a local intent, so much so, Google is displaying a (7-Box) Google Maps listing in the organic SERPs (search engine results pages) on many searched broad keyword terms.
When someone searching adds a local modifier to the searched term (like a city or postal/zip code), then the searcher has 100% local intent. Google knows this and then serves up the 7-Box Google Maps listing at the top of the organic search results page (above the traditional 10 website listings).
If you have a local business this is really important to know. If there are hundreds and often thousands of searches every month for your businesses services where people also add in the local modifier to their searched term then you want to make sure you are actively participating in your Google Maps listing.
Look at some of these other important stats/facts:
- 66% of North Americans use search online to locate local businesses
- 82% of local searchers follow up via an in-store visit, phone call, or purchase
- 80% of all retail transactions happen within 15 miles of people’s homes
- 32% of people with smartphones conducted a local search
These are people who are looking for EXACTLY what it is you do and Google Maps is the first thing they see in an organic search engine results page. All you need to do is get your business information in front of this traffic and you will have a steady stream of new clients and customers.
Not actively managing your Google Maps listing is like flushing money down the drain. The Google Maps listings are totally free and you do not require a website to be listed. Getting a listing is free and easy, but it does not guarantee that your business will show up in the 7-Box Google Listing displayed in the organic SERPs. Even though claiming your listing is a good start, it’s not enough in today’s marketplace to really secure a position within the 7-Box which receives the majority of the traffic for local searches. We will get into this further in this Google Maps Course when we discuss how to increase your chances at securing those preferred rankings within the highly so desired 7-Box.
First things first, if you have not claimed your listing, then do so. Your chances of ranking well with the 7-Box are virtually nonexistent if you don’t claim your listing. If there is no listing of your business yet then simply create one.
Click on the following link to learn how to claim and set up your Google Maps Listing within the Google Local Business Center.
BTW, let us know if you have any questions so far in the comment section below. If you add your question we will answer it.
NOTE: If you are like most small business owners, you may want to leave this type of stuff to the pros and we would be more than happy to manage your Google Maps Listing. Please visit our local search marketing services page for more details.
@Michelle Did you sign up for the Local Places course? It’s free!
Great video with helpful facts, background music is rather disturbing and for sure not necessary. Just as a though….
thanks for stopping by Daniel. yes on our next update we are not going to have background music. we’ve had a few comments on that now.
Hi,
I signed up for the course and have received no emails or any further information. This page is all I get.
@affnoob it comes via email, the free course is broken up into 3 days.
Does Google supply the statistics you quote here? Can you post the link where you found them? Is there data available for Europe, where people use mobile phones almost exclusively?
How long does it take before you send the email with the other tutorials over? Interesting facts on the video above, nice one!
Craig, course comes to you over 3 days via email.