Earlier this month BrightLocal, a supplier of local SEO agency tools, released the results of its annual Local Search Industry Survey. The poll quizzed more than 600 digital agencies, SEO freelancers and in-house marketers on the state of the local SEO sector, according to a Search Engine Land article.
Perhaps the most important finding is that SEOs are incredibly comfortable with the future of their industry. Over 90 per cent of respondents said they were very or fairly optimistic about what’s next for the sector.
However, challenges remain. Despite their optimism, more than half (56 per cent) of respondents said that achieving local SEO results would be more difficult in 2019 than the previous year. This is due in part to increasing competitiveness in the field: “it’s something that every business or brand that sells through physical stores or service outlets should be focusing on,” Search Engine Land’s Greg Sterling wrote in his review.
Another interesting finding is that small agencies continue to dominate the local SEO landscape. Though larger digital marketing providers are beginning to offer local search services, the small local SEO agency has retained a majority of local search advertising dollars.
Survey respondents also listed their most in-demand services, including: website design; on-site optimization; SEO audits and analysis; pay-per-click (PPC); Google My Business optimization; social media; reputation management; citation management; link-building and content outreach; and content creation and optimization.
We have one last interesting finding to relay: word of mouth referrals remains the most effective means of attracting new clients, beating out SEO itself.
As a Google Premier Partner digital marketing and local SEO agency with access to valuable insights on Google’s preferred practices, GrowthEngine Media is ideally positioned to help your business get found by nearby customers. Our team works diligently to remain aligned with Google’s preferences to ensure maximum visibility for you and your brand.
