Announcing the Brandify Local Search Consumer Survey

Today we're happy to announce the Brandify Local Search Consumer Survey, a new study that examines the local search habits of U.S. consumers. We asked over 1,000 consumers across all U.S. states to tell us about the tools they use to find information about nearby businesses, as well as the types of businesses and business information they look for, the frequency with which they search, and the likelihood that they will make a purchase or visit a store after searching online.

Among our key findings, one of the most interesting relates to the digital tools favored by today's consumers. By a significant margin, the most popular choice among survey respondents was Google Maps. But consumers indicated they also use a range of other tools to find local business information, and surprisingly, 33% chose something other than Google Maps when asked to name the tool they find "most useful."

Key Findings

• 77% of consumers report using Google Maps when searching for nearby businesses.
• Facebook, Yelp, and the business’s own website are used by 32% to 38% of consumers for local searches.
• A significant minority of consumers, from 13% to 19%, use Google Assistant / Google Home, Instagram, Apple Maps, Waze, and in-car navigation for local searches.
• When given a choice, 49% of consumers name a tool other than Google Maps as the most useful for local search.
• 74% of consumers conduct local searches at least once a week.
• 84% of consumers have searched online for a restaurant in the last 30 days, 52% for a retail store, and 33% for a doctor or medical facility.
• 81% of consumers prefer to use a smartphone for local search.
• Consumers consider hours of operation and basic contact information to be the most critical data points in listings, followed by reviews and links to the business website.
• 56% of consumers say they are likely to visit a business in person after searching, and 54% say they are likely to visit right away or on the same day.

We hope you'll take the time to download the full report, which contains a wealth of useful insights about consumer search behavior to help you better understand the needs of consumers and shape your marketing strategy.