Few CMOs Appreciate The Impact Of Google Search On Foot Traffic

It was clear to me 10 years ago that the smartphone revolution would effectively digitize the real world, making it an extension of the internet. Much like the dystopian future in the Matrix films, I theorized, a digital facsimile of our physical world would emerge. Every street, building, business, vehicle, landmark and person would have their digital counterparts. And just as we navigated the internet — through search, social, hyperlinks, images, videos, websites — we’d make our way through the real world using connected mobile devices as our bridge between digital and physical.

I started a software company in 2010 to help multi-location brands grapple with this new reality. The first thing we did was to make sure the geocode for each business location — the latitude/longitude coordinate used for GPS — was pinpoint accurate. Computers don’t read street addresses, so the geocode is the only data point that matters in going from point A to point B. It’s the difference between getting where you want to go and getting hopelessly lost. Anyone with a smartphone has experienced this, and it’s frustrating to say the least. Indeed, when digitizing the real world, accurate geocode data serve as a foundational layer.

Fast forward 10 years, and we’re well into the mobile age. But the challenges for multi-location brands and their CMOs are still evolving and changing. While it’s certainly still important to have superb geocode data, Google has become a major conduit for and driver of foot traffic to brick-and-mortar locations. Just as online businesses live and die by the traffic Google sends through SEO and SEM, offline businesses have become just as reliant in recent years. However, most CMOs don’t appreciate the magnitude of this shift, as it largely happens below the radar. Consumers are searching Google and showing up to their locations in huge numbers, but this is only apparent if you seek out the right data. To put it bluntly, Google now plays the same role in driving brick-and-mortar foot traffic as it does is in driving online web traffic. It’s make or break for the business.

According to Statista, there were 141 billion local searches on mobile in 2019, and an additional 62 billion on desktop...in the US alone. According to Google, searches for businesses, services or products “near me today/tonight” are up 900% in the past two years. This is jaw-dropping volume and growth. It represents a seismic shift in consumer behavior, such that Google has — almost overnight — become the single largest source of foot traffic flow to local businesses. But here’s the kicker: a staggering 81% of these local searches are unbranded.

When consumers are hungry or need a store that’s close by, their first instinct is to search the category. Whether in a browser or the Google Maps app, branded search accounts for only 19% of the local search pie. In other words, a consumer might be thinking Starbucks but eight out of 10 times they’ll type (or tap) “coffee” or “coffee shop.” There’s a certain efficiency to this, as one wants coffee but realizes that a Starbucks may not be the closest or easiest option. In any case, brands are effectively competing for 164 billion unbranded local searches annually, and this is growing by double and triple digits. More specifically, brands are competing for the top three results in the Google local three pack, as these receive the vast majority of clicks and resulting foot traffic.

This is important for CMOs of multi-location brands for two primary reasons. First, that 19% of branded search is still highly meaningful. It reflects the impact of brand marketing, such that a consumer will go out of their way to (a) search for the brand over the category and (b) bypass competitors who might be closer to them. Search data include click volume (to website, to call, and for directions) over time, so it can be tracked in parallel with big campaigns. If the share of branded local search traffic exceeds the 19% average, it’s a sign that one’s brand marketing efforts are winning. And through Google My Business (GMB), this can be measured at the national, regional and local level just as one uses Google Analytics for websites.

The bigger slice of the local search pie, though, is unbranded. This is where brands can make a huge impact on foot traffic and sales. First, it’s important to know what category search terms are currently working (via GMB) and to then identify the search terms where one wants to compete. Next comes a strategy to capture that share for the brand and drive foot traffic accordingly. While tactics can vary from category to category, there’s a universal truth: mom-and-pop businesses perform better in local searches. As such, this is the model to follow in building a strategy.

Google’s primary goal in returning search results is relevance. For better or worse, chain brands don’t appear as relevant as standalone businesses. Local businesses have a single website, Facebook page, Google My Business listing, Yelp profile, and other local/digital assets they use to manage and promote their business. The content on these pages is frequently updated, and it’s unique to that locale. Each of the pages are linked to one another...because where else would they link? The business owner is responding to user reviews across platforms because she knows reviews and ratings impact her bottom line. And, of course, the contact information, hours of operation and geocode are consistent and accurate throughout. All of this leads to Google search relevance and ranking. And that generates foot traffic.

Optimizing business locations for proximity search and competing for unbranded local search terms is still a nascent marketing category. It’s like SEO in the first decade of this century. Very few brands were doing it, and even fewer were doing it well. Those who realized the potential and made the investments realized massive returns. After a 10-year window when website SEO was easy, though, the ROI started to drop in proportion to increased competition. Today, website SEO is something everyone does and does pretty well. There’s very little competitive edge to be gained.

History is repeating itself with proximity search in the mobile era. While it will eventually be discovered and implemented by all brands, there is a good 10-year window in which to capture unbranded search share and generate outsized ROI through increased sales. CMOs that take advantage of this opportunity will triumph in the foot traffic battles of the 2020s.