Shop Local, an e-commerce platform for indie retailers, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 56% of states for wedding gift purchases. The findings are based on a recent study that Shop Local conducted regarding wedding registry purchasing.

• We Googled "gift registry" and the state's name.
• We researched results for 48 states. (Shop Local has clients in 48 states; the only states that don't have Shop Local clients are Alaska and New Mexico.)

• For 28 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 56% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Shop Local has clients (48), the percentage grows to 58%.
• In South Carolina, six Shop Local Stores earned a page one spot.
• In Alabama and Louisiana, five Shop Local Stores won first-page placements.
• In many searches, stores using Shop Local software are ranking higher than big-box stores such as Walmart and Target.
• Shop Local has a higher quantity of clients appearing on page one of Google results than any other software provider.

• South Carolina: 6
• Alabama: 5
• Louisiana: 5
• Georgia: 4
• Mississippi: 4
• Pennsylvania: 3
• Tennessee: 3
• Arkansas: 2
• Colorado: 2
• Delaware: 2
• Florida: 2
• New Jersey: 2
• New York: 2
• North Carolina: 2
• Oklahoma: 2
• Texas: 2
• Virginia: 2
• Arizona: 1
• Connecticut: 1
• Idaho: 1
• Illinois: 1
• Kentucky: 1
• Michigan: 1
• Minnesota: 1
• Missouri: 1
• Nebraska: 1
• Ohio: 1
• Wisconsin: 1

1. Stafford's of Spartanburg in Charleston
2. Jeffrey Bannon Ltd. in Georgetown
3. Angela Woods Interiors in Rock Hill
4. The Wacky Rabbit in Myrtle Beach
5. The Cook's Station in Greenville
6. The Yellow Butterfly in Woodruff

• In Mississippi, four results are Shop Local retailers, and no results are big-box retailers (ex, Target, Walmart, Amazon, etc.)
• In Delaware, two Shop Local retailers appeared before Amazon.
• In Florida, two Shop Local retailers appeared before Target.

By using Shop Local's software, indie stores have the best chance of ranking highly in Google. Their store will be found by more customers.

Shop Local uses a variety of strategies to increase a store's Google ranking, from properly coding a page to increasing the number of backlinks pointing at the client's site.

No, stores do not pay extra for their page one page Google ranking. Shop Local provides free tools and features that help make it possible.

Many shoppers start their purchasing on Google. When one can rank well in Google, it increases the likelihood the store will receive the sale.

An indie store often lacks the advantage of having many locations like a big box store, and it lacks access to capital like a venture capital backed entity. When Shop Local helps a small indie outrank bigger competitors, that shows the outsize value we're providing to our clients. We're helping modest Main Street stores beat out companies with 100 locations (e.g. Target, Macy's) and $100m in funding (Zola).

The first page of Google may capture 71% of web traffic, while the second page may receive just 6% of website clicks.*
Source: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2020/08/19/get-on-first-page-google

Related:
See how Shop Local compares to other registry providers like MyRegistry and Gift Reggie in Google results

Learn more about Shop Local's Registry service:
https://www.shoplocal.org/retailer-online-gift-and-wedding-registry

Disclaimer: The results and findings presented in this post are based on research conducted in February 2026. These findings reflect the specific search results observed on that date and may not represent ongoing or future trends. Ranking of individual stores on Google may vary over time and across different locations, search terms, and other factors. The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as a guarantee of similar results for all users of Shop Local or any other platform. Additionally, the comparisons made to big-box stores and other registry services are based on specific searches and rankings at the time of the study. Individual results may differ.