Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get More Sales Leads than Big-Box Stores Using Google

Indie stores have the best chance of ranking highly in Google when they use Shop Local. Proof: Our indie shops beat big-box stores in Google search tests.  

Example: We recently conducted a Google study for wedding registry purchasing in Alabama. We Googled "wedding registry Alabama."

Search Results

• Stores using Shop Local in Alabama ranked on page 1 of Google ahead of national chains and other registry services, which often have larger customer bases and bigger website budgets.
• 3 merchants using Shop Local registry software appeared on page 1 of Google.
• Only 1 result on page 1 was a big-box store: Target.
• The 3 Shop Local merchants ranked higher on the page than Target.

These Shop Local clients appeared on page one of Google: 

1. Lawren's Gifts in Huntsville
2. Ivy Cottage in Mobile
3. The Flower Store in Auburn 

Terri Gray, the owner of the Ivy Cottage, had this to say about the search results:
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"It is great to see that our store and other independent stores are appearing at the top of searches for wedding registries in Alabama. This is definitely one of the big advantages of using Shop Local…Overall, I know that we are getting more web business than we would get (for the same investment) doing it on our own."
~ Terri Gray / Owner / Ivy Cottage / Mobile, AL

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What Can One Learn From This Finding?
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. 

Why does an indie store beating a big-box store in Google matter?

• Many customers start their purchasing on Google. If a merchant is not found on the first page of Google, it will be less likely to 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, like Zola. 
• When Shop Local helps a small indie outrank bigger competitors, that shows the value we're providing to our merchants. We're helping modest, Main Street stores beat out companies with 100's of locations (e.g. Target, Macy's) and $200m+ in funding (Zola).

What's next?
Shop Local will conduct this study for 1 of 48 states on a weekly basis. (Shop Local has clients in 48 states; in two states, Shop Local doesn’t have clients: Alaska and New Mexico.) 

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To view our recent study on Google searches for all states, please click here:
https://www.shoplocal.org/news.cfm/23735/Shop-Local-Helps-Indie-Stores-Rank-on-Page-1-of-Google-in-60-of-States

Tags:
wedding registry alabama Google Gift registry software wedding registry software target lawren's ivy cottage the flower store bridgeinthenews

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