Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get Sales Leads in Mississippi

Indie stores have the best chance of ranking highly in Google when they use Shop Local. Merchants know this because of their page 1 rankings and how they beat big-box stores in search tests, such as for Mississippi results. 

These Shop Local retailers located in Mississippi appear on page one of Google due to their Shop Local Store: 

1. Persnickety in Madison
2. Generations in Meridian
3. Elizabeth Clair's in Tupelo and Jackson
4. Oxford Floral in Oxford

How we conducted this study:
We Googled "wedding registry Mississippi."

Study Results:

• 4 merchants using Shop Local registry software appeared on page 1 of Google. There are 10 "organic slots" on page 1--meaning our 4 indie stores possessed 40% of page 1 results.
• Stores using Shop Local ranked ahead of national chains, which often have larger customer bases and bigger website budgets.
• Since our indie stores took up 4 first place finishes, no big-box stores, such as Target, Walmart, or Macy's, appeared on page 1 of Google. We took their spots. 

Please click here to test the results:
https://www.google.com/search?q=wedding+registry+mississippi

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. 
• Stores using Shop Local ranked ahead of national companies, like TheKnot.com, which often have larger customer bases and bigger website budgets.
• 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 mississippi Google gift registry software wedding registry software persnickety generations elizabeth clair's oxford floral bridgeinthenews

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