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 in search tests, such as for Florida results.
These Shop Local retailers located in Florida appear on page one of Google due to their Shop Local Store:
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 may 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.
Often times, stores using Shop Local rank ahead of national companies, 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 and millions in funding.
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.)
................... Disclaimer:
The results and findings presented in this post are based on research conducted in April 2024. 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.