How COVID-19 Transformed the Local Search Landscape

COVID-19 shook the global economy, and local search metrics reflect that impact right down to the individual store level. As the pandemic began to affect North America in early 2020, we saw an immediate impact on 400 global enterprise organizations with more than 200,000+ brand locations we monitor.

In this guide, we will share aggregate Google My Business (GMB) performance metrics to help enterprise brands understand the consumer behavior and local search conversion trends that shaped the local business environment throughout the pandemic and into the start of 2021.

Below we’ll share a few key takeaways we saw by vertical. Download the full report for more in-depth exploration and analysis of our local search data by vertical.

Dataset

We analyzed local search behavior from more than 200,000+ brand locations across 400 global enterprise organizations.

Timeframe

Results were analyzed from February 2020 through December 2020

Verticals

For the purposes of this study, we categorized locations and their data into six primary verticals, which include: financial services, business services, restaurants, retail, hospitality, and healthcare.

Metrics

Local searches, views, and conversion actions, including:

• Local organic search volume
• Local search (Map Pack) views
• Total clicks on Map Pack listings
• Clicks to Call
• Clicks to Website
• Clicks for Driving Directions

Total searches, views, clicks, and local search conversion actions (clicks to call, clicks to website, and clicks for driving directions) shed light on how and when consumer anxieties, lockdown measuring, social distancing, and caseloads impacted brands at the local level throughout the year.

All verticals experienced a substantial dip in total views from February until April 2020. While all metrics reflected it, the greatest decline was in total views. May and June 2020 brought a rapid recovery across most verticals as the initial lockdown eased and by Q4 2020, the percentage of growth/decline in many verticals became more cohesive, seeming to move together across metrics.

Financial Services

National Banks, Regional Banks, Credit Unions, Insurance

Business Services

Consumer and Business Service Providers

Restaurants

Sit-Down and Quick-Service Restaurants

Retail

Apparel, Supermarkets, Pharmacies, Wellness, Automotive

Hospitality

Hotels and Casinos

Healthcare

Hospitals, Health Systems, Doctors Offices, Clinics

Search views for the financial services vertical were strong in early 2020, prior to COVID-19 reaching the US. We saw a large decline in views from March until May and although this metric has steadily risen since, it is not back to pre-COVID figures.

Total searches and clicks have been on the same rebound trajectory but have surpassed January 2020 numbers. 

The business services sector as a whole was hit hard by the global pandemic and has continued to struggle since. What started as a strong year in terms of views plummeted in March, only beginning to regain traction in June.

Local searches and views took a huge hit in March and April 2020. They began to rebound in May, which helped the business services vertical end 2020 strongly, with greater clicks and searches than at the start of the year.

Without question, sit-down restaurants were among those hardest hit by the fallout from COVID-19. In many states, public health regulations forced restaurants to pivot to delivery and takeout only, which aligns with the decrease in search behavior. 

As a result, views and clicks were down all of 2020. Only clicks to phone calls and clicks to website metrics have surpassed pre-COVID metrics. 

Like their sit-down counterparts, quick-service restaurants were hit hard by COVID-19. Total views took a sharp decline in March before making a comeback in June and then holding steady. Searches have been on the rise since August.

In the same vein as the restaurants and business services sectors, retailers were initially hit hard by COVID-19. Overall, retail showed the most consistent performance in 2020, with limited drops and gains in many metrics. 

Perhaps one of the industries hit hardest at the onset of the pandemic was the hospitality industry, which relies heavily on travel and tourism for their revenue. When non-essential travel was condemned for much of early 2020, we saw significant dips in views, searches, and clicks—across every metric measured in this report.

The healthcare industry, to no surprise, had one of the strongest years in terms of local marketing metrics. As fear swept the globe, searchers were eager to find more information regarding the COVID-19 virus and where they could be treated. In turn, healthcare didn’t see the dramatic declines in views, searches, clicks, and conversions that other verticals experienced.