Brands are neglecting their digital presence at the local level

Most multi-location brands remain largely invisible in local searches, with the average brand failing to appear in three out of four local searches, ignoring over 50% of reviews and leaving 90% of customer questions and engagements unanswered across popular search and social channels.

This finding comes from SOCi, which recently released the SOCi Local Visibility Index 2024, spotlighting the top 100 brands that are capitalizing on the $54.1 billion opportunity in localized digital marketing.

Despite this success, this digital invisibility is costing businesses dearly. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, 84% of commerce still happens offline at brick and mortar locations, making local search and discovery vital to capturing consumer dollars. However, most multi-location brands remain largely invisible in local searches, with the average brand failing to appear in 3 out of 4 local searches, ignoring over 50% of reviews, and leaving 90% of customer questions and engagements unanswered across popular search and social channels.

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“High local visibility in popular search and social sites where consumers are spending the majority of their digital time is no longer just a competitive edge—it’s a necessity. Yet many well-known brands are missing out on this opportunity by neglecting their digital presence at the local level,” said Monica Ho, CMO of SOCi. “Brands that optimize their local presence are not only more visible but also more trusted, driving significantly higher engagement, reach, and ultimately foot traffic and revenue to their businesses.”

For the SOCi LVI 2024, nearly 3,000 enterprise companies with 50+ locations were analyzed across the United States, representing 2.8 million office and store locations. This extensive analysis encompassed over 100 metrics to evaluate each brand’s performance in local search, reputation, and social channels.

SOCi’s local visibility takeaways for 2024:

Search: While multi-location brands are doing a good job of claiming and completing their local profiles on Google, there is room for better optimization and improvement on Yelp and Facebook.

Reputation: Less than half of reviews get a response from businesses on Google, and response rates on Yelp and Facebook are even lower.

Social: Multi-location brands are successfully building audiences on Facebook by posting a healthy mix of photo and video content, but audience engagement on average is still low.

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A notable takeaway from this year’s index is that high recognizability does not equal high visibility. Household brands like Chick-fil-A, Target and Walgreens did not make SOCi’s 100 Most Visible list, while niche and regional brands are more visible online by showing up in non-branded searches related to their most important keywords. This highlights the vital role of localized digital marketing, urging national brands to prioritize building stronger connections with local customers.

“In today’s competitive landscape, failing to engage effectively on a local level can hinder growth and limit potential,” said Damian Rollison, director of market insights at SOCi. “The SOCi LVI is an invaluable tool for multi-location enterprises seeking to outperform their local competitors. Through its benchmark metrics, the SOCi LVI identifies areas of improvement across digital channels, recommending actionable changes to boost local visibility and maximize customer engagement.” 

For a detailed analysis and to see where your brand ranks, visit here.