What is ‘Near Me’ searching?

If you follow the latest search engine optimisation trends, you’ll know that local SEO has become increasingly popular in recent months. Indeed, all businesses can benefit from enhancing their search engine marketing with localised strategies.

However, local SEO is about more than just advertising your products and services in a specific area or getting your site listed on local online directories, etc. Whilst these techniques can certainly assist with your local search engine optimisation campaigns, it’s important to embrace the latest development in the world of local SEO.

Instead of searching for services, products and companies by inputting a geographical location, users are routinely relying on the term ‘near me’ to signify a search for local amenities. For example, users might search for, ‘Restaurants near me’, ‘Car mechanics near me’, or ‘Emergency plumbers near me’, rather than actually specifying their location.

What’s prompted ‘Near Me’ searches?

There are two main factors which have led to the rise in ‘near me’ search styles. Firstly, the rise in mobile device usage. More people now use mobile devices to access the internet, as opposed to laptops and desktops. This, combined with the widespread availability of wireless internet, means that people can search for local services in any location, not just in their home region.

Secondly, Google and other search engines have become far more effective at pinpointing location information. As the use of AI is set to increase, these geographical services will become even more pervasive and popular, leading to an increase in ‘near me’ searches.

Of course, the ease and increased convenience have been factors in the rise of ‘near me’ searching too. Instead of specifying different towns, cities or villages, users can simply add a generic ‘near me’ term and trust their search engine to deliver relevant content.

When it comes to SEO, website owners will need to enhance their strategies to ensure they’re capturing users who are searching for their products and services in this way. As always, site owners will need to cater to user behaviour if they want to climb up the rankings and stay there.