It’s an interesting and highly relevant question. Obviously, before people want to invest in a Website, SEO work or Google tools we offer, it’s handy for them to know if people are actually seeking out their product or service online. Fortunately, today it’s relatively easy to find out.
You see every time someone does any search for anything, Google keeps track of it. It can serve up the data and results as part of it’s Google Adwords toolsets. Later this month we’ll start showing results for all industries, relating it numerically to those searching for stuff online in the Manukau + Papakura region.
Show me the money (and customers)
Here’s some preliminary monthly search estimates for products, services for Manukau + Papakura.
| Warrant of Fitness | 2,000 |
| Car Repairs, mechanic | 4,000 |
| Panelbeater, painting | 1,000 |
| Accountant | 2,000 |
| Dentist | 2,000 |
| Fashion, clothing | 20,000 |
| Sunglasses, accessories | 5,000 |
| Restaurants | 10,000 |
Interest for fashion and related items like shoes, clothing, sunglasses etc is extremely high, yet almost no local fashion or clothing retailers show up in a page one search result. To Google, most don’t exist since.
As mentioned in other articles, the poor tenants within the main Westfield Mall that houses almost 200 businesses fare the worst with just four (being 2%) showing on Google Maps, which compares with around 50% of businesses outside the mall.*
Many of these companies are still spending a fortune in the Yellow Pages and on display ads that only one in ten people now read. They ignore the biggest ‘publication’ [Google] with 10 times the ‘readership’ – The place where consumers are actively searching out for their products or services, EVERY DAY…
Now admittedly not every one of those online clicks translates to an instant sale, but it’s estimated that for some sectors around 30-50% are – 
Being people actively ready to buy or purchase products or services, often within 24 or 48 hours! People are simply using Google in exactly the same way they used the Yellow Pages books years ago. Only one in ten consumers use Yellow now, most going straight to Google instead, with their new Maps listings showing prominently.
If you’re not showing up in a Google search, you’ve LITTLE CHANCE of finding new customers, new business.
* N.B. Just being displayed or showing up on a Google Map is seldom enough to ‘be found’ online. The listings need to be claimed, updated and optimised in various ways to ensure a high page one placement.