Where do customers actually look when they need a local business?

There was a time when finding a local tradesperson meant asking a neighbour, flicking through the Yellow Pages, or spotting a van parked outside someone's house. That world hasn't completely disappeared — but it's changed more than most people realise. Today, before anyone picks up the phone, they almost always open a search engine first.

That shift is worth understanding, especially if you run a local business. Because it changes not just how people find you, but whether they find you at all.

The numbers are hard to argue with

BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey — an annual study tracking how people engage with local businesses online — found that 98% of consumers used the internet to find information about a local business in the past year.¹ Not most people. Not a significant chunk. Virtually everyone.

That same survey found that one in three consumers search for a local business online every single day. The frequency is striking — it suggests that searching for a local service has become as routine as checking the weather.

That last figure is worth sitting with. When someone searches for a plumber, an electrician, or a decorator on their phone, three quarters of them visit a business within 24 hours. These aren't people casually browsing. They have a job that needs doing, and they're looking for someone to do it right now.

Google is where local searches begin

When we talk about searching online, we're mostly talking about Google. According to Statista, Google holds around 93% of the search engine market share in the UK.⁴ Bing, Yahoo, and everything else together account for the rest. So when someone in Brighouse, Bradford, or Huddersfield types "roofer near me" or "dog groomer Wakefield", they're almost certainly doing it in Google.

Google's own research suggests that 46% of all searches have local intent — meaning nearly half of everything searched on Google is someone trying to find a product or service in a specific area. That represents an enormous number of people, every single day, looking for businesses like yours.

The quiet problem: if you're not there, you don't exist

Here's the thing about search results. They don't show you a list of every business that could help — they show you the ones with an online presence. If your business doesn't have a website, or isn't registered on Google Business Profile, you simply won't appear for the searches that matter most.

Word of mouth still works, and it always will. But it's limited by who knows who. A recommendation can only travel so far before it runs out of road. Online search has no such limit. A potential customer who's never heard of you can still find you — but only if there's something online for them to find.

The Clutch Small Business Website Survey found that around 27% of small businesses still don't have a website.⁵ In a world where most customers start their search online, that's a significant number of businesses starting at a meaningful disadvantage.

It's not just about being found — it's about being trusted

Getting found is only half the story. What people see when they find you matters just as much.

Research from Stanford University's Web Credibility Project found that 75% of people make judgements about a business's credibility based on its website design.⁶ First impressions online work the same way they do in person. A clear, professional website signals that a business is established and reliable. An absent or outdated one can undermine confidence in even the most skilled tradesperson.

Reviews play a part here too. BrightLocal found that 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses before deciding to make contact.¹ Reviews live on Google, on Trustpilot, on Facebook — but a website is the place that brings everything together in one spot that you control.

What a website actually does for a local business

A website isn't a magic fix, and it won't transform a business overnight. But it does a few specific things that are genuinely hard to replicate any other way:

• It makes you findable — in Google search results and on Google Maps, which is how most local searches end up
• It answers questions before you have to — what you do, where you work, what it costs, how to get in touch
• It gives reviews somewhere to live — a Google Business Profile connected to a website is far more visible than either one alone
• It builds credibility — a professional site tells people you take your business seriously before you've even spoken to them
• It works around the clock — unlike a phone that needs answering, a website is available whenever someone happens to be looking

The bigger picture

None of this means word of mouth no longer matters. It absolutely does, and the businesses with the best reputations will always have an advantage. But online search and word of mouth aren't separate channels anymore — they're connected.

When someone gets a recommendation for a local business, the first thing most of them do is Google it. They want to see a website, check reviews, and get a feel for the business before they pick up the phone. The recommendation opens the door; the online presence is what they find when they walk through it.

The businesses that understand this tend to be the ones keeping busy. Not because they've mastered digital marketing, but simply because when someone nearby searches for what they do, they show up.

— Jamie, Mortar & Pixel