• by Ray Schultz , November 18, 2019

The average local business receives virtually no website visits from email, according to Google Analytics for Local Businesses Study, an analysis posted by BrightLocal. 

Zero visits are also being attributed to paid or display sessions.

All this may be because tracking has been set up incorrectly. Or it may also be an opportunity if it means that local businesses are not using email.

Organic search pulls the most monthly sessions in the U.S. (226), Canada (321) and the UK (295), although total traffic for the channel fell between 2017 and 2018.

Direct, a category not clearly defined, generates 164 sessions per month in the U.S., 125 in the UK and 162 in Canada. 

In contrast, social draws only 13% in the U.S., 11% in the UK and 17% I Canada. Email does not score at all.

UK businesses pull in 519 unique monthly user, compared to 462 in Canada and 404 in the U.S. Car dealerships apparently do best.

Referral volume grew overall and now constitutes 10% of total traffic, versus 50% for organic and 4% for social.

BrightLocal, a marketing software firm, reviewed anonymous Google Analytics data from more than 11,000 local businesses over a 17-month period.