When it comes to location-based marketing, much of the conversation goes to Foursquare as well as Yelp. However, Google is still the leader in the discovery process for local information. At South By South West Interactive, Marissa Mayer , Google's Vice President of Consumer Products, spoke about the current state of many of Google's location-focused applications. Five important statistics stood out as the major takeaways for marketers looking to promote their businesses at the local level.

Mayer discussed many of Google's local applications, including Google Maps and Google Hotpot . Hotpot is Google's service that allows users to rate local business and has only been live for a few months now.

5 Google Local Stats Every Marketer Should Know

1. Google Maps usage is 40 percent mobile

2. Google Maps has 150 million mobile users

3. Google GPS saves drivers 2 years everyday with route around traffic directions

4. Google Hotpot currently has 3 million ratings

5. 20 percent of Google searches are for local information

Marketing Takeaway

Of the five stats above, it is clear that the fifth piece of data should serve as a soundbite for every marketer when discussing the relevancy of online local marketing. With 20 percent of Google searches looking for local information, that means 600 million searches per day are for local information. This is a huge opportunity for businesses. 

All of these statistics show that Google has a major hold on users looking for local marketing online. As a business looking to attract more customers through these tools, you should follow best practices for being included in Google's local search results as well as optimize your business website with content focused on your key geographic markets. Take a look at HubSpot's free local marketing on-demand webinar for best practices to attract more visitors to your business. 

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