Although the optimisation scores in 2023 are on average higher than in 2020, more than 50% of the business locations surveyed are only slightly optimised, or not optimised at all. More specifically, 30% of all business locations have optimisation scores of below 25%. Only 19% of the locations analysed achieve an overall optimisation score of 75% or higher. These figures show that there is a significant opportunity for improvement in local SEO within the retail sector. If we look at specific optimisations, we see, for example, that a large number of business locations are missing additional categories in their Google Business Profile which means that potential customers receive limited information about the nature of the services offered, which causes reduced visibility in local search results.

Only 26% of business locations have ever posted a Google Post. So, the vast majority are not taking advantage of this free advertising opportunity.

It also emerged that a significant number of business locations do not make full use of the space available for a business description, and often add less than 10 photos, which affects the attractiveness of their profiles and conversion.

Another notable point is that a significant percentage of business locations do not use UTM tracking when placing a website link in their Google Business Profile, making it impossible to analyse the traffic to their website. In addition, a significant portion of business locations remain unclaimed, meaning that organisations do not have full control over their own locations' information.

More than half of the reviews (52%) are missing text and only have a star rating, resulting in reduced visibility for relevant search terms. In addition, 39% of business locations have a rating of less than 4.0 stars or no reviews at all, which can negatively impact their reputation and conversion.

The striking thing is that 88% of reviews with a score of less than 3 stars do not receive a response from the owner, which means that retailers are failing when considered in terms of customer service. Only 11% of business locations respond to a review at least once, indicating limited engagement with customers.

The differences in ratings by industry are striking, with companies in 'storage' and 'car garage & car wash' having the highest average rating, while 'banks' have the lowest. There are also differences between the Netherlands and Belgium, especially in the frequency of responding to reviews. The Netherlands is more active in 10 out of the 14 industries we analysed. The decrease in the percentage of business locations that do not respond to reviews at all (from 92% in 2020 to 88% in 2023) indicates that there has been some improvement in responsiveness. The increase in the number of reviews per business location is significantly higher in the 2023 Benchmark than in 2020, indicating growing customer engagement in sharing their experiences.

Our analysis in 2023 shows that Dutch and Belgian retail chains still have room for growth in local SEO, similar to our findings in 2020.  While average optimisation scores are improving, more than half of business locations are still under-optimised.

Dutch companies show slight progress compared to Belgians, but in both countries, retailers can get more out of local SEO optimisations by adding categories and adding opening hours and photos.

In conclusion, local SEO in 2023 requires not only visibility but also active interaction with customers. Businesses that embrace this opportunity not only improve their online presence but also build a positive relationship with their target audience.