A new, free tool for SEOs offers insights into Google search features by analyzing 60 million US queries.
Developed by Local SEO Guide, the Local-Pack-O-Meter tracks data for ten different types of Google search features, including local packs, knowledge panels, shopping, job postings, ads, and more.
What sets the Local-Pack-O-Meter apart from other tools monitoring Google search features is its extensive data access.
Traject Data, a client of Local SEO Guide, supplies the SERP stats from approximately 60 million US search queries. This significantly larger sample size, compared to similar tools, may provide data that is more representative of all US queries.
“While tools like MozCast have their own versions of a SERP Feature tracker, these typically cover a relatively small number of keywords (1,000 for MozCast). When we heard ’60 million,’ we thought it could give us a much more accurate picture of what the SERP real estate looks like for the entire country.”
The Local-Pack-O-Meter contains historical data from as far back as May 2020, making it possible to identify interesting trends.
Local Packs appear in roughly 36% of Google search results pages in the US. This percentage has remained consistent from May 2020 to February 2021, except for a dip in September.
From this data, we can infer that the pandemic did not significantly impact the frequency of searches triggering local packs.
The data indicates that people continued searching for local places and businesses at a similar rate throughout the year.
Given the many local establishments that were forced to close temporarily, it’s interesting to see almost no fluctuation in the prevalence of local search packs.
“The percentage of Local Packs over the past year has been fairly consistent, currently at around 36%. This means a bit more than one-third of all Google searches exhibit some form of local intent. That’s a lot of ‘pizza near me’ searches. BTW, this figure is quite close to what Mozcast shows (41%), so kudos to Dr. Pete!”
Noticeable month-to-month changes have been observed with the ‘People Also Ask’ search feature. This feature appeared in 25% of SERPs in May 2020 and grew to over 40% of SERPs by February.
This could be a positive sign for publishers, as an increase in ‘People Also Ask’ boxes may lead to more content being discovered through Google’s search suggestions.
As of last month, ads have been appearing in more than twice as many Google SERPs compared to the start of the year. This increased presence coincides with a rise in the number of shopping boxes.
The growth in the percentage of SERPs featuring shopping boxes is particularly notable when comparing February against last year’s holiday shopping season.
### How Can This Data Be Used?
The Local-Pack-O-Meter provides data collected from 60 million US Google search queries that SEOs can use to analyze search traffic.
For instance, if you’re managing SEO for a retailer and need to understand an influx of traffic in February, you could use this data to see that shopping boxes were appearing more frequently in Google searches.
Similarly, if you notice an unusual drop in traffic from one month to another, a tool like this may help provide some answers.
Explore the free Local-Pack-O-Meter for more insights.
