Micro-Moments: I Want To Go Moments

Last week our blog focused on Micro-Moments, the mobile moment that requires only a glance to identify, deliver and source information you can either act on or consume immediately. Specifically the post focused on ‘I Want to Know Moments’, the moments when an advert catches your eye, or you need to check a fact and you reach for your mobile, make a search and get your hands on the information there and then.

But sometimes that isn’t enough, you want to know about an advert or a restaurant but once you have that information you want to go. You want to find the best places to eat near you, you want to go to that event, you don’t just need to know about it, you want to go and see it.

These are the ‘I Want to Go Moments’.

The Movement of Micro-Moments

The journey of every consumer is far from what it was five years ago. Instead of stumbling upon a restaurant after a 16 hour stroll, searching with no luck, finding a store using word of mouth, and missing out on the best events because they are not featured on your paper map – times have changed. According to Google, in 2015 there were 34 times as many searches for ‘near me’ destinations as there were in 2011. The ‘I Want to Go Moments’ are instances in which the consumer is searching for locations right near to them.

via GIPHY

Whilst you have searched for the nearest gym to work on your six pack, Google are busy working on their three pack. Their three pack is the top three listings shown on Google when you have searched for a location near you. They once listed 7 different businesses but fewer listings means consumers spend less time searching and there is a quicker transition from finding the right information to visiting the right place. Instead of overpowering the search with unwanted information, instead the searcher receives a featured snippet on each business. The need to know information. Name, distance from them, phone number and directions.

What Do I Want To Go Moments Mean for the Businesses/Brands?

For us, as consumers, our journey maybe a lot simpler than it was. We have all the information in our hands to make the best of ‘near me’ situations. But what does this mean for the businesses?

For many it comes as a positive step towards getting business physically, in-store, in restaurants rather than online. ‘I Want to Go Moments’ can even work to improve the efficiency of businesses. For example, searching for “McDonalds near me”, customers can be directed towards not only the nearest store but the nearest store with the shortest dwelling times. In this moment McDonalds will know that consumers are not just looking for information, they are making decisions.

However, for those businesses bumped from the three pack, their may be a moment of panic. SEO experts may struggle explaining to their clients why their listings have dropped off the top three. But they can reassure their customers optimising their websites, improving their online performance and driving more traffic will mean they will drop in and out of the top three results dependent on a number of things.

Their site needs to be mobile friendly therefore meaning it is accessible to any mobile, computer and other device. The businesses website must also have been checked with ‘Google My Business’ and ‘Local Listings’ making sure the relevant information is there for Google to pick out and feed into the results for the customer. But the most important aspect of their site has to be that the information (content) is clear and not duplicated for it to be more likely to be pulled through by consumer’s search. The clearer the content, the better the SEO and the better their online performance, the more likely a consumer will get the information they need and return to the site/business in the future. Google tailor the results, like they are tailoring a suit, if the customer asks for a navy suit, you probably won’t get the best response if you present them with neon pink.

Knowledge is Power, Directions are Key

At the end of the day, ‘I Want to Go Moments’ are simple. At first it is information about the nearest salon, restaurant, dog groomers or swimming pool that you need. But in the end the content needs to deliver a simple answer to the users questions and focus more so on the goal of providing them with directions to a location. Google aims to provide the best content which is simple, directing and free of waffle. The moments wouldn’t be called Micro-Moments if it took you an hour to read through what the place was, where it is, who runs it and why you should visit.

For businesses it is time to explore SEO further, get themselves ranking, get the good reviews they deserve and watch as I Want to Go Micro-Moments create more revenue and more visitors too.

Here at Digital Next we know exactly how important the consumers are to your business. We specialise in SEO and improving your online performance for your consumers as well as the success of your business.