The High Cost of Low Visibility: What Multi-Location Brands Are Missing

The 2024 SOCi Local Visibility Index (LVI) reveals how multi-location brands perform across crucial digital channels like local search, social media, and reputation management. These channels directly impact foot traffic and sales, making local visibility essential for success.

This blog focuses on low visibility brands, those missing out on massive revenue by failing to optimize their local digital presence. SOCi estimates that localized digital marketing represents a $54.1 billion opportunity. The financial risk is undeniable: poor local marketing is costing these businesses millions.

Drawing from the SOCi LVI, which analyzes 2,791 companies and 2.8 million locations, we’ll explore the challenges low visibility brands face and highlight actionable strategies to help those struggling with local visibility improve their digital presence and reclaim lost revenue.

What Does Low Visibility Mean? 

Low visibility refers to brands that struggle to appear in local searches, engage on social media, or respond to customer reviews. Even a well-known brand can remain invisible locally, failing to show up in searches like “burritos near me” despite strong national recognition.

The 2024 SOCi Local Visibility Index (LVI) reveals that low visibility brands appear on page one of local search results only 4% of the time, compared to 53% for high visibility brands. These brands are also underrepresented on key platforms, with less than 28% on Facebook and only 60% on Yelp.

The consequences of low visibility are steep. Without local optimization, brands miss out on foot traffic and revenue. Customers rely on search and reviews when making buying decisions. When brands fail to show up in local searches or engage with reviews or on social, they miss out on ready-to-buy customers, which in turn directly impacts revenue.

The Impact of Low Visibility

SOCi’s research reveals that low visibility brands miss out on up to $54.1 billion in potential revenue every year due to poor optimization in three critical areas: local search, social engagement, and reputation management. Let’s take a look at how these low visibility brands are currently performing in each of these three areas. 

Local search

Low visibility brands appear in just 4% of Google’s local search results, compared to 53% for high visibility brands. This drastically reduces the number of potential customers discovering these businesses, leading to fewer leads, conversions, and sales.

Social engagement

Low visibility brands post only 1.8 times per month on Facebook, compared to 15.3 posts from high visibility brands. This lack of engagement limits their ability to build loyalty and attract new customers, especially as more consumers use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to search for local businesses.

Reputation management

Low visibility brands respond to only 10.9% of Google reviews, with an average response time of 12 days, compared to 2.1 days for high visibility brands. Ignoring customer feedback erodes trust, hurts rankings, and reduces future conversions. Brands that engage with reviews—especially negative ones—build trust and loyalty, helping them stay competitive.

The lack of optimization in these areas leads to missed revenue and damages customer relationships. Improving local visibility is essential for capturing market share and driving long-term growth.

Common Mistakes Made By Low Visibility Brands

As mentioned, low visibility brands often lose revenue by neglecting key digital marketing practices. Here are three common mistakes that contribute to their underperformance, following a natural flow from search optimization, to engagement with customer feedback, to social outreach. If your brand is struggling with low visibility, make sure you’re not making the same mistakes. 

Failure to optimize local search profiles

Many low visibility brands fail to claim or optimize profiles on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook. According to the SOCi LVI, these brands appear on page one of Google’s local search results only 4% of the time. 

Additionally, only 60.6% have store locations listed on Yelp, and just 27.7% are on Facebook. Incomplete profiles and inconsistent information such as the business’ name, address, and phone number further reduce their chances of appearing in Google’s Local Pack and causing confusion among consumers. 

Ignoring consumer feedback

Low visibility brands often neglect customer engagement, especially reviews. Only 10.9% of Google reviews receive a response, and 99% of consumer questions on Google Q&A go unanswered. 

Failing to engage with reviews, particularly negative ones, damages credibility and reduces rankings. Responding to reviews quickly helps build trust and improve local search rankings, making it a simple but powerful way to enhance visibility and customer loyalty.

Inconsistent social media activity

Low visibility brands post less than twice per month on social media, far below the 15+ posts of high visibility brands. These brands generate less than one engagement per post on Facebook, signaling weak connections with local audiences. 

With platforms like Instagram and TikTok driving local business searches, maintaining a strong social presence on these platforms is essential for building relationships and driving engagement. A solid social strategy is no longer optional but necessary for staying competitive.

How Low Visibility Brands Can Improve Their Presence

Low visibility can be corrected with the right steps. Here are four strategies to help brands improve their local presence and boost revenue.

1. Claim and optimize all local profiles

Claim and regularly update your business profiles on Google, Yelp, and Facebook, making sure they are accurate and complete. Additionally, including a consistent name, address, and phone number (NAP) across platforms is essential for improving local search rankings. 

It’s also critical to focus on ranking in Google’s Local 3-Pack. As Google reduces the number of results in this highly visible section, competition has intensified. Appearing in the Local 3-Pack drastically increases your brand’s chances of being seen by potential customers and driving foot traffic, making it a key target for local optimization.

2. Engage with customer reviews

Respond to as many local reviews as possible, aiming for a 100% response rate. Engaging with feedback, especially negative reviews, builds trust and improves local rankings. Encouraging more reviews can also boost visibility, as higher review volume correlates with better rankings and increased consumer trust.

3. Boost social media presence

Create a consistent posting schedule for social media, aiming for at least 10-12 posts per month. Focus on content that resonates with local audiences and encourages engagement. Incorporating video content, used by high visibility brands 21.4% of the time, drives better interaction and helps tell your brand story.

4. Leverage AI for scalability

Leverage AI-powered tools like SOCi Genius to manage local search profiles, social posts, and review responses across multiple locations. Automating these tasks drives consistency, optimizes your presence, and boosts engagement at scale.

Why Investing in Local Visibility is Crucial 

Now that you understand how to improve your brand’s local visibility, you may be asking yourself, how important is it? 

Investing in local visibility offers immediate and long-term benefits:

• Financial benefits: Small improvements in rankings, social engagement, or review management can lead to significant revenue growth.
• Brand loyalty: Regular engagement with customers through reviews and social media fosters loyalty, leading to repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.
• Long-term growth: Prioritizing local visibility positions your brand for future success as consumer behavior shifts toward local-first searches, especially on social platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Brands that invest now will capture more market share tomorrow.

Don’t Let Low Visibility Cost You Millions 

Low visibility brands are missing out on significant revenue by neglecting essential opportunities in local search, social, and reputation management. The financial impact is real, billions of dollars are left on the table each year due to poor local digital optimization.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to improve your local visibility and stop losing out on revenue. Request your personalized SOCi LVI report to see how your brand measures up against competitors and uncover actionable steps to strengthen your local presence.