Hyperlocal SEO: Find Your Local Customers
Do you struggle to outrank competitors in search engines? Then perhaps you need to focus on specific geographic areas with lower competition. Hyperlocal SEO is the strategy that allows you to laser-focus your marketing efforts to find those customers.
In this article, we’ll share the hyperlocal SEO advantages and benefits, so you can get started right away. Focusing on location-specific SEO is important since BrightLocal’s 2023 Customer Review Survey found that 98% of consumers used the internet to find information about local businesses in 2022, which is up from 90% in 2019.
For example, looking for Chinese Restaurants near Kings Cross in London would be hyperlocal as it's within a very small geographical area:
What Is Hyperlocal SEO?
Hyperlocal SEO is a digital marketing strategy aimed at optimizing a business's online presence to attract local customers in a specific and small geographical area. This might be a neighborhood, city, or region.
This approach involves targeting local search queries by potential customers looking for products or services "near me" or within a particular vicinity. However, you shouldn't confuse hyperlocal SEO with local SEO.
Here’s a table to illustrate the differences between the different types of SEO:
Header | Traditional SEO | Local SEO | Hyperlocal SEO |
|---|---|---|---|
Geographic scope | Global or national reach | At the level of cities and regions | Limited to specific neighborhoods |
Keyword targeting | Broad industry keywords | At the level of city and area names | A focus on street names and landmarks |
Ranking difficulty | High competition | Medium competition | Low competition |
Conversion rates | Lower due to non-targeted reach | Improves for physical locations | Most optimized because of high targeting |
Note that the scope of your SEO marketing campaign should depend on the nature of your business. However, if targeting a small geographical location makes sense for the products or services you’re selling, then take advantage of the strategy.
Still not convinced? Then read about the myriad of benefits in the following section.
What Are the Benefits of Hyperlocal SEO?
Now let’s consider the benefits of hyperlocal SEO to help you decide if it’s worth adding to your marketing toolkit. While hyperlocal SEO may not make sense for every business, those that can benefit have a number of rewards to reap.
Increased Local Visibility
Hyperlocal SEO significantly enhances local visibility for businesses, which makes it easier for nearby customers to find your products or services. Therefore, by optimizing for local search queries and ensuring accurate business information on platforms like Google Business Profile, businesses appear in relevant local searches and Google Maps.
Additionally, utilize local keywords, maintain consistent listings on local directories, and generate positive customer reviews to further boost local search rankings. Overall, hyperlocal SEO drives more local traffic, increases footfall, and helps businesses dominate their immediate market area.
Higher Conversion Rates
Hyperlocal SEO leads to higher conversion rates by targeting a highly specific local audience ready to make a purchase. You’ll essentially reduce the number of marketing messages you send to viewers who have no interest in your products.
This might be because they are not within distance of your store and never visit the town or neighborhood where your business is active. You’ll need to use marketing software to measure the conversion rate of hyperlocal SEO, and when applying the best practices, you should see an increase.
In fact, 72% of consumers who do a local search also visit a store within a five mile radius.
Improved Google Business Profile Rankings
Hyperlocal SEO significantly improves Google Business Profile rankings by optimizing a business's local online presence. Therefore, claiming and accurately updating the GBP ensures correct business details such as name, address, phone number, and operating hours.
With an optimized GBP, you’ll have higher visibility in Google’s search results, which leads to more sales.
Beat Competitors With Bigger Budgets
Are you struggling to outrank the top competitors in your industry or niche? This can be hard for newcomers and small businesses with lower marketing budgets. However, with hyperlocal SEO, there’s no need to compete against the industry titans.
Instead, you can cut out your little corner by limiting your marketing efforts to a small geographic area. You’ll face fewer competitors and have to spend less money to attract customers.
Cost-Effective Marketing
You can significantly improve the ROI of marketing campaigns by opting for hyperlocal SEO. It’s cost-effective because it targets a specific local audience and maximizes marketing efforts.
Generally, by focusing on a smaller, more relevant customer base, businesses can achieve higher conversion rates without spending excessively on broad and non targeted campaigns.
Better Customer Engagement
Over 80% of consumers said they are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized experiences. Limiting your marketing to specific areas is a way of personalizing the experience, and customers will show higher levels of engagement.
For example, you can mention local weather events to provide context for the offer. A cafe can invite users to get a coffee when it’s cold and raining outside.
How To Do Hyperlocal SEO Keyword Research
It’s essential to target the right keywords to execute hyperlocal SEO marketing campaigns. Here’s a step-by-step process to get started:
- Understand your audience: Identify the specific area you are targeting, such as neighborhoods, cities, or regions. Furthermore, understand the local customer base, their needs, and search behaviors.
- Analyze competitor keywords: You can use tools like Hike SEO to analyze competitor keywords, to figure out what’s already working. Also, use this opportunity to assess the strength of competitor SEO marketing campaigns.
- Incorporate local modifiers: Make sure to use keywords with local modifiers such as the city, neighborhood, or region. Also, use modifiers to represent a focused geographic area to increase targeting.
Hyperlocal SEO Best Practices
You’ll increase your chances of winning with your Hyperlocal marketing campaign by applying the best practices in this section. We’ll summarize the best practices that can make a difference to your bottom line.
Note that the top competitors in your industry may already use these hacks to get ahead. Therefore, you’ll need to also implement them to avoid getting left behind.
Link Directories and Link Building
Hyperlocal SEO focuses on optimizing a business's online presence for very specific and localized areas. Best practices include creating and optimizing Google Business Profile listings with accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information.
Furthermore, link building strategies should target local directories and community websites to gain high-quality and location-specific backlinks. Consider submitting to a reputable local business directory to further boost results. Top examples include Yelp and local chambers of commerce.
Additionally, engaging with local blogs, news sites, and participating in local events for backlinks can boost hyperlocal SEO efforts. You can keep track of your backlink building progress with Hike SEO.
Set Up A Google Business Profile
It’s a no-brainer to set up a Google Business Profile to take advantage of its numerous benefits for hyperlocal SEO. Here are the best practices when setting up a GBP profile:
Populate On-Site Content With Hyperlocal Terms
Optimize your on-site SEO for local audiences by adding the keywords you uncover from keyword research. You can add these keywords within your titles, body content, and metadata. In fact, you can use the keywords to drive what topics you post on the blog section of your websites.
Make sure to follow up to date SEO best practices for adding keywords to your content. This includes not keyword stuffing and adding a range of related search terms. Focus on creating quality that speaks to the users in your target locations, and sprinkle afterward.
Add Structured Data Markup
For hyperlocal SEO, implementing structured data markup enhances search engine understanding of your business's local context. This includes using schema.org to mark up key information such as address, phone number, business hours, and geo-coordinates.
Furthermore, ensure accuracy and consistency across all web pages to boost local relevance. Consider including reviews and rating markup to highlight customer feedback. Additionally, use event schema for local events to attract nearby attendees.
Finally, regularly test and validate your markup using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to ensure proper implementation and detect errors.
Encourage Customer Reviews
Encouraging customer reviews is crucial for hyperlocal SEO. You’ll need to ask satisfied customers to leave reviews on Google and other relevant local platforms. Make it easy by providing direct links to review sites and offering clear instructions.
Google pays attention to signals like review scores when featuring businesses at the top of the SERPs. More reviews and a higher score are a great way to improve SEO performance. Also, more users will click on your profile, which further informs Google of your relevance for the search term.
Monitor and Analyze Performance
It’s important to monitor the performance of your hyperlocal SEO campaign to figure out what’s working and what needs optimization. For example, you can look at the number of customers you receive from each target area. Perhaps some locations yield more results than others for the same marketing spend.
However, you need to use advanced marketing tools like Hike SEO to analyze data. This will help you spot the strengths and weaknesses of your SEO efforts, so you can make the right adjustments.
Common Pitfalls Hyperlocal SEO Pitfalls to Avoid
You’ll need to avoid the biggest pitfalls of hyperlocal SEO so you don’t waste money and lose customers to your competitors. Here are the top pitfalls to be aware of:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is hyperlocal SEO important?
Hyperlocal SEO is crucial because it enhances a business's visibility in local searches by targeting specific geographic areas to attract nearby customers. Therefore, by optimizing for precise locations, businesses can get more customers who frequently visit specific locations.
Also, Hyperlocal SEO helps smaller businesses compete against industry leaders who may have overlooked smaller locations. This means you can capitalize on niche locations to drive business growth.
What role do local backlinks play in hyperlocal SEO?
Local backlinks are vital for hyperlocal SEO as they signal to search engines that a business is relevant and authoritative in a specific geographic area. Hence, high-quality links from local websites, directories, and community pages boost local search rankings and visibility.
Furthermore, they enhance credibility and attract more targeted customers. The end result is a stronger business presence in local search results.
How important are customer reviews for hyperlocal SEO?
Customer reviews are crucial for hyperlocal SEO as they build credibility and trust with both search engines and potential customers. This means positive reviews enhance a business’s local search rankings, attract more local traffic, and improve visibility.
Active engagement with reviews also signals relevance and reliability to search engines, which further boosts local search performance.
How do I ensure my hyperlocal website is mobile friendly?
To ensure your hyperlocal website is mobile-friendly, use a responsive design to adapt to various screen sizes. This ensures a seamless experience across devices. Furthermore, optimize images and content for fast loading times.
Additionally, ensure that buttons and navigation are easy to use on touchscreens. Then test your site’s mobile usability regularly using tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and address any issues.
How can social media help with hyperlocal SEO?
Social media enhances hyperlocal SEO by boosting local visibility and engagement. You can use these platforms to share location-specific content, interact with local audiences, and promote local events to increase your brand’s presence.
Furthermore, you can encourage user-generated content and reviews, which can drive local traffic and improve search rankings. Active social media profiles also create opportunities for local backlinks and citations. This further strengthens your local SEO efforts and connects with the community.
Hike SEO
In a nutshell, hyperlocal SEO is an important part of a marketer’s toolkit to target audiences in specific locations. The strategy is especially relevant for businesses who mainly sell products to customers in limited geographic areas.
Do you want to give hyperlocal SEO a try? Then don’t forget about the best practices in this article to improve your odds of success. Also, avoid the common pitfalls that can ruin your chances of winning before you start.
Every marketer or small business understands the power of advanced software to help with everyday tasks when working on SEO. Hence, look no further than Hike SEO to access industry-leading tools like the Onsite Optimizer, which on average, reduces your SEO task time by 50%.