Is Hyperlocal SEO the New Messiah for Local Businesses?

All around the globe, local business owners are struggling to keep up with massive competitors and well-known established companies. 

Let’s face it — competing with top brands, especially in the digital world can get quite challenging. 

But, don’t lose hope! With the right SEO strategy, even local physical stores and small or medium businesses can stand out among the big sharks. 

And this life-saving SEO strategy is none other than Hyperlocal SEO!

When it comes to digital marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), local business owners have to leverage an entirely different strategy than regular, global business owners. The priority for such local businesses should be to rank on a hyperlocal SERP rather than in different countries where they do not provide services. 

From an SEO perspective, we can say that targeting a broad global audience is much easier than narrowing your marketing strategy to local audiences. Therefore, digital marketing agencies have to identify new strategies in order to reach out to the right audiences in their locality. Hence, to capture such a smaller, more focused audience, businesses must certainly invest in hyperlocal Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

What Is Hyper Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Not all businesses target a global audience. Some businesses have physical stores in just a few locations and they aim to attract customers who are around that particular locality. Such as a restaurant, spa, boutique, salon, local retail shop, etc. Such local businesses have no use in targeting a global audience and are only interested in local audiences. 

The usual Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy for such businesses will not bring relevant leads. Normal SEO will target the wrong audiences or geographical locations which will waste money and time. With Hyperlocal SEO local businesses can focus on particular regions such as neighborhoods, towns, or streets. Hyperlocal SEO strategies are also created with the intention of targeting people conducting “near me” searches on Google or other prominent search engines.

The algorithm behind Hyperlocal SEO prioritizes the user’s Name, Address, and Phone number also known as NAP. This gives the searcher more personalized results when he/she searches for “Businesses near me”. And if a business is optimized for these local searches, they have a better chance of popping up for such questions. This is also one of the most lead generating SEO strategies because the user is in the final marketing funnel and is looking to buy a product or service; not to gain information. 

How Businesses Can Make The Best Of Hyper Local SEO

1) Google My Business

A Google My Business page is highly imperative for your business if you wish to target local audiences. GMB provides your audiences with more accurate local information such as where your business is located, business closing time, contact number, etc. It even gives audiences a glimpse into your business by enabling you to add images, reviews, ratings, and much more. Not only does Google My Business make it easier for local audiences to find your business, but it also gives them more information even without opening your web page. Audiences can view all the necessary information on the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) itself.

2) Create a Location Page

Even if a business does not sell its services to different countries, it might still aim for audiences from different geographical locations. For example, a business in Canada may not aim for local audiences only in Toronto but may also serve customers everywhere in Ontario. Therefore, if your business sells services or products to multiple locations, you will have to hire a Toronto web design agency to create separate location pages on your website. You don’t have to create separate websites for the different provinces or locations, but you will need a unique location page adhering to the audience of that particular location.  

A separate location page is a great addition to hyperlocal SEO as it will not only make it easier for people in that particular location to get more information but will also rank your website for personalized location based searches.

3) Business Advertising

Targeted ads are a great way to reach out to audiences in your specific location. The best thing about ads is that they can run on any platform, including Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media platform. With Google ads, you can even show your ads on competitor websites or local directories, hence increasing your website visibility to the right audience. Even though ads cost money to run, their return on investment (ROI) is much higher when compared to other marketing strategies. Moreover, various platforms provide a very targeted approach to running ads. Businesses can include multiple specifications regarding their target audiences. They can specify the region where they would like to run their ads, the age group of people who should see their ads, and much more. This targeted approach in ads provides businesses with better results than any other Hyperlocal SEO strategy and is one of the most widely used digital marketing methods. 

Conclusion

If you own a local business that aims to attract audiences from your locality and nearby places then Hyper Local SEO services are the right choice for your business. As mobile searches and voice searches are increasing nowadays, businesses have a better chance to rank higher for local searches. Because most of the mobile searches are based on the location of the user and if your business is listed in GMB or similar hyperlocal SEO methods then you have a much higher chance to rank on top in search engines and show up in search results.

Moreover, people browsing new products or services through voice search prefer to say “find restaurants near me” or “which are the best restaurants in Toronto”. Such location based searches can trigger your website or GMB page if you have optimized for hyperlocal searches. Therefore, if you want to stay in the game and compete with bigger competitors, then hire a digital marketing agency and get started with hyperlocal SEO.

Author Bio

Cindy Williams is a blogger in Canada. She graduated with honors from the University of British Columbia with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing.