As a digital marketing agency, you must stay up to date with recent trends and developments in digital marketing. One of the fastest-growing trends that capitalize on mobile search for brick-and-mortar businesses is hyperlocal marketing services.
Want to give your online marketing a boost? Here are some popular hyperlocal strategies and tactics to get your websites noticed in search.
Hyperlocal Is Not A Replacement for Local Area Marketing
Sure, it sounds similar, but hyperlocal marketing is an entirely new digital strategy. Local SEO is still required to target the country, city, and state a business operates in. For example, take “Italian restaurants in Jacksonville” but go deeper. Hyperlocal takes things to the next level by targeting a more specific location, such as searching for Italian restaurants in a specific neighborhood of Jacksonville.
With searches from mobile devices on the rise, having a hyperlocal marketing strategy is critical.
“Near Me” Searches
We use search engines a bit differently when at home or work than how we do on the go. Sticking with Jacksonville, someone who lives there likely knows where a few Italian restaurants are in the city, but let’s assume they’re hungry and want to find a restaurant within walking distance in the San Marco neighborhood.
Targeting this neighborhood means their search will be far more specific, perhaps something like “Italian restaurants near me” or “Italian restaurants in San Marco.” Their intention is to buy and eat now. Without implementing hyperlocal marketing, your client’s restaurant a few blocks away may not show up in search results, driving more business to the competition.
How to Implement Hyperlocal Marketing Services
Hyperlocal strategies can help to boost both mobile and desktop organic rankings. Here are a few ways you can implement hyperlocal and questions to ask about the client:
Using NAP Citations
- Do all business citations match? Something as simple as “St.” versus “Street” on the listing can negatively impact whether your client shows up or not.
- Is the NAP listed on every page of the website?
Employing Hyperlocal Meta Data
- Do page titles, meta descriptions, and image alt tags mention neighborhoods?
- What neighborhood is your client in? For example, a page title could change from “Bicycle Repair in Jacksonville” to “Bicycle Repair in Southside Jacksonville.” Southside is the neighborhood, therefore making the title hyperlocal.
Tailoring Content to be Hyperlocal
- Do the client’s blog and content strategy include speakable and mobile search terms that mention neighborhoods? For example, if you’re a tour operator in Jacksonville’s Murray Hill neighborhood, you could create content titled “10 Places to See in Murray Hill” rather than “10 Places to See in Jacksonville.”
Creating Content That’s Review-Based
- Does the client have blog topics that are review-based in nature? Use hyperlocal strategies and the intent to buy. For example, if the business is bicycle repair, a potential article to write is “5 Ways to Fix a Bike in Southside Jacksonville.” The city and neighborhood are hyperlocal and the focus on intent to fix/buy is covered by reviewing the services offered.
- Are you striving to be informational or conversational?
- Are you being too sales-focused?
Updating Google My Business for Hyperlocal Marketing
As you already know, local pack Google My Business (GMB) search results often populate with most mobile searches, which include the business name, star rating, number of reviews, and the ability to click on the reviews to learn more. Mobile users with the intent to buy now may not scroll past the local pack of businesses.
By implementing hyperlocal strategies, you can boost your client’s odds of better conversion. Reviews play a large role in this, but what about the business name?
If your client is about to launch their business in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville, think about their name and if consumers will understand what’s offered. For example, if they’re a pizzeria and their name is simply “Pete’s,” it’s not clear you can get pizza at Pete’s. Consider having the business name to be something like “Pete’s Pizza,” or if you want to get hyperlocal – “San Marco Pizzeria.”
If the competition mentions pizza in their business name, and your client doesn’t, potential customers are being lost. A name change may or may not impact the frequency in which you show up in search, but it can increase mobile conversions. You’d be surprised how many local businesses don’t have any indication of what they do in their name!
Without Strong Reviews, Hyperlocal Will Fall Short
If your clients have yet to prioritize their consumer reviews, now’s the time. Statistics show that a steady stream of Google reviews increases local pack search results by 13%. This means 13% more people strongly consider the business you’re marketing.
On some review sites, such as TripAdvisor, showing up could more than double the number of daily bookings. This means it is time to utilize email marketing, direct mailers, social media incentives, and verbal requests to ethically boost the frequency of incoming reviews on all relevant industry sites.
Also consider an ethical review boosting strategy, like encouraging customers to leave a review to get a better sampling that instills confidence in potential customers that the business has a good reputation. Getting reviews is as simple as asking customers to leave a review after their visit or offering an incentive like a discount.
Using Google Beacons for Hyperlocal Advertising
Google Beacons have been around for a few years, but if you have yet to utilize them, then it’s time to develop a hyperlocal advertising strategy. Google Beacons empower you to reach consumers in your local area instead of having them search for you.
This proximity-based technology is found in most major cities and can be installed within brick-and-mortar locations. Here are just a few ways beacons can help your clients grow their businesses:
- Send a text message discount code to everyone who walks past a specific address.
- Send an SMS message between specific hours, like 5 and 7, to everyone in a 2-block radius reminding them that it’s happy hour.
- Send a store-wide or department-specific discount to shoppers who are in your store, which increases their likelihood of buying, as well as the overall number of items purchased.
- Place a branded Google Beacon on restaurant tables. Beacons can have the menu, photos of menu items, trivia games, and the ability to order and pay without flagging down the waiter. Restaurants and bars will still need waiters, but the service process will become more streamlined.
- Beacons can enrich tours, create a guided electronic experience, or can be activated as part of an augmented reality service.
- Measure the success rate of Google AdWords campaigns by more accurately tracking how many people clicked on an ad and came into your client’s store.
- Hyperlocal advertise to online-only clients who will be appearing at live locations.
Create a Hyperlocal Strategy Today
Adding hyperlocal marketing services to your offerings is an effective way of growing your digital business and maximizing your client’s marketing outcomes. Jump in! Hyperlocal is sure to diversify and is an area of specialty that many savvy businesses are looking for.
It’s critical for local businesses to maintain an authoritative local presence. Having a hyperlocal marketing strategy is a new way of engaging the demographic.
Do you need a dedicated partner? A local SEO agency like Oyova can help to keep your customers active and motivated to talk about your products and services online. We’ll work with you to exceed your business goals with hyperlocal marketing tactics through targeted content and customized strategies.
