Hyperlocal Marketing Tips:
How to Make it Work for Your Business
“Near me” searches are 34 times more popular today than they were in 2011.
If you are a business operator, you would be foolish not to take advantage of the trend toward local search activity.
Hyperlocal marketing is the art of targeting specific customers within a very narrow geographic area.
How can you make the trend work for you? Let’s take a look.
1. Get Googlin’
Over 81% of phone users are doing local searches. People are out on the town and looking for a local establishment where they can grab a cup of coffee or mail a letter.
It has also been found that folks are beginning to expect that Google will automatically bring up results that are within their geographic area without their having to add keywords such as “near me” or “close by.”
If you are a small business owner, your goal is to take advantage of this trend and drive more foot traffic toward your doorstep.
The first step you should take is to have a comprehensive Google My Business Page.
You will want to be certain that your business address, phone number, and hours of operation are correct. It also helps to have a high-quality photo that prospective customers can view. In addition, your My Business page is a great spot to take advantage of third-party services, such as reservations through Open Table.
2. Time To Review
Many people looking for a new local business, such as a take-out hotspot, will read reviews before jingling the bells above your entryway.
Reviews also account for 13% of how Google decides to display your results. It is a leading factor behind distance, relevance, and prominence.
The best way to get awesome reviews is to build the best possible customer service experience. Be sure that they all walk away from your counter smiling and fulfilled.
You can also ask your staff to encourage customers to leave reviews or hang up a few tastefully-placed signs requesting that patrons write reviews about their experiences on Google.
Respond to as many reviews as possible to increase their visibility.
3. Use Google Ads
If you have a Google Ads account, you can make it work for you with hyperlocal targeting.
Simply click on the “settings” tab under your Google Ads account. Go to “advanced search” and choose the central part of the radius you would like to target.
Using the physical location of your business as your center point, choose a much smaller radius than the default 20 miles. Consider using a radius between one and five miles to get a lot of local searchers. Think carefully about the keywords that people might be using when searching up businesses such as your own in your area.
4. Fun With Facebook
You can also use Local Awareness ads on Facebook to select the age and gender of customers you would like to target. The Local Insights feature will let you know how well your ad is doing. It will tell you the number of people with mobile devices within your radius, and how many of them have seen your ad.
Hyperlocal Marketing
Long before the days of electronic marketing, business-owners made local advertising work for them by targeting local customers who were looking for services that were only a short drive away. Today, hyperlocal marketing allows businesses to use Internet searches and social media to encourage customers to honor them with their business.
For more information on local searches, read our blog today.
