Using Hyperlocal SEO to put your business on the map and boost sales/conversions.

Creating an online presence is what businesses want, that is where Hyperlocal SEO comes in. The more visible you are on search engines, the more business. Getting your website or your business on Google’s first page is every business owner’s dream.

This is not however a walk in the park. Google’s search algorithm is evolving to allow more ‘locality-based’ search results. Okay, look at it this way. Let’s say you’re looking for a copy of a new book. Or a Barber’s shop. Or a Spa room. Or a personal injury lawyer. How do you search for these online?

You’re not going to do a local search for “barber’s shop in New York”. No. You want a place probably close to your home, current location or a walking distance. You’ll most likely do a hyperlocal search to include your particular district or street in your search.

What Is Hyperlocal SEO?

Imagine doing a local search on Google for a Salon and all you see are places kilometers away from you. Not good. Usually, most customers or clients want resources within walking distance or just a few minutes’ drive. This is where hyperlocal searches come in.

Hyperlocal SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of targeting prospective customers in a more specific or geographical area. The intention is to target people conducting “near me” searches on search engines.

Hyperlocal SEO is basically a search engine optimization on a micro level to increase online visibility to potential customers down to a street, specific block or neighborhood. Unlike Local SEO, Hyperlocal SEO is more ideal for you if you are a local restaurant, mechanic, or other business looking to serve a certain area within a city, town, or locale. It is has proven to be more productive compared to local SEO for small or middle scale businesses meant for people in a particular location.

Hyperlocal SEO is cooler than Local SEO

Most people have already familiarized themselves with Local SEO. What this does is to boost your business’ online presence by enhancing their Google ranking for locally specific searches on the internet.

Take for instance, when you want to find a grocery store and you enter “*city* grocery store” in a search engine, results will no doubt produce a list of stores in the city for you to choose from along with relevant or related information. This is called Local SEO.

Now, while local SEO is cool for your business, Hyperlocal SEO is even über cool. Hyperlocal SEO puts an additional notch to the local SEO by optimizing the search result for more specific locations such as streets, spots, and neighborhoods.

How Does Google Support Hyperlocal SEO?

When people search for goods or services provider, they would type, for instance, “repair shop near me” or “restaurants near me”. The search engine then uses their exact location to show results with close proximity.

To meet the peculiar needs of users, Google has upped their algorithm to provide results which will require hyperlocal SEO to help your business to be found.

Google encourages the use of Hyperlocal SEO for businesses by:

1. Highlighting them on Google’s map

2. Including them in the ‘3-pack’ box-out listings

3. Ranking business sites or listings.

The benefits of Hyperlocal SEO

Hyperlocal SEO is no doubt what many businesses including yours has been lacking. Other than just putting your business ‘out there’, here are a few other things you should note regarding using hyperlocal SEO:

1. Hyperlocal SEO boosts your commerce by driving foot traffic to physical locations and capitalizing on “near-me” searches.

2. Since there are fewer businesses/competition in your exact location, it’s easier to compete for hyperlocal search terms.

3. Hyperlocal results are highlighted in Google’s map results. Google will also include additional info such as ‘call’ (your business line), or ‘directions’ to your business on the search results page.

Getting Started with Hyperlocal SEO

Getting your business set for Hyperlocal SEO is as easy as it comes. You can begin by applying the following steps to enhance your ranking, stand out from the competition, meet your desired audience and help your chances of being found in search results.

Create a ‘Google My Business’ Profile

Google My Business – previously known as Google Places – is the feature where Google sources most of the information it provides in local searches and Google Maps results. Information such as opening hours, address, contact, and even pictures of the business office are often pulled from this great feature.

Whoever said the “best things in life are free” must be operating on a higher level of knowledge. The biggest trick to Hyperlocal SEO is FREE! What do you do?

• Create a profile for your business on Google My Business. Importantly, you can also input the location of your business, your opening times, consultation, reservation and so much more.

• Add as many details (even pictures and videos!) as possible to your Google My Business profile. When your business comes up on search results, Google will display the additional info. Be sure to use quality pictures and videos no matter how many you decide to use. It is quality over quantity.

• Update your Google My Business profile regularly. If there’s any major change in the operation of your business like location, services among others, be sure to update.

By putting the relevant information on the Google My Business platform, it will boost your Hyperlocal SEO and customers will know your business and will most likely be drawn to you. The Google My Business also provides analytics and insights on your online presence. It also shows you how best you can optimize and choose what works best for you.

Include Hyperlocal Keywords in your Blogs

Another way to utilize Hyperlocal SEO is through the use of keywords in your websites or blogs. Keywords are an important part of a successful search engine optimization. Thus, in addition to your business and what you offer, you should also input ‘hyperlocal’ information in your web pages.

Rather than broad keywords like “Boston attorney” or “salon in Boston”, use a specific geographical area, such as a neighborhood. “Allston haircut” or “Salon in Brighton” will greatly improve your hyperlocal SEO.

One of the hyperlocal keywords you can make use of is to mention nearby landmarks, monuments, stadiums, subway stations, schools, museums, restaurants, hotels, etc. This will make sure someone who is searching for a business that is very close to said landmark, school, stadium will be able to find it easily, right on the Google Map widget on top of the Google search results.

Insert your Business Address

One other Hyperlocal SEO trick is to make sure your exact business address appears on your website several times. Google’s algorithm will then use this information to match search queries with your business. It is important that the address on your Google My Business and in fact all of your social media outlets are one and the same. This will make it easier for the algorithm to identify your business.

Put your Business in other Directories

Sure, the www is all – pardon the cliché – a ‘web’. An awesome way to tap into hyperlocal SEO is to utilize other directories.

Have your business name, address, and phone number in multiple directories. Take Google+, Yelp, YP, or any other business listing for instance. The logic behind this is simple. The more places that contain your business name and address, the easier it becomes for Google’s search algorithm to verify your information. So, take advantage of listing sites to make it easier for prospective customers to find you. Keep in mind that having huge sites with a lot of authority linking to your business/website can only be good.

Create a Local Content Strategy

Since you are trying to attract people in your locality, it is only required that your contents are targeted at them. They should be able to resonate with your contents at first sight. it should be about what is popular to them and not other people. No one is saying you shouldn’t spread your wigs with your contents but your first target audience should be your immediate location. Hence, to succeed in hyperlocal SEO, you ensure to put your local audience first when creating your contents.

Take your Business to the Next Level with Hyperlocal SEO

With changes in Google’s search algorithm, it is important that you adopt the search optimization techniques that will make sure your business gets found easily.

Applying a successful Hyperlocal SEO campaign will no doubt put your business on the first page of Google search results!

Questions about Hyperlocal SEO, general inquiries into business opportunities or any questions, please visit our contact page and let us know how we can help.