As searchers on Google are hyped to find, buy and use stuff, the same is the case with sellers wanting to satisfy those urges. Every second, millions of goods get sold. The figures are not confined to single but multiple locations. Upon entering some keywords into Google, a user sees results in the form of snippets, advertisements, dropdown text, images, news, GIFs, videos and a list of websites. Out of several upfront materials available at their fingertips, I’ve found the thing that attracts users the most is the one close to the user’s reach. Meaning, besides a product on sale or the service on hire being compelling enough, the product or service should get into the hands of the buyer in the shortest possible period.
People understand the power of the location option on their smartphones, tablets and computers. It helps them connect to the closest spots to their queries. Even if they avoid the location add-ons in their searches like “near me,” Google shows results based on the IP addresses, search history and a whole lot of other factors. The interesting thing is that location-keyword searching has increased, which makes it mandatory for you to consider for your hyperlocal marketing.
The term “hyperlocal marketing” refers to the situation where sellers target buyers according to their area. Local searches highlight the full intention of buyers. Here, a purchase is much more likely. Of course, online shopping has its power, but some things need a physical presence — for example, automotive rentals, visiting educational centers, party hubs, salons and more. No matter how sharp-looking or cool they are in pictures online, you sometimes need to have a real glance in person. But what you may not know is that the local search for a product can include extensive surfing on the web before a sale lands in the offline unit. By putting in some effort, you can build your brand name online and start building long-term relationships with your customers.
Below are some strategies I will go into further for hyperlocal marketing. It’s important to understand them and then put them into practice.
Show in-depth business details on Google My Business (GMB).
GMB is the backbone for businesses because of the many details it includes like business address, website and reviews. Many still leave their GMB listing incomplete. Google shows location-wise searches, so it is essential to share detailed information about your business.
Your GMB profile should include the following:
• Business description written in 750 characters or less with keywords and content differentiating from your competitors.
• High-quality photos to arouse users to visit your place.
• Concise address(es) consistent with those on your website.
• Accurate phone number(s).
• Operating hours and non-working days.
• Primary and secondary categories matching your business’’s goals, so your listing comes up on searched terms.
• Reviews. Quality reviews can change consumers’ perceptions before hiring your business. Think of it when you view ratings before buying.
You must adequately represent your business on GMB, as it helps users find you easily online. Use latent semantic indexing keywords (LSI), which are related to a topic but are not synonyms. For example, when typing the word “jogging” into Google, a dropdown of words appears with jogging, like “shoes,” “park” and “spots.” Dropdown words are searched a lot. Find your business match LSI and use them in your title.
Create content that connects and moves people toward your business.
You must influence locals with your content. Blogs, educational articles, data infographics, quizzes, puzzles, small games, animations and trailers of upcoming events or festivals can serve this purpose. What I’ve found most effective are videos. For learning, entertaining or anything, videos can be a lifeline.
Excite people with a unique display of your contact information.
Include your business contact information on your website, but also showcase it in attractive local spots like stadiums, museums, parks, monuments, bazaars, eateries, streets, etc. You can use small images and video clips of places surrounding your location to give importance to those areas besides the Google Map directions.
Use schema markup with lots of text.
Structured data markup on your website helps Google collect much information about your business. Add details like ratings, data, FAQs, future planning, eco-friendly efforts, etc., in your schema code. Detect issues, errors and warnings in your tags with a tool like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
Make a landing page or mention area of each business location.
Specific landing pages accomplish the task of hyperlocal marketing by covering searched keywords. Even if your business is serving the same service at every location, the content for each location page can be prepared separately. An alternative is to highlight multiple areas on your website menu or make a custom map with a search area box.
Create URLs with heavily searched terms.
Google considers URLs when ranking content. It picks up links with the location in them. So, having keyword-researched terms in your URL is necessary. Also, as an experiment, try not to use location keywords in your URL for a month, but do mention it on your page content. To see the difference, now edit the URL with address, streets, buildings and road details. Your website will likely jump up in position.
Advertise to have high sales and returns, and not just impressions.
Paid ads are beneficial for you to generate leads and conversions. There are plenty of popular digital platforms that have options like automation stats, ad customizers, smart campaigning, dynamic ads, etc. This can help communicate your brand message to shoppers, and it also offers auto-intelligence. Here, the advertised matter is the key. Ensure you hype it with feasibility, so people will pay without having second thoughts.