Hyperlocal SEO has become more important to many businesses, as Google continues to focus on this aspect of online search.
If your company relies on local prospects, leveraging hyperlocal SEO can make a big difference to your bottom line. Rest assured that your competitors are doing just that.
Both organic search and pay-per-click (PPC) strategies can be effective in boosting your hyperlocal search rankings, but it is becoming increasingly important to incorporate aspects of this SEO strategy into every facet of your digital marketing.
Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind right now, to take the greatest advantage of hyperlocal SEO.
We’ve been dwelling on this a lot lately, but having your Google My Business (GMB) listing complete, accurate, up to date and verified is critical, if you want Google to consider you in hyperlocal search results.
In particular, make sure your categories are right and that the page your listing links to is optimized with relevant local-specific data.
Google wants to see geographic and topical keywords and key phrases in your content and onsite optimization.
Depending on your business model, local keyword research can present a challenge if you don’t have the right tools. Most keyword research tools base their results on volume, but in the hyperlocal world, that volume often does not exist.
So how do you identify the right keywords to target for hyperlocal SEO?
You can take a look at the data for nearby locations that are larger than your region. You can use Google Suggest, but you might have better luck trying this strategy in some other search locations, like Google Maps. You can also try it using different devices, like your tablet, smartphone and laptop.
Or you can let an SEO expert do the research with their proprietary, professional tools.
Google really wants you to have customer reviews, but they have to be done within Google’s review interface.
Customer reviews and testimonials are important in every aspect of your online marketing. But, for the purpose of leveraging Google’s hyperlocal SEO algorithms, you need bona fide Google reviews.
You can take the time to build your review platform, encourage your customers to contribute their thoughts, remind them to leave their review, remind them again … you get the idea. Or you can focus on your business and leave this project to a company that specializes in helping you get online business reviews.
Although Google remains king of the search engines, we have begun to see some interesting local activity involving Facebook and Amazon.
We expect to see local search become a factor in social media, map apps, review sites and more. Bing, Yahoo Local, Yelp and a variety of industry-specific sites can provide a much-needed boost to your online presence. Expect to see this trend continue as Google’s competition tries to put on pressure.
Be Locally SEO understands how complex SEO and internet marketing can be, especially for small-business owners. We specialize in taking that pressure off your shoulders and handling all these details on your behalf. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you grow your business. We would love to give you a free hyperlocal SEO evaluation of your website.