It’s no surprise that local businesses will struggle or thrive based on their ability to reach new customers in their area.

Google's Consumer Insights has reported an eye-watering 900%+ increase in “near me” type searches in the past two years. This trend shows the incredible opportunity for local businesses to bring in new customers.

 

Marketing can be complicated. Every business reaches a point where their marketing efforts are spread too thin, and there’s not enough budget to run all their strategies to its full potential.

And while they’re swamped with all the marketing tasks, businesses can forget about their most engaged customers – locals! 

Whether you are a small business or multi-location franchise, customers overwhelmingly search for local businesses to meet their needs – especially service-based businesses, and those offering in-store product purchases. 

That’s where hyperlocal marketing comes in. 

It targets your local customers who are purchase-ready, and protects you from blowing your budget in over-competitive markets, and diluting your marketing efforts with broad strategies.

 

The hyperlocal approach

 

There are 3 unique things that make hyperlocal marketing different to other strategies:

1. It pinpoints your marketing efforts in the few places that bring the biggest returns
2. It lets your marketing dollar go further by only competing with local competition
3. It only puts you in front of local, purchase-ready customers

 

If you’re a local brick-and-mortar business, you know digital marketing can be wasted if you ‘try to be all things to all people’. You also know your marketing is wasted if it’s shown to customers who can’t actually get to your physical location in-person. 

It’s the same for service-based businesses. There’s no point being found by customers outside your service area – all it does is waste the budget.

hyperlocal marketing strategies take a smart approach to getting found (and makes you the obvious choice) for all of your products and services in your local area. 

This tailored marketing approach is designed for local businesses to increase foot traffic, phone calls and booking. 

When a person types “real estate agency me” into their google or map search, it’s pretty obvious they want a real estate agent close to them. More importantly, they are likely planning to visit or contact a real estate agent that same day.

When Google gets a “near me” search, they prioritise results based on how close the location of the customer is to your business location. 

Customers who use “near me” searches are 35% more likely to buy that very same day if they find a business close to them. 

But if they get results for real estate agents 30 minutes away, they’re likely to ignore them.

That’s why hyperlocal marketing is designed to capture your customers' attention in your area, who are looking for things your business provides – right now.

 

Why hyperlocal marketing is so powerful

 

Recent data shows that Australians use their mobile phone for 90% of shopping. 

That means, those searching on their mobile are on the go and ready to buy. 

More than ever, customers expect to receive personalised search results that take their geo-location into account. 

 

Hyperlocal marketing accomplishes three main goals: 1) raising customer foot traffic to your office, 2)  increasing direct phone calls from local customers, and 3) getting more local customers to contact you or book your services online.

With 78% of all local searches leading to a direct purchase in 24 hours, you can’t afford to put hyperlocal marketing off till later. 

 

 

 

It’s clear local customers want a different experience than those only purchasing online. 

Local customers value personalisation, instant gratification and direct access to a business that very same day. And the businesses who can provide that experience will have an overwhelming advantage over their competitors. 

 

5 simple secrets to hyperlocal marketing

So now you’re convinced that hyperlocal marketing is essential… 

But how exactly do you get local results? 

Cube Online have spent years working out what strategies see the most impact, and we’ve discovered the best ways to get the most value from your efforts… 

And how to become a local legend in your community.

 

1. Optimised Google Business Profile

 

Make sure you have a Google Business Profile and it’s filled out in detail. 

Your Google Business Profile is where Google sources most of your business information. So if it’s not up to date, or has conflicting information, Google is less likely to show you to new customers.

A big part of your business profile is the 750 keyword-rich description. This is how Google makes sense of who you are and what you do. It also helps them match your business to the keywords your customers are using to find similar products and services. 

So you’ll want to include specific keywords customers use, and industry keywords that show what you offer. 

 

2. Increase customer reviews

 

Google likes social proof. 

More than that, they want to see you’re a real business offering real products and services. 

You prove to Google (and new customers) you’re legitimate by consistently receiving reviews and responding to them. 

Customer reviews are one of the most important parts of hyperlocal marketing, because it encourages Google to show your business to more customers in your area. 

In marketing speak: More positive reviews means more visibility online. 

You want to make sure you’re requesting reviews from customers (more on this later) and responding to reviews. 

A response can be as simple as:

“Thank you for choosing us, Jennifer. It was an absolute pleasure serving you.” 

 Or, if it's a negative review, you can respond with: 

“I’m sorry you had that experience, Jennifer. Please contact our customer support team here (add a link or phone number), and we’ll do everything in our power to resolve this for you.”

 

Whatever you do, don’t ignore the review. 

Google wants you to acknowledge your customers and make them feel important. That’s why they reward you with more visibility when you keep up with your reviews.

 

3. Specify your service locations

Your location details and contact information helps Google match you with customers in your area. 

Google takes the expected travel time into account before showing your business to customers. 

It’s important to note, even though your location is an important aspect of your hyperlocal marketing strategy, Google still may not show your business to a customer even if they are close to you. 

How often you show up in the search results and maps is determined by how well your business meets a number of Google requirements. 

It’s also important to specify the type of service location for your business on your Google Business Profile.  

 

For example… 

If you’re a local medical practice, you’d have one main location and a few suburbs you service. 

If you’re an electrician who travels to customers, you’d have a wider range of surrounding suburbs you’d service.

When you specify your type of service and location, Google starts to understand who your ideal customers are inside your area. This means your business gets found by more local customers on Google Maps.

 

4. Optimise your pages for website for local search

 

 

 

When you set up your webpages like this, Google can quickly and easily understand who you are, what you do and where you’re located.

But the best reason for optimising your pages is that Google shows your business to more customers in your area. 

 

5. Consistently share local content 

 

Sharing local content keeps customers interested in your business. 

It’s no secret people like novelty, and they pay more attention to things that are new. Google knows this, and they reward businesses who update their Google Business Profile consistently. 

You can update your opening times, special events coming up (i.e. Easter, Christmas or Black Friday events, sales and special opening hours), menu listings, services and products on offer and contact info.

Showcase your staff get-togethers and parties, key achievements and any local or industry updates. 

You can also share new additions to your services and products, and feature customer results with testimonials. 

The best thing for complete peace of mind and ease is to plan your local content, month-by-month, and schedule it in advance. That way you can keep your Google Business Profile active, virtually on autopilot. 

When it comes to hyperlocal marketing, one thing is clear… 

An effective hyper-local campaign balances all 5 parts – business profile, reviews generation, location management, content and website optimisation – to be chosen as the most trustworthy source of service for your customers.

 

Add rocket fuel to your hyperlocal marketing with targeted ads

 

Google Ads help you reach eager, purchase-ready customers

 

Adding a paid advertising strategy to your hyperlocal strategy is a great way to ramp up your customer acquisition. 

Current marketing research shows 65% of customers click Google Ads over the organic results.

One big benefit of Google Ads is its ability to only target people in a specific geo-location. The best part is it’s quick to set up a simple ad campaign and get it running within the day.

You can set up a radius around your service areas and deliver your ad to locals. 

This is a powerful strategy that makes sure your advertising dollars are being spent on people who can physically access your services. 

Your Google Ads should target customers in a driveable radius. Research shows customers are willing to drive 15 minutes to get a product or service that same day. 

So you can start targeting your local customers with a 15km radius, and make that radius smaller over time as you find where most of your local customers are. 

You’ll also want to add area-specific keywords for each suburb you’re targeting to match what customers are searching.

If you’re an electrician servicing the suburbs Maryland, Balmain and Parramatta, you’ll want to start with the keywords:

• Electrician Maryland
• Electrician Balmain
• Electrician Parramatta

This targets customers in each location. 

 

The way you can discover more keywords to target is with Google Keyword Planner. This will give you some ideas about what customers are searching for to find your services. 

You can also get creative, and think “what would someone type into Google to find my services?”

 

 

Facebook Ads help you attract more local customers

Facebook gives you an advanced set of tools to target your customers. 

You can set a geolocation, target specific genders, or find customers with specific interests. 

Every Facebook business page has access to something called ‘Local insights’. This tool shows you which type of customers are seeing your ads. 

This is helpful information, because you’ll be able to tell if your ad is being shown to the right people.

You’ll see how many local customers saw your ad, on which days, and during which times. 

Having access to this information let’s you know the most effective ways to advertise. More than that, you’ll be able to see month-on-month trends – which reveal your most profitable times of the year to advertise.

Defining your geolocation is a big part of hyperlocal ads on Facebook. You can choose to set your geolocation using a radius, or put in specific postal codes. 

Depending on your business, you might want to try both. 

If you're a mobile service worker, like a plumber or electrician, you may want to try postal codes because that lets you cover specific service areas. 

Local service providers like real estate agents may want to try radius targeting, because customers typically come to you.

It’s safe to say Facebook targeting is powerful. 

You can reach people who have recently visited your location with new offers, get in front of people in specific residential locations, and reach people who are simply passing through your service locations. 

Cut down your spend and boost results
with hyperlocal marketing

Hyperlocal marketing is one of the most cost-effective strategies because it: 

1. Focuses on a tight geographic location
2. Targets specific customers who are looking for a solution you provide.

It also returns more revenue because customers using the “near me” search query have the highest buyer intent. 

And it all starts with the firm foundations well optimised Google Business Profile. 

Unlike most marketing strategies, hyperlocal marketing is simple and affordable. It massively reduces the cost of leads, while turning those leads into customers at a higher rate.

Anyone can run a simple hyperlocal campaign. Which is why small to medium businesses don’t need a big, expensive marketing team to get results – they can do most of the work themselves once they nail the strategy.

Ready to take it a step further?
Download the Ultimate Marketing Guide for 2022

 

It's time to get found online by your local customers.

Become the go-to business in your area with our 7 proven hyperlocal marketing strategies. 

Discover how to get in front of customers ready to buy, and convince those who are still looking to choose you.

 

… All with worksheets and templates to help you customise your hyperlocal marketing strategy for 2022. 

 

It’s all here for you to use in the Ultimate Marketing Guide for 2022.

 

Download the Ultimate Marketing Guide