For small business owners in the UK, especially sole traders, targeting local customers is essential for success. Your business likely relies on customers from your city or even neighbourhood to drive sales and revenue growth.
That’s why optimizing your website and online presence for hyper local SEO needs to be a priority.
What is Hyper Local SEO?
Hyper local SEO is optimizing your website and content to rank highly in search engine results for geographic terms and locations that are very close to your physical business location.
For example, if you were a cafe in Islington, London, you would focus on ranking for searches like “Best cafes in Islington”, “coffee shops near me in Islington”, and “breakfast in Angel, London”.
The goal is to be discoverable for searchers looking for businesses in your precise locality.
Why Hyper Local SEO is Critical for Small Businesses
Unlike large national corporations, small businesses rely on customers from their hometown to find them and make purchases. If your website isn’t optimized for hyper relevant, hyper local SEO, you’ll really struggle to drive traffic and sales. Additionally, more and more people are using Google Maps to find what they want which is an extension of Google Search.
Compete Against Local Competitors
Ranking for your exact town or neighbourhood allows you to compete against other local businesses vying for the same local customers. Dominating the first page for key hyper local terms levels the playing field.
Attract Nearby Customers
Very localized SEO helps you connect with customers searching for offerings in their immediate vicinity. If they can find you quickly for “oil change garage Edinburgh”, you have a great chance at their business.
Build Local Reputation
Ranking well for local searches helps establish your authority and reputation in the community. This builds trust and familiarity with nearby customers. Therefore, you should also encourage feedback and reviews, particularly on your Google Business Page.
Support Word of Mouth Buzz
Satisfied local customers are more likely to tell their friends and neighbour’s about your business if you serve their close area. Word of mouth thrives on hyperlocal reputation, especially when you run promotions that capture the attention.
Local SEO Tactics to Boost Your Website
Here are some key strategies sole traders and very small UK businesses can use to improve hyper local SEO:
- Optimize your Google My Business listing with keywords, photos, hours, services etc
- Create profile listings on a relevant local business directory
- Ensure your website includes your town/city name, postal code and full address
- Build location and contact pages that target key local search terms
- Create blog posts about serving customers in your town/neighbourhood
- Get customer reviews that mention your precise location and area
- Sponsor local events/teams and get involved locally where possible
- Publish press releases about community happenings
- Develop partnerships with other local businesses
Conclusion
Dominating online search results for your specific locality is hugely important for UK small businesses targeting customers nearby. By implementing hyper local SEO strategies, sole traders can level the playing field and effectively compete for local buyers. Don’t neglect optimizing for this vital consumer segment searching for offerings in their own community.
