Master the art of Regional Keyword Research

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Are you planning to target a small and specific region with your Hyperlocal SEO campaign this time? Well, as fruitful as reaching the high-intent local audience can prove vital to your client or business, it’s not as easy to execute.

Brand’s success hangs on Keyword research but the main problem that most of the SEOs face while doing local keyword research is the availability of volume data to inform such research. In this article, we will cover almost all aspects of hyperlocal SEO – from the common problems to how you can lead a successful local keyword research. Before that let’s understand the reason behind doing local SEO keyword research. 

Why Should You Focus on Local SEO Keyword Research?

 

Using local search keywords is helpful for both the local reach and global reach. You might wonder why you should consider local keywords when there are various broader terms available. Especially, when the search volume for these terms is low. But as a matter of fact, local keywords are also longtail keywords and are hence very effective. 

The search intent related to local keywords is very specific and is backed with an intent to take action. For instance, if someone wants to order a pizza they usually type “Pizza shops near me” and then choose from the list of options they see on Google. When the customer is sure about what they want they are less likely to type a generic keyword like “pizza”. 

Including such specific and local keywords in your copy helps you rank better and thus convert better. Moreover, they are also easier to compete with. So even though the search volume is less for these keywords, your chances of conversion are higher, which is exactly what you want by the end of the day. 

With local SEO keywords, you get ready to convert leads and traffic with fewer bounce rates. Since the customers want to purchase a product/service, they will engage more with your website. This, in turn, gives you a better brand image and visibility for a given area. All these factors ultimately boost your search engine ranking, which is the dream of every business owner. 

 

Understand the problem before coining a solution

It is better to dive into the problem to understand all about it before beginning your hyperlocal SEO campaign. The problem is that most of the keyword research tools that SEOs use, rely on volume data to give effective keywords. This includes tools like the Keywordcountry, Google AdWords, Moz’s Keyword Explorer or the Ubersuggest, etc.

For example – if you type in the name of a small town – ‘A’ has a population of 5000. Sorry to say but it will have no volume data in any of these tools. The chances are that no one would have ever even used these keywords before. Plus, you can never assume if these keywords have zero searches in a month or 10 searches.

So, your target becomes finding out keywords which have those ten search queries in the month. But, it is easier said than done.

 

Find out all the solutions

 

1. Using Keywords specific to larger, closer and similar regions

So what if the area you want to target does not have volume data to optimize your ranking. You can always use the keyword information that comes from areas closer, bigger, and similar. 

Say, for example, another small town – ‘B’ which is closer to ‘A’ has a population of 20,000. By simple logic, Town’ B’ will have four to five times more keyword volume for most searches. This where you will get your volume data for doing your hyperlocal SEO.

Another thing to keep in mind is using these numbers to guess the relative volume because people of Town ‘A’ and ‘B’ will probably have similar search patterns. There may be some differences, but this tactic will work for most of the local keyword research.

 

2. Revolve your keyword research around user intent

Empathising with your users plays a great role in defining the list of local keywords. Understanding user intent and co-relating it with your keywords and content is of utmost significance. Doing so will help you target your audience in a more streamlined and effective manner. 

AI these days is changing the face of traditional SEO practices. You may use our new tool by the name of KeywordCountry which leverages Artificial Intelligence to understand user intent and gives you AI generated keywords.

Such keywords are drawn from 600+ databases and analysed by a machine learning algorithm. The algorithm screens such keywords to understand user’s thinking and perception to form newer keywords in sync with user intent and psychology. 

Using this software, you can get a list of popularly used keywords which can be further used to derive your hyperlocal keywords.

 

3. Use Google autosuggest

Believe me, friends, Google autosuggest can help you greatly while doing hyperlocal SEO. No matter how small the region or how niche your target audience, this tool will show you something.

Hyperlocal autosuggest

To quote an example – If you search ‘Best spa in Bangalore,’ Google autosuggest will show you related more popular searches to choose from. It may show you that ‘Best spa in Bangalore for couples’ is more popular than what you typed in. It will show you the terms popularly used by people like if the word ‘Design Studio’ is mostly used of ‘Design Workshop’ etc.

So, you may do your local keyword research to find the most popular keywords using Google autosuggest. This will help you sky-rocket your rank while doing hyperlocal SEO.

 

4. Use Lexical and SERP suggestions

Using lexical and SERP suggestion tools can very much support your local keyword research. Lexical tools will help you with keywords that have a semantic relationship between words and phrases. So, you will be able to use such words to expand your list of target keywords. 

SERP suggestions will show you the popularly searched terms, links, the search results for your chosen terms and phrases. The tools ‘Moz Keyword Explorer’ and ‘SEMrush’ are two popular tools for SERP suggestions.

SERP Page

Using these tactics will help you consolidate a comprehensive list of local keywords which are similar in nature (SERP) and closely related to your primary keywords (Lexical). 

Having this comprehensive list of target keywords will help you reach the right audience in your target region like a pro.

 

5. Play with your list of keywords to get hyperlocal results

Your local keyword research is not over yet! You have to play with your list of keywords to get hyperlocal results. 

For example – if you use ‘Best spa in Town A,’ you will be able to see all closely related topics but only belonging to the region ‘A’ But if you remove the name of the city – ‘A’ and use just the word ‘Spa,’ you will be able to see closely related topics like ‘Thai spa,’ ‘hair spa’ etc. Now you take these words as well and add the name of the city to get your hyperlocal results.

 

In Conclusion

we may say that doing hyperlocal SEO can be very taxing and requires a lot of hustle. But, if done right, can do wonders to your SEO campaign and page ranking on Google. The most significant benefit is reaching your target audience, which increases sales and makes you a credible digital marketer. While leveraging local keywords make sure that you are having consistent contact details across all landing pages. This will help you capture the leads that come your way. With the best practices and tips mentioned above, you can reach a higher position in the SERP faster. 

Local keywords forms one aspect of doing hyperlocal SEO, but there are more factors that can help you boost your digital marketing campaign. Stay tuned for our full Ebook on Build your digital presence to gain target customers and tackle competitiveness in local market.

 

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