Concentrate on hyperlocal marketing strategies to reach your target customer.
How can your restaurant stand out in the middle of so much digital noise? Not only are you competing with chain restaurants and their massive advertising budgets, but you’re also competing against local restaurants on social media platforms and with their own pay-per-click budgets.
With so much digital noise, it’s key to focus on hyperlocal marketing. It’s the future of restaurant marketing and a strategy you need to implement now.
Gone are the days of casting as wide a net as possible. Today, you want to zoom in on your target audience and leverage geographic targeting to engage customers right in your own community.
What is Hyperlocal Marketing?
With hyperlocal marketing, you target potential customers within a very specific geographic radius. You aren’t targeting your entire city. Your target is specific neighborhoods, streets, or even individual blocks near your restaurant. (tweet this)
Unlike traditional local marketing that targets an entire city, hyperlocal marketing reaches people who are physically close to your restaurant and likely to visit soon.
Why is this important? With a smartphone and voice assistant in everyone’s hand, your diners are more often than not looking for restaurants “near me.” With hyperlocal marketing, you are marketing to people at just the right time.
The Shift Toward Localized Search Behavior
One of the most significant trends fueling hyperlocal marketing is the rise in “near me” searches. According to one study, searches containing the phrase “near me” have grown over 900% in the past few years. Diners are no longer just looking for “Italian restaurants,” but instead, they are looking for “Italian restaurants near me” or “best pizza nearby.”
It’s important to consider this behavior when creating your Google and Facebook ads and working on your website’s SEO (search engine optimization).
When people search for food options, they are usually planning to eat out right away. This may mean dining in at your restaurant or ordering for pick-up or take-out. So, you want an optimized online presence to catch these people as they are looking.
Restaurants that optimize their online presence to target hyperlocal audiences using Google Maps, Google My Business, local directories, and optimized mobile-friendly websites are going to be the clear winners.
If your website isn’t optimized for local SEO and mobile search, you’re missing out on highly motivated customers who are ready to eat at a local restaurant.
People using “near me” searches are usually ready to eat within the hour.
The Impact of Mobile and Voice Search
Mobile devices have changed how people discover and choose restaurants like yours. A report from Statista shows that more than 60% of all online search traffic comes from mobile devices. This mobile dominance means that restaurants must tailor their online presence to mobile users. These are the people looking for quick, easy-to-find information and will visit the restaurant that provides it fastest.
What’s more, voice search adds another layer to hyperlocal behavior. Smart assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant have made it even easier for customers to say, “Find a coffee shop near me” or “Where can I get sushi close by?”
According to one source, more than one billion voice searches are performed every month. People using voice search are generally searching for local business information and restaurants rank among the most common types of businesses people search for. So, you can see how important it is that you have an optimized online presence.
This makes it vital for restaurants to ensure their websites load quickly, display clear and concise information, and rank well in local search results. When you invest in hyperlocal SEO, you use location-specific keywords, create and update a Google Business Profile on a regular basis, and gather local reviews.
Utilizing those three things helps you stand out in mobile and voice search.
Hyperlocal Ads: Maximizing ROI
Hyperlocal marketing is cost-effective which is a huge advantage to your restaurant. Instead of spending large sums on broad, city-wide campaigns, you target the most relevant audience to your restaurant. This keeps you from spending money on people who may never visit your restaurant.
Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads allow restaurants like yours to run highly targeted campaigns using geofencing and location-based filters. For example, a restaurant can target users within a one-mile radius of its location and deliver time-sensitive ads such as “Happy Hour Specials” or “Lunch Combo Deals.”
The result? You see higher conversion rates and lower cost-per-click (CPC). Hyperlocal campaigns reduce ad waste by focusing your spend on the people most likely to walk through your doors.
Localized Content Builds Community and Loyalty
In addition to ads and search, you also want to focus on content that matters to your community. Content is always king, and it also applies to hyperlocal marketing.
Your potential customers are drawn to restaurants that feel like a genuine part of the neighborhood. Share stories about your staff, source local ingredients, and sponsor community events. This helps build emotional connections between your restaurant and your target audience.
Include a blog section on your restaurant’s website and highlight local partnerships, upcoming events, or neighborhood news. You can also share about your employees, paying special attention to highlighting your chef and your customer-facing staff.
In addition, use social media to share behind-the-scenes looks in your kitchen or shout-outs to loyal customers. This type of content encourages repeat visits and positive word-of-mouth. It also positions your restaurant as a cornerstone of the local scene.
How to Make Your Restaurant Website Hyperlocal-Ready
Since your website is often the first interaction potential diners have with your restaurant, you want to make sure it supports hyperlocal marketing. Here are a few things to check on your website:
- Optimize for Mobile and Speed: Make sure your website is fully responsive and loads quickly. Slow-loading pages can cause you to lose hungry customers in seconds.
- Local SEO Best Practices: Include your full business address, phone number, and hours of operation on every page. Embed a Google Map with your location and ensure your website content includes keywords with your neighborhood info.
- Create Location-Specific Landing Pages: If you have multiple locations, create individual pages for each restaurant with unique, location-focused content.
- Encourage Reviews: Positive local reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor play a crucial role in hyperlocal SEO and customer trust. You want to actively solicit these on a regular basis and respond to all of them.
- Integrate Reservation and Ordering Systems: Offer direct booking or ordering on your site to reduce friction and capture impulse diners.
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Hyperlocal Isn’t a Trend: It’s the Future
Your diners rely on mobile and voice search to find nearby food options. This shows you the importance of hyperlocal marketing for restaurants.
It’s not enough to “just be online.” Hyperlocal marketing is about being found by the right people at the right time and in the right place. (tweet this)
Restaurants that embrace hyperlocal strategies will have a competitive edge that drives both foot traffic and online engagement.
Whether you’re a neighborhood café or a multi-location franchise, focusing on the community around your front door is key to your long-term success.
Is your website ready for hyperlocal marketing? At Restaurant Engine, we can create a website for you that showcases your brand and helps you optimize your restaurant’s marketing. Your website is the centerpiece of your online marketing, and it needs to look beautiful and perform well. You can count on us to create an amazing website that is optimized for SEO and works across all digital platforms. Let us help you make the perfect site that draws customers in, improves customer engagement and your conversion rate, and enables you to grow your new business using website data!
Are you ready to take your restaurant to the next level with a new website?
Get your free website consultation today!
Images: Photo by Alex Haney and Casey Lee on Unsplash
