Hyperlocal Panning For Gold Proven More Accurate Than Google Keyword Planner
As competition and CPC's (cost per click) rises more rapidly in some verticals than others, Digital Marketers and Businesses alike need to find new untouched territory where the acquisition costs are cheaper. Keyword research is at the foundation of any good Digital marketing strategy and Google's Keyword Planner is a highly utilized tool that sometimes doesn't steer you in the right direction.
The graph below is from an active Google Adwords account for a Toronto Plumbing Contractor that has seen costs rise from $8.00 per click in 2009 to over $70.00 per click in 2014.
$72 per click for "Toronto Plumber" might yield a positive ROI for the largest Plumbing companies with significant budgets but it can leave the mid-tier and smaller plumbing contractors feeling like they have few options.
Average CPC for "Toronto Plumber" Between 2009 - 2014
So with the increased competition and increased CPC's for the aforementioned keyword we use Google's Keyword Planner to look for new opportunities
. Based on experience and the rise and importance of local search we check the search volume for many hyperlocal Toronto neighbourhood terms.
For the purposes of this blog post we consider 2 significant Toronto neighbourhhoods; High Park which is very established and Leslieville which is established and quickly growing.
Google's Keyword Planner suggests there are 0 searches per month for either "plumber high park" or "plumber leslieville" and therefore it doesn't make sense to add them to your account/campaigns.
Google Keyword Planner reports zero hyperlocal searches
"High Park Plumber" and "East York Plumber" were added to the account along with several other hyperlocal keywords and the results were encouraging.
Contrary to the Google's Keyword Planner, searches at the hyperlocal did exist and the average CPC for the hyperlocal terms was $13.63 compared to $40.70 for the "Toronto" terms in the same period. In addition to the much lower average CPC (66.5% lower) the click-through rates on hyperlocal terms are better at 2.62% compared to 2.06% for the "Toronto" terms
The hyperlocal groups performing very well indeed, thank you!
Higher cost, lower CTR for the traditional local group
The identified hyperlocal areas/neighbourhoods on Google Maps are a quick and easy way to build out local search campaigns and test to see where search volumes might actually be when tools suggest otherwise. Not every hyperlocal area is likely to be a winner but subscribing to the "panning for gold" several winning areas are likely to emerge.
About the Author: Craig Ellis
