What Hibu does

Hibu Inc. is a US-based digital marketing solutions provider headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Delaware-incorporated) that serves small and medium-sized local businesses across the country. The company is privately held and backed by private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, with a workforce of 10,000+ employees supporting a telephonic inside-sales and inbound-demo acquisition model.

Its core offering is Hibu One, a proprietary all-in-one digital marketing platform described as powered by AI, machine learning, and decades of proprietary local business data. Hibu One integrates listings management, review generation and reputation management, website creation (Smart Site), paid search and display advertising, social advertising, SEO (Local Ranking), marketing automation, and multi-channel lead tracking with AI call summaries into a single dashboard. The platform integrates with Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Amazon Ads, Intuit QuickBooks Online, and PayPal, and Hibu holds Premier/Elite/Verified/Gold partner status with these respective platforms.

Hibu monetizes through a hybrid subscription and usage-based model: a monthly platform subscription (with a $299 implementation fee and 6-12 month minimum terms) layered with usage-based monthly budgets for paid search (from $399/month), display (from $250/month), social (from $250/month), and SEO (from $400/month). It also sells bundled "Foundation," "Smart Presence," and "Synchronized Marketing" solution packages. Vertical focus is home services, automotive services, medical services, and professional services, with franchises and pet services as secondary segments. Growth has been driven by two strategic acquisitions under H.I.G. Capital: Signpost (September 2023, plus its software division in December 2023) and RevLocal (August 2024).

Name

Hibu

Legal name

Hibu Inc.

Website

https://hibu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Hibu is a US-based, PE-backed (H.I.G. Capital) digital marketing solutions provider for small and medium-sized local businesses, offering the Hibu One AI-powered platform that integrates listings, reviews, websites, paid ads, SEO, and lead management under a hybrid subscription and usage-based pricing model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Hibu One Platform Subscription: Monthly recurring subscription for the Hibu One platform that includes all core features: Listings Management, Reviews, Reputation Management, Assistant, Hibu One Smart Site, Campaign Management, Multi-Channel Lead Tracking, Lead Scoring, AI Call Summaries, Lead Management, Inbox, Instant Responders, Hibu One Dashboard, and Real-Time Notifications. Implementation fee of $299 applies.
2. Hibu Search (Paid Search/SEM): Monthly budget-based paid search campaigns on Google, Bing and other search engines with cost-per-click or cost-per-thousand-impressions billing. Includes Guaranteed Clicks and Managed Search options with minimum budgets starting at $399.
3. Hibu Display: Monthly budget-based display advertising campaigns with banner creation and placement across websites. Minimum monthly budget of $250.
4. Hibu Social: Social media ad campaigns on Facebook and other platforms with monthly budget-based billing. Minimum monthly budget of $250 plus $199 setup fee.
5. Local Ranking (SEO): Monthly budget-based SEO services for organic ranking improvement with minimum monthly budget of $400.
6. Add-on Features: Additional website pages, geo pages, additional locations for multi-location businesses, and service area pages available as add-on features with additional monthly fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Hibu provides an all-in-one digital marketing platform and managed services for local small and medium-sized businesses in the United States, anchored by its proprietary Hibu One platform. The offering integrates listings management, reviews and reputation management, AI-assisted website creation, paid search/display/social advertising, SEO, marketing automation, and multi-channel lead tracking into a single dashboard, delivered through a sales-led model with both managed campaign execution and self-serve client access.

Product overview

Hibu is a digital marketing solutions provider for local SMBs, offering a single integrated platform (Hibu One) plus modular add-on services and bundled solution packages. The core Hibu One platform includes Listings Management, Reviews, Reputation Management, Smart Site website builder, Hibu Assistant (CRM/marketing automation), Lead Management, and Campaign Management with AI-powered optimization. Add-on services include Local Ranking (SEO), Hibu Search (search advertising), Hibu Display (display advertising), Hibu Social (social advertising), Mobile Boost, and Call Tracking. Hibu also offers pre-configured solution packages (Foundation, Smart Presence, Synchronized Marketing) that bundle core and add-on services at various price points, plus promotional Sync packages. The platform integrates with Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Amazon Ads, QuickBooks Online, and PayPal. Recent acquisitions of Signpost (marketing automation platform) and RevLocal (digital marketing partner) expanded Hibu's SMB market presence and product capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hibu One Marketing Platform Proprietary all-in-one marketing platform powered by AI and machine learning that integrates all of Hibu's digital marketing services for local SMBs into a single dashboard, including listings management, reviews, reputation management, websites, advertising, SEO, marketing automation, and multi-channel lead tracking.
• Hibu One Smart Site Professionally designed website offering for SMBs that includes 10-15 pages depending on tier, custom design, Photomotion video creation, domain registration, appointments feature, and PayPal payment link integration, intended to help local businesses get found online and convert visitors into customers.
• Listings Management Service that corrects and protects a business's information across online directories to ensure a consistent online presence, with Google and Facebook integration for updating listings.
• Reviews Service that collects and highlights customer reviews on Google, the business website, and social media, including review solicitation cards, feedback gathering, and a Positive Reviews webpage.
• Reputation Management Service that monitors and responds to online customer reviews across multiple platforms, including periodic reporting comparing the business's ratings against competitors.
• Hibu Search Search engine marketing service offered in two tiers: Managed Search with flexible monthly budgets (starting at $399) and Guaranteed Clicks (12-month term), with setup at $199 and call tracking included.
• Hibu Display Online display advertising campaigns including banner design, media buying, and performance management, with minimum monthly budgets starting at $250 on a 6-month term.
• Hibu Social Social media advertising service offering social page creation/management and ad campaign management on Facebook and other platforms, with a minimum monthly budget of $250 plus a $199 setup fee.
• Local Ranking (SEO) Monthly SEO service that improves organic website rankings through on-page optimization, keyword-rich content, schema markup, backlinks, blog posts, and social media posts, with a minimum monthly budget of $400 on a 12-month term.
• Hibu Assistant CRM and marketing automation platform for building contact lists, generating feedback and reviews, sending email and text marketing, and distributing offers, with integration to email services and QuickBooks.
• Lead Management Multi-channel lead tracking solution with lead scoring and AI call summaries, Real-Time Notifications, and a unified Inbox for managing all messages and leads.
• Mobile Boost Mobile advertising service that targets an estimated number of mobile views per month, with tiered pricing based on view volume.
• Remote Call Forwarding / Call Tracking Keyed and metered telephone numbers used to track incoming calls and analyze marketing campaign performance, with an optional Call Recording feature subject to compliance requirements.
• Foundation Solutions Bundled service package combining core platform features; Online Foundation includes Listings Management, Reviews, Reputation, and Assistant, with Foundation + Ads adding Display, Social, and/or Search advertising.
• Smart Presence Solutions Website-centric bundled package; Smart Online Presence includes Smart Site plus Listings Management, Reviews, Reputation, and Assistant, with Smart Presence + Ads adding advertising services.
• Synchronized Marketing Solutions Full-service bundled package combining all core services; Synchronized Marketing includes Online Foundation plus Display, Social, Search, and optional Local Ranking.

Quantifiable outcome

• 898,396,215 website visits generated for clients
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered strategic acquisition, core and strategic.

• RevLocalstrategic acquisitionStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2024RevLocal, a digital marketing partner based in Columbus, Ohio, was acquired by Hibu to expand its offerings and reach more SMBs across the United States. The acquisition enhances Hibu's digital marketing capabilities.
• Signpoststrategic acquisitionStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 September 2023Signpost, Inc., a marketing technology platform providing automation and messaging solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, was acquired by Hibu to enhance product offerings and accelerate product development.
• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Partner with Premier Badge status. Hibu runs Google Ads campaigns for clients and has access to Google's advertising platform and tools.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft Advertising Elite Partner. Hibu manages Bing and Microsoft Advertising campaigns for clients as an authorized partner.
• AmazoncoreTechnology or IntegrationAmazon Ads Verified Partner. Hibu is authorized to run Amazon advertising campaigns for clients.
• IntuitstrategicTechnology or IntegrationIntuit App Partner with Gold status. Hibu One integrates with QuickBooks Online account, allowing clients to sync accounting and marketing data.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Scorpion: Scorpion is a direct competitor providing digital marketing, websites, SEO, paid media, and reputation management specifically designed for SMBs and local service businesses. It competes head-to-head with Hibu in the same verticals and customer segments with a similar managed-services approach.
• Thryv: Thryv (formerly Dex One / Yellow Pages successor) offers SaaS marketing and business software to SMBs, including websites, SEO, social, listings, and CRM. It is one of Hibu's closest comparables given shared Yellowbook heritage, SMB focus, and bundled software-plus-services model.
• Vendasta: Vendasta provides a white-label platform for agencies and media companies serving SMBs with marketing, listings, reputation, and advertising tools. It competes with Hibu by enabling partner-led delivery of the same end-customer SMB marketing solutions.
• Yext: Yext provides listings management, reputation management, and pages for multi-location brands and SMBs. It directly overlaps with Hibu's Listings Management and Reviews offerings and competes for the same listings/reputation budget line item.
• Constant Contact: Constant Contact is a long-standing SMB email marketing and digital marketing platform that has expanded into websites, social, and advertising. It targets the same SMB customer base with similar bundled digital marketing services.
• ReachLocal (now Cox Automotive / single platform brand): ReachLocal historically provided SMB digital marketing services including websites, SEM, and display advertising under a managed-services model. It is a direct comparable in business model and customer profile to Hibu, though now part of a larger media group.

Emerging players

• Birdeye: Birdeye is a leading customer experience and reputation management platform for multi-location and local businesses, with listings, reviews, messaging, and surveys. It overlaps with Hibu's Reviews and Reputation modules while pushing more deeply into enterprise and multi-location customers.

Broad incumbents

• HubSpot: HubSpot offers a broad CRM and marketing automation platform with content, SEO, social, ads, and email tools increasingly used by SMBs. While not exclusively SMB-focused, it competes for SMB marketing technology budgets and represents a more modern self-serve alternative to Hibu's managed model.
• GoDaddy (Digital Marketing Suite): GoDaddy's Digital Marketing Suite bundles websites, SEO, listings, email marketing, and social for SMBs. As an incumbent domain and hosting provider that has expanded into the same SMB marketing categories, it represents a scaled alternative to Hibu's all-in-one proposition.

Regional players

• LSA Partners / Local Search Association members (e.g., Dex Media legacy operators): Dex Media (successor to legacy yellow-pages directories) continues to offer digital marketing services to local SMBs, including websites, SEO, and SEM. It shares Hibu's directory-to-digital heritage and SMB target segment in US markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hibuus
• Facebookfacebook.com/hibuUS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hibu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hibu