How to reach those in your backyard with Local SEO

If you run a business that targets audience who are based within a few radius of where you are headquartered, the trick is connecting with those in your own back yard. This is especially important when it comes to optimizing your web content for the search engines. It is great to achieve a top rank in search engine, but if you are marketing your product locally, dealing with global visitors will not bring you substantial mileage. So by taking the right steps you can direct your SEO initiative to attract an audience from the right locale. Here are some simple steps to help cater to a local crowd:

#1:  "Start With Local Keyword Research"

If your market is non-US, then don’t waste your time in extracting data based on searchers in the US. It will be worthwhile to learn what Canadian or Australian visitors are searching for.

Also keep in mind that language usage varies across borders. For instance, a retirement-savings vehicle is called "RRSP" in Canada, while the same is known as “superannuation" in Australia. Such differences can also be noted in spellings. Like a “financial advisor” might be known as “financial adviser" in another locale.

#2:  "Identify the right regional search qualifiers"

Another pattern that has been noticed is that initially the searcher starts with broad search. Then they gradually turn for regional pages. Still if they are unsuccessful in their search, they will take help of a regional qualifier.

For instance if the search began with "banking information" the next search is for "banking information Germany.” A subset of users will repeat the search using a location-based filter, like "German Web pages only." A good keyword research program will help you locate which regional qualifiers potential customers are using to reach the products or services that you offer.

#3:  "Host Locally"

A search engine tries to figure out where your Website is located is through the location of your Web server. You can still compete with local Web sites even if the site is hosted from elsewhere, but competition turns a little steeper then. Changing your hosting location only for this is little too much and not worth it. But keeping this issue in mind for future hosting decisions is not a bad idea.

#4:  "Create Local Links"

The quality of your site's inbound links plays a major role into achieving a high rank in the search engine. If the local market is your focus area, you have to make effort at creating a strong network of link partners within your area. This will strengthen your relevancy for locally target search phrases.

#5:  "Use PPC"

It has often been noticed that marketers are overzealous about pay-per-click advertising rather than improving organic search rankings. But when you focus the local market your geography becomes defined then pay-per-click advertising is very beneficial. Here you can define your advertising region by country, by city, or by defining a targeted radius on a map.

#6:  "Kick off with a Clear Understanding"

Always have a clear picture of your site’s ranking for relevant search phrases. Because making some changes can inadvertently affect quality search rankings that you presently have. Always first have a good understanding of where your traffic comes from and what rankings you have in top search engines.

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