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Local Search Engine Optimization - Revisited
Roughly a year ago, local search engine optimization was all the rage -
the new frontier in search engine marketing. For a while, it seemed that
everyone was interested in the local search angle - even multi-national
companies. However, for many companies selling products or services to
the entire United States, or even globally, it seemed like a
non-starter. Companies that counted on people looking for certain
products or services that did not require close proximity to the
company's location were unaffected. As far as local search engine
optimization goes, things have changed a bit since then - at least for
some.
Some time ago, Google introduced a "geographic box" at the top of its
search results. This is tied in to its mapping feature, and, when it was
first introduced, the engine would display three results at the top of
its search results whenever somebody entered a geographic modifier into
the search box ("Atlanta widgets," for example). The Google algorithm
then has the intelligence to determine whether the query calls for
results that are primarily local in scope.
Since that initial trial, Google has obviously found that its users
appreciate the feature. The engine now displays ten local search results
at the top of the listings for certain queries, provided that they have
a geographic modifier attached. For example, if you type in "Atlanta
gyms" in Google, you will see ten results alongside a map that shows the
location of ten gyms in Atlanta.
It should be noted that you will not see local search results for all
queries that contain a local modifier. In certain instances, it almost
seems as if Google somehow "knows" when a geographic modifier really
means that you only offer services in a particular area. Yeah, those
guys are pretty good.
There are many resources on the Internet to turn to if you are looking
for local search engine optimization for your regional website. However,
many companies have client bases that cater primarily to a national or
international field. Can they benefit from local search?
Yes, they can - in two ways (with a caveat for the first).
First, many customers prefer to deal with people that are local, even if
the business is national, or even global. A businessperson that is
looking for, say, marketing consulting, may be inclined to work with
someone with an address in close proximity found through local search.
It just feels more comfortable - if something goes wrong, he or she can
request a meeting, rather than calling an 800 number.
Here's the caveat - you may not want people showing up at your doorstep.
Some companies invite people to show up at the headquarters and voice
concerns or sing praises, but others would prefer to keep things at a
distance. This is not a value judgment by any means. With many companies
that deal with thousands, or even millions, of customers, it would be
impossible to service every complaint with a human smile.
The second way, which seems more customer friendly (but actually isn't),
applies when a large company has many locations. This doesn't mean that
your company has "walk-in" locations that are open to the public. If you
have locations in many cities, each serving a different function, you
can still benefit from local search engine optimization.
Say, for example, you are headquartered in Toledo. You have distribution
centers in several cities across the United States. Each of your
physical locations is eligible to show up in local search results on
Google, provided that you supply the engine with the proper information.
Of course, as mentioned earlier, not all searches with regional
modifiers attached will bring up regional results. But based on recent
happenings, it's a good idea to make your regional presence known and
consider the effects of local search engine optimization. After the
years of talk about it, local search might finally turn out to be
something that most companies can take advantage of.
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