The online universe has no geographic boundaries when it comes to networking and search engine marketing. If you offer a service that you can provide from coast to coast, there is nothing stopping you from marketing your company to anyone and everyone.
However, there will always be companies that thrive locally. As an example, let’s look at our company – Moveo Integrated Branding. Moveo is a health care marketing company located just west of Chicago. While we offer healthcare marketing services on a national scale, most of our clients are in local or regional proximity. So, it makes sense that at least some of our search engine marketing efforts should go toward local marketing.
There are a number of tactics one can implement to position themselves locally, including creating landing pages for each region your are marketing to. Here, we’ll go over a few of the more basic ways to market yourself locally.
An obvious way to start your campaign is by researching long-tail keywords that fit your campaign. For instance, instead of us (Moveo) putting all of our efforts into ranking for “health care advertising company,” we might focus on a local and less competitive term, such as “health care advertising company in chicago.” It’s important to make sure that the keywords you use to optimize your site are generating traffic and that the page you are ranking for is relevant to the term.
Another way to market your site locally or regionally is to include yourself in local directories like Dex, Business.com and your local Better Business Bureau. Some directories offer free inclusion, while others can be very pricey. What lengths you go to should depend on your budget and if the traffic your receive is actually worth the amount you pay for the listing.
Remember to always try to think from the perspective of the user and to scout out where your competition is marketing their site online. Placing emphasis on long-tail, geographic keywords and adding your site to local directories is a great start to coming out on top in your local market.
Jeff Swanson, Search Specialist
