Now, Let’s Examine A Few Key Points For Each Tactic…

Keeping It Local:

• It’s essential to have a strong local presence on the web.  A growing percentage of web searchers are using web resources to locate and research their own local businesses on the web.
• The phone book is quickly becoming a thing of the past as searchers rely upon the convenience of the web (whether at home, the office, or while mobile) to look up phone numbers and addresses.
• Many businesses find that serving their local market provides a large enough niche to stay busy and profitable.  In this case, really optimizing a site to be highly visible and competitive for its specific local market is the way to go.
• The features of local search put a website on the map…literally.  Taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the major search engines’ local features often goes overlooked.  For many searchers, selecting from these results is a top priority.  And it’s no surprise, because they’re usually at the top of the search listings.  Get listed and on the map locally for better worldwide exposure.

Growing With A Global Presence:

• For local organizations ready to step it up to the next level, optimizing for global exposure creates practically endless opportunity.  One successful approach for small but eager-to-grow businesses might be to start targeting locally and then gradually expand through geographic targeting—local, regional, national, and then global.
• Some businesses might find it advantageous to tightly target a specific region or area outside their own locale.  For example, a business in one part of the country—let’s say the west coast—might have a product or service that appeals more to customers on the east coast.  Looking for ways to reach ideal customers by targeting another area tightly is a great way to strengthen a more universal global campaign.
• It’s definitely wise to remember that even for local-only businesses, the best results will often come from targeting a seemingly more generic global keyword or keyword phrase.  In other words, it’s possible that securing a strong position for a certain local keyword might be just as challenging as securing just as good of a position for a geographically unrestricted keyword.  If this is the case, why not aim for global exposure?

You can see that there is no definitive answer when it comes to keeping it local compared to going global.  Most times, a balanced plan will produce the best results—but it’s still important for every campaign to begin with a thorough analysis of just who the ideal customer or visitor will be.

Until Next Time.
George Chaney
President/CEO
SEO King, Inc.