Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:29:29 by Matt Hopkins
Most studies show that a vast majority (something like 60%+) of all searches have what is called "local intent". This means that sometimes the searcher adds a local geographical indicator (e.g. "seo company portsmouth"). But sometimes they search with local intent without being specific about geography - e.g. it is likely that a search for "dentist" has local intent even without being specific about location.
The problem however is that the information that forms the foundation for local content searches is spread across a number of unrelated sources such as yellow pages, newspapers, local review sites, local directories and of course, search engines. Additionally, the information in a lot of these sources is either incomplete or out of date and information relating to smaller towns and villages may not exist at all.
Major search engines such as Google, MSN and Yahoo are aware of these issues and are investing engineering resources to help solve them.
The real change will happen in the way that people will consume local information in the near future. As the search engines get better about identifying local searches and the results become more relevant and more complete, local search will reach beyond the quest for a local pizza restaurant or hotel. Local information such as road works, crime rates, weather patterns, events and concerts, council meetings, etc will be blended in a similar way that Google's universal search has combined different types of searches (video, photos, etc) into a single set of results.
This will mean that the search engines will start to become portals for the local community that will get them entrenched into daily life even more than they are today. In 2007, local search grew by 24 percent compared with only a 14 percent rise in general web search (comScore Networks study).
Another massive change will be based around mobile services. There is a lot of information related to local search that is useful when you are "out and about". This type of content will help shape decisions that people make both when travelling around their own neighbourhood and when on the other side of the world.
Although these changes have not yet begun, it all starts now by ensuring that your business has an online presence and that you are "geo-coded".
Here's a few quick search engine optimisation tips, but you may also want to consider our Local SEO service to ensure that you are properly represented:
1. Select the right keywords for the right market - understand what your local target market would use to find you (e.g. "restaurants in Portsmouth").
2. Create a separate page for each physical location - do you run a locksmith company with three branches? Then you should ensure that each location has its own page on your website optimised for the geographic locations and keywords.
3. Create a directions / "how to find us" page - in addition to the address of your business, use specific directions with landmarks as a great way of ensuring some "local long tail" searches (e.g. "pubs near HMS Victory").
4. Use your local number - 0800 and 0845 numbers are convenient for your customers, but the search engines need a phone number that can help pinpoint your business geographically.
5. Use your location in the page titles - have a web design company in Southampton? Then make sure that Southampton is in the page title to help attract more local traffic.
Naturally there's a lot more to local search engine optimisation than this simple list, but this will give you a head start if nothing else.
Matt Hopkins
Managing Director |
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