Internet Explosion

It’s not news that the Internet is extremely important for today’s businesses. For many companies, being part of the online world can be the difference between failure and success.

The Internet is not only the world’s most powerful communication tool but a growing shopping area. The number of internet shoppers has increased each year due to the credibility and diversity of products online. The Internet is also a crucial tool for shoppers who use it in product research.

According to the IDC research, more than 85% of people use major search engine to find a product or service. And 97% rarely check further than the top 15 results on the pages.

The Internet has also become more and more competitive and because of this Search Optimization is essential for survival of an online business. After all, having a website with no traffic is the same as having no website at all.

Localization of Search Results

So, having top positions and traffic is everything, right? Not exactly…

More important than getting visitors is to get the right visitors. And when it comes to target market, one of the most important points is location. For instance, if your company has the structure of providing service or products in Southern California, it doesn’t help to get traffic from other regions.

But considering that the Internet is a worldwide tool, how is it possible to base a Search Engine Marketing campaign on some precise geographically targeted audience?

One of the most efficient techniques to attract local searches is to optimize the website by using local keywords. For example, for local optimization of a security company in Ventura County, the company should be described not as a generic “Security Company” but as a “Ventura County Security Company”.

Another technique is to create specific pages for each area covered by the company. Using the same example, we could create a page for each city in Ventura County. The content should be relevant to the business and at the same time focus on the location.

Besides attracting the right target, it’s much more realistic to get high positions with local optimization focus than with generic ones. Imagine the number of websites that offer security alarm systems worldwide? But “security services in Ventura County” is much more narrow. If you type “security alarm systems” on Google, the results will bring approximately 2.1 million pages. But if you type “security alarm systems Ventura County” the number of competing pages goes down to 34,000.

Another way to attract geographic market is by using Pay-Per-Click advertising. Just as with organic SEO, with PPC you can add localized keywords in the ads to attract a specific market. Some PPC programs even offer the possibility of selecting the region where your ad will be shown. By doing that, you are not only attracting your target but not spending money on clicks from areas outside your service region.