Using SEO Principles for Local Websites

Simply put, the goal of any SEO campaign is to inform search engines that a particular website is a useful resource for people who are looking for certain types of information. This includes websites that have locally oriented content. Having a website that is optimized for local search is of immense value for the small business that depends on its local customer base for its revenue. The whole reason for building a website for a local business is for promotional purposes. The website serves as a way for customers to find the business and be able to see what services are offered. Small businesses like hair stylists, restaurants, and liquor stores, with websites will want want their sites showing up in local search results and seen by people who live in the vicinity, therefore the SEO strategies used to get the website to rank highly in local search engine results, will be different from those used for a website that just wants general traffic regardless of specific location. The website geared towards residents of a certain community is to serve as a kind of brochure to entice customers to go into a physical store and purchase goods or services.

How to create Localized SEO Content

The SEO keywords used on a website that wants to show up in local search engine results, should be local in nature. That means information that uniquely identifies the location should be used throughout the website. The name of the town, zip codes, nicknames of the town, the names of local sports teams and universities all can help a website to show up in local search results. Both of the major search engines, Bing and Google, recognize and use local information in determining search results.

SEO keyword search tools are essential in any kind of SEO effort. The creator of the website should use a keyword search tool to find out the most common local search terms used for the type of business being promoted on the website. The keywords should relate specifically to the product or service. The right SEO keywords, used properly, will not just turn up in local search results, but also in local search results for that specific product or service.

Another basic SEO fundamental that will help in local search engine rankings is the choice of domain name. The site-owner should choose a domain name that relates both to the location and to the service being offered by the business. The key is to show up in local search results as being relevant to specific local search queries. Having the domain name be relevant to the business and the community is one of the best ways to show this. Also, another SEO tip is to ensure that the titles of the individual pages are also keyword optimized and visible in the URLs of the pages on the site.

SEO also includes content. Include content on the site that shows that the website is, indeed local, and provides helpful and interesting descriptions of the services offered. Those creating websites should also know that search engines look for actual useful content as well, therefore good content is an important part of SEO. Google recently implemented changes to their system that has removed many unhelpful "spam" sites and articles from search results.

Submit the site to local search directories another mainstay of SEO. This includes the local directories associated with search engines. Search engines like Yahoo have directories for content related to local businesses. Some search engines exist solely to provide information on local businesses and services.