Just as in real estate, it’s all about location, location, location.
We’ve seen many small businesses make the mistake of optimizing their brand-new site without any attempt to localize the content for search engines. And while that might be fine if you are selling commodities worldwide and have a well-know brand, it probably won’t work for you if you are a barber or landscaper. (Can you say road trip?)
Yes, you want to compete in your target market. And that market might by the entire Metro Detroit region. But the search engines need to have an idea of where you are, and what you offer – so that local searchers can actually find you.
That’s kinda important.
If you a new business, or are very small, or have a product or service that people won’t travel a long way to obtain, localizing your content is key.
So consider using both within your on-page copy and the meta information very specific geographical locations. Carefully think about (or imagine) who your customers are, where they are living & working, and if they will make the trip to your business. You can even localize down to the street level, if that will work for your business. And with the increasing importance of mobile, that is absolutely vital to some kinds of business.
Perhaps you should consider individual webpages optimized for specific sub-locations, such as cities and towns within a larger metropolitan region?
If you are contracting out your SEO copywriting and web design, did they ask you what your target market is? Did they find out the common names for the locality you are in? What about those lesser-known names for addresses such as “three lights south of the Mixing Bowl” (local nomenclature for a large intersection of highways in Metro Detroit).
Did they ask you any questions at all about how far you expect your customers to drive? Be realistic. After all, not a lot of people are willing to drive a couple hours one way from home or work to their dentist.
If your web content folks didn’t ask these questions, well, that’s just embarrassing.
Read more about localizing your content at Search Marketing Standard