How to Do Local Keyword Research
-
I am familiar with how to do regular keyword research, finding opportunity based on competition, search volume, etc.
For local search, do I go to all the trouble of finding hidden gems or just pick higher volume terms that have local intent. For instance: A search for "physical therapy" is a high volume term that Google thinks has local intent.
If i pick a low volume national term, that has 11-50 avg searches per month, I have lower chances...and even less chance that someone is searching locally.
What say ye?
Nails
-
Dont worrie Matt is ok
-
My pleasure, Nails. Good luck!
-
Roman,
You have been very generous with your time and offer to help...I'd prefer not to publish the client website, though.
Miriam,
As always, you're such a great resource!
Thank you both,
Nails
-
Hi Matt,
The problem of longstanding with kw research in Local SEO is that tools are unlikely to give you an accurate geographic search volume. If your client is in a major city, something like the Adwords Keyword Planner may give you some data that can be useful, or if they're next to a major city, you can look up keywords+that city name for an idea of how people search in that part of the country, but I wouldn't say the numbers should be viewed as set in stone.
So, for the most part, yes, you'll do your keyword research without geomodifiers and then just add them back in when you're optimizing the website or outreach for the business.
I also highly, highly recommend that you teach clients to document the EXACT language of the FAQs they receive continuously from consumers. The way those queries are worded really matters. Do customers in New Orleans phone a sandwich shop to ask about a submarine sandwich or a po' boy? Do people at your restaurant order soda or pop? Do you clean gutters or troughs? Regional language difference matter, particularly in Local and particularly in a large country like the US.
I recommend taking a look at Britney Muller's most recent Moz Blog post as her ideas are highly applicable to this subject: https://mza.seotoolninja.com/blog/30-minute-keyword-research
Hope this helps!
-
Ok so I as can you know what are you talking about, Is good beacause you know what is wrong or at least you have an idea, and is bad beacuse the obivous solutions can help you.
If you share the URL of the website that you want to optimize I can run an audit and can give some specific advice or even better maybe I change the perspective of the problem
In some cases I get stuck in a problem and suddenly someone suggest some idea (stupid, basic and obvious) that I simple ignored
Regards
-
Roman,
Thanks for your response. I guess i should have explained a little more:
1. My keyword research includes analysis of GSC search data, competitor kw analysis using SEMRush and using Moz's KWE to find the best oportunities.
2. Unfortunately, the website was created by an SEO who spammed keywords and the GSC data is a bit off and unrealitic.
3. Yes, I have found kws with local search modifiers, for instance "Physical therapy California".
Thanks for the other advice and tools...I need to look into them.
-
Start with some good local keyword data
Before you start, make sure you are setup for success by doing some preliminary keyword research in your niche.
This tool can help you
http://www.localmarketingsource.com/local-keyword-research-tool/Check your analytics and see what keywords are already bringing traffic. There may be opportunities to increase your visibility on something that's already preforming.
Make sure that you always focus on converting keywords that provide the searcher with the proper intent.
Anothers keyword tools:
Wordtracker
SEO Book Keyword Tool
Ubersuggest
Keyword Eye
SEMrushOther option is Google Trends for regional interest
Another good tips is use schema markup for local businesses injected into contact pages to give clear indications to search engines of your shop's physical location
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Improving Local Pack results across other services
A company I work for ranks well in the Local Pack under its primary service offering i.e. "primary service Bristol". And also under some other services it offers. However, under other services that are offered, it doesn't show in the local pack despite ranking No 1 in the natural SERPS for the target phrase "example service Bristol". We have pages covering all main services in the main site navigation bar. Is this just the way it is or can something be done to resolve this? Does the detail in the third-party citations have a significant impact? What about the content of the reviews? I note that we are doing better under the services mentioned within the reviews. Should I add additional categories and emulating those used by the competition under the search terms? Or am I missing something else?
Local Website Optimization | | GrouchyKids0 -
Should I avoid duplicate url keywords?
I'm curious to know Can having a keyword repeat in the URL cause any penalties ? For example xyzroofing.com xyzroofing.com/commercial-roofing xyzroofing.com/roofing-repairs My competitors with the highest rankings seem to be doing it without any trouble but I'm wondering if there is a better way. Also One of the problems I've noticed is that my /commercial-roofing page outranks my homepage for both residential and commercial search inquiries. How can this be straightened out?
Local Website Optimization | | Lyontups0 -
Research on industries that are most competitive for SEO?
I am trying to see if there is a reputable / research-backed source that can show which industries are most competitive for search engine optimization. In particularly, I'd be interested in reports / research related to the residential real estate industry, which I believe based on anecdotal experience to be extremely competitive.
Local Website Optimization | | Kevin_P3 -
Best practice for local keyword ranking in URLs
Hi, I have a large artificial grass website with many franchise location landing pages. At the moment i have most of the landing page URLs like this www.domainname.com/uk/city/ My TLD does not contain the keyword "artificial grass" so should I follow the location with the keywords /city-artificial-grass/ or is Google pretty savvy these days and will it know that I am an artificial grass company? I'm after the best recommendations for this if possible. Thanks
Local Website Optimization | | Easigrass0 -
Community Discussion - What are your experiences creating local landing pages?
Hi there, Moz Community! In Tuesday's post on the Moz Blog, "Overcoming Your Fear of Local Landing Pages," Miriam Ellis asks: When tasked with developing a set of city landing pages for your local business clients, do you experience any of the following: brain fog, dry mouth, sweaty palms, procrastination, woolgathering, or ennui? Then chances are, the diagnosis is a _fear of local landing pages. _ Which brings me to today's question! What are the toughest challenges you've faced when creating local landing pages? How have you overcome them? What successes have you had, and what lessons have you learned along the way?
Local Website Optimization | | MattRoney4 -
Local food delivery SEO strategy
Hey guys, I'm working with a new company that doesn't have a brick and mortar storefront, they deliver. They basically deliver pre packaged smoothies in a VERY localized area (Vancouver, BC). I'm wondering how grandiose their goals should be re ranking for keywords that have non localized authority. What do I mean? Lets say their marketing pillars are "health education related to smoothies" "convenient veggies for smoothies" "(insert health benefit here) for smoothies". Should they be trying to compete for these keywords? Or should they really be trying to rank with keywords especially to Vancouver? Side note: What kind of effect does Country and Locality have on keywords that are generally used by content providers and not service related companies building out an inbound strategy? Thanks in advance!
Local Website Optimization | | Anti-Alex0 -
Does Schema Replace Conventional NAP in local SEO?
Hello Everyone, My question is in regards to Schema and whether the it replaces the need for the conventional structured data NAP configuration. Because you have the ability to specifically call out variables (such as Name, URL, Address, Phone number ect.) is it still necessary to keep the NAP form-factor that has historically been required for local SEO? Logically it makes sense that schema would allow someone to reverse this order and still achieve the same result, however I have yet to find any conclusive evidence of this being the case. Thanks, and I look forward to what the community has to say on this matter.
Local Website Optimization | | toddmumford0 -
Yoast Local SEO Reviews/Would it work for me?
Hi everyone, I'm looking for some feedback on Yoast Local SEO, and if you think it'd work for our site. www.kempruge.com. Our site is a wordpress site, and there's nothing about it, off the top of my head, that makes me think it wouldn't work, but I've been wrong before. We do use All-In-One SEO, not the Yoast plugin, so I'm not sure if that's compatible.or would cause a problem? (The reason we use All-In-One and not Yoast is because that's what we had when I got here, and I'm worried what would happen if we switched). Also, we have three offices, and I need to be able to do local seo for all three. I know Yoast says it supports multiple offices, but I'd feel more comfortable if someone on here let me know from his/her experience that it did. Anything else you want to add about Yoast Local, I'm all ears! Thanks, Ruben
Local Website Optimization | | KempRugeLawGroup0