Most web site owners are aware of the importance of increasing their search engine rankings by increasing their search engine optimization.  However, a lot of sites use very general keywords in their marketing efforts and forget about the local market that can be an essential component of their business.  Although the Internet gives you the unique opportunity to increase your customer base world wide, there are still many people who choose to purchase from local businesses.  There is a sense of local loyalty, assisting with the local economy and the security in knowing you are catering to a business that is locally owned.

So, it is very important to increase awareness of your website within your local market as well as the global one.  In order to do this, you can use all of the same Internet marketing techniques used for global exposure but change it slightly to target your local area.  Consider the use of keywords you use within your site.  While you should keep general search terms, you should also add some targeted terms such as your state, city or neighborhood in which you are located.  For example, if you own a California based mattress company in Los Angeles you may have some keywords such as “mattress sales”, buying a mattress” and others.  However, if you target it by using additional words such as “California”, “Los Angeles” and “Southern California” you can increase the SEO in your local market.

Blogging about local trends and the economy will give some personalization to your site.  It allows you the opportunity to add keywords and increase the content to your site regularly.  Search engines put weight on sites that have regular, new content.  In addition, there is a psychological effect for local patrons who wish to cater to the local businesses in the area.  It shows potential customers that you are aware of and cater to the local economy.  While you will still get traffic and Internet sales from around the world, you will also have an increased exposure in your local market.  This will translate to increased web activity as well as additional customers to your store front.

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Filed under: SEO • Web Strategies

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