GEO-targeting to Enhance Your SEO Campaign

Research has shown that those campaigns optimized with Geo-targeting in mind are much more successful from SEO standpoint. Basically Geo-targeting is a technique used by search engines to find out where you are searching from (your actual whereabouts), in order to provide you with the best search results according to your location (i.e. country, region/state, city, post/zip code, etc.). That being said, it’s obvious that Geo-targeting SEO increases the chance of success for businesses that promote their brands online across different cultural backgrounds.

All the tools that help in geo-targeting go beyond your on-site optimization work: setting geographic target with Webmaster Tools; server location; a country specific top level domain and inbound links from local websites. While these are a must if you want search engines to appreciate your geo-targeting efforts, you should not miss some essential on-site optimization, which will eventually both ensure your site better local search visibility and generate local inbound links.

1. Specify your location information on pages visible to search bots (it’ll be even better if you place this info on prominent and powerful pages)
Add <address></address> tag to make your business location even more noticeable. Consider optimizing SEO-sensitive page elements (titles, URLs, internal anchor text) for your city/ county/ state. Include your zip code and Post Office Box address;
2. Ensure that you include your local phone number to your contact information and home page;
3. Make sure you to adapt other geo-specific details to the target geographic version format: pricing in the target location currency , working hours based on local standards and time zone, dates in the localized format, etc;
4. Run country-specific promotions (for local holidays and days off);
5. Take into account local spelling and optimize for it (British English vs American English) to generate traffic from local searchers
6. Get experienced in local link bait. Cover subjects that are interesting specifically to the nation you are targeting (use national facts, humour and proverbs specific to the country)