4 easy ways to localize your search engine marketing efforts

By Arik C. Hanson

Amid the flurry of 2010 trend and prediction posts I noticed last month, one theme emerged loud and clear: Localization.

Typically, this came in the form of hot new location-aware social mobile networks like Foursquare and Gowalla. But interestingly enough, the much larger opportunity for marketers may be on the search side of the equation. At least that’s the message I heard emerge at the MN AMA session on Jan. 19 at GLS led by Nina Hale of Nina Hale Consulting.

What’s a marketer to do? According to Hale, four simple steps can go a long ways:

• Claim your businesses listing everywhere.
  Consider using a site like the Universal Business Listing, which standardizes your listings in all spots across the Web (and for only $30 a year).
• Add your company’s physical address to your Web site.
  Might seem simple, but it will affect the way Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines rank your page.
• Add location qualifiers to your social profiles.
  Make sure to add location and physical address listings to your profiles on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Social content tends to rank quite high in standard searches (ever Googled yourself? Your social properties often pop up on page one) and you want to make sure that content is localized.
• Add separate pages for each of your locations to your Web site.
  By adding these separate pages, you’ll increase the chances your company pops up higher on page one for any Google search. Also, make sure to use your location in keywords, page copy and meta code on each page.

Once you’ve covered those basic table stakes, according to Hale, start considering more advanced approaches. If applicable, think about what review sites impact your business. If you work with restaurants, maybe it’s Yelp or UrbanSpoon. If you’re a product marketer, maybe it’s epinions or C/Net Reviews . Whatever the case, make sure you’re officially listed on these sites and that your brand/organization is in the right category.

Or, maybe you want to consider paid search opportunities. Think about placing ads on Google that target only certain geographies (hyper-local advertising). Or, if you’re active on Facebook, consider a highly targeted ad campaign on the social network (you can also easily track and measure success on Facebook using the Insights tool). According to Hale, these pay-per-click campaigns can be very cost-effective.

Hale’s overall point is simple: Make sure you’re taking advantage of simple opportunities—that won’t take much time, mind you—to hyper-localized your search marketing efforts.

Arik C. Hanson, APR, is a savy and seasoned communications professional. He is a Principal at ACH Communications, a digital communications firm focused on serving as strategic thought partners to its clients. He can be found on Facebook or twitter. You can also find Arik blogging regularly at Communications Conversations.