The Most Expensive Keywords: 58% Are Location-Sensitive
Our friends at Hubspot recently published a blog highlighting an infographic containing the 100 Most Expensive Keywords on Google, and a big majority are location-sensitive.
The list includes searches such as:
- San Antonio car wreck attorney
- Accident attorney Riverside VA
- Motorcycle accident attorney Los Angeles
- West Palm beach criminal lawyer
Set aside that many of the searches are related to law firms and legal counsel (an incredibly commoditized and crowded market segment, regardless of location—hence, the expensive nature of the keyword), and focus instead on the types of searches being performed.
58% of the keywords are location-sensitive.
This makes a lot of good sense. Consumers are searching for information and they’re looking for information relevant to them—specifically, relevant to where they are at a given place and time. After all, the poor driver involved in an auto accident in San Antonio doesn’t need searches that related to Dallas auto injury attorneys.
So what does this mean for your online marketing efforts? Obviously, if you haven’t given much thought to your local SEO presence, there’s a good chance you’re missing out on potential business.
Getting serious about local search.
To begin, getting serious about local search shouldn’t take much effort for veteran SEOs. Many of the same tried-and-true rules apply. For example, your site should:
- Contain ample content on the homepage to tell your customers (and the search engines) what your business is all about
- Be user-friendly, both in terms of layout and design
- Contain relevant, unique content—no spammy, “black hat” stuff
- Utilize the absolute best keywords in your title tags
Combine those traditional, foundational SEO tactics with a local “flair”. That means incorporating your business’s city and state into specific areas, particularly in the title tag, H1 heading and naturally within your content.
Next, make sure to qualify for and maintain a listing in the major local business listing indexes. There are several, such as:
- Google+ Local
- Yelp
- Bing Places
- Yellow Pages
To qualify for a local listing, you must provide accurate information about your business’s name (or DBA), local phone number and physical address.
There’s plenty more you can do to improve your local SEO. From attracting genuine, favorable user reviews to being an active contributor on your social media network to just providing great insight and resources online—do all you can to attract that local intent.
