Sunday, September 5, 2010

Local Search Engine Optimization Tips to Know Your Competition

Local Search Engine Optimization Tips to Know Your Competition
By Eric G.




There are several markets that are becoming found online more frequently, in all areas of the country. This is something that is unique in each locale. Search engine optimization becomes a matter of knowing how to tell how much competition is in your market. Here are some tips on how to do basic research on the competition for your online industry.



Choose your primary keywords. The research to determine this should always be the first step in search engine optimization. You may include the name of your city as part of your keyword phrase, especially if you intend to attract people looking for your business within the city.


Check the number of results. This is a basic technique, but by looking through the number of listings that show up in the search engine results, you can know how many competitors you have online quite quickly. Type in your primary keyword phrases into the main search engines (at least into Google and Yahoo). Look and see how many total results show up. Now to find the number of true competitors you have, take this same keyword phrase and surround it in double quotes. Doing this will show only pages that have that exact keyword phrase present.


Check the number of qualified results. Now you already have a good idea how many people are competing for your keyword phrase (or phrases). However, in many cases the keywords are not placed prominently on the web pages that show in the results. Your main competition is in people who know at least some basic search engine optimization. To find these competitors, you will want to search in Google using a specialized option: "allintitle". Simply type in "allintitle" (without the quotes) followed by a colon, and then type in your keyword phrase. This will produce only results that have all the keywords inside the title tag, which is one of the primary elements of solid search engine optimization.


Now you should have a good idea of what level of competition you will be facing when doing your local search engine optimization. Considering the fact that this year, nationally 74.1% of the population is estimated to use the internet (according to Nielsen ratings) -- making sure you are properly targeting your market online as well as offline is important for improving local business.



Article Source:  Local Search Engine Optimization Tips to Know Your Competition

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