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The internet might be a global platform for your product but what sense does it make to strategize for the global people when your target segment is local? In this scenario, focusing on the global segment and ignoring your local buyers is a business blunder. After all why to wander here and there, when all you want is to cater to your local buyers and earn rich dividends.

Though internet is a huge platform and it is not possible to classify sites according to their location, still there are a number of ways through which you can rock your local market. This can be done through a number of smart moves and one among them is to use your location in your keywords.

1. Using your location in key-phrase

When targeting a local segment, your location is the magic word which can be used in a number of ways to ensure a good SEO. While searching for a particular product, people usually use their location in their search. For example, if I am searching for jewelry and I want my search to be more specific, I will type "imitation jewelry Jaipur" in my search engine. Hence, using your location in the key-phrase will drive local traffic to your website. But another problem here is that when you have a business at more than one place, you cannot use all the locations in your key-phrase. In this scenario, you need to make different pages for different locations.

Again meta-tags also matter and should include your location along with the other keywords related to your site and so does the body of your text. After all people looking for imitation jewelry in Chicago will be of no use to your local business when you do not sell online.

2. Google places and Yahoo local

Google places and yahoo local are magic wands for local businesses. People still rely on them for their needs. So remember to submit your listing to these sites as well. Apart from that, you should also focus on local directories. People still swear by the good old Yellow Pages for local vendors. Then, there might or might not be some local search engines for your country or area. If they exist, stick to them because they are the ones that will get you the maximum business. Coming to running your campaigns, PPC ads and classifieds work best for local businesses. These locally targeted campaigns are the ones which will drive maximum local traffic to your site.

3. Back-links

Getting good back-links always count. But getting organic back-links with your location might not get you good results because the phrase 'imitation jewelry Jaipur' does not sound grammatically correct. This phrase will not earn you any organic inline link. But you can comment on blogs using this key-phrase in the name field which might get you a back-link to help you in your SEO.

4. Social Media

Social media cannot be ignored even if you run a local business. It has a greater reach and appeal for the people and the best part being, they promote your business for free. There are many local groups on Facebook and Twitter which are beneficial for you and should be targeted.

5. Reviews and testimonials

These are time- tested techniques of giving creditability to your business. A testimonial and review is the personal experience of a buyer about your product which speaks volumes about you. In terms of SEO also, there are many review sites where you can ask your clients to submit their feedback to help drive more business to you. Again, look for local sites to have a far greater reach on your target segment.

Last but not the least, occasional checking of your keywords won't cost you much but will keep you updated on many other keywords people use. You should also keep a tab on the keywords used by your competitors to make a niche for yourself. All these are basic techniques which might seem very generic but they definitely help your business at a local level.

Khemchand Joshi is working with A3Logics as Business Head of Web and Mobile division, He is expert in search engine marketing and providing services all over the globe.please visit A3Logics Web to know more about SEO offering, we offer Professional SEO Services, PPC Consultant Services and SEO Consultant Services.