Local Monthly Searches for a particular city

[VinceWicks]

I'm not exactly new to SEO but totally new to local SEO. How do I check monthly searches for a specific city so that I know if it makes sense to develop a site for that a particular area.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Vince,
Robert has given a great answer, below. Local keyword research is traditionally conducted without the use of geo-modifiers, because no keyword tool exists which provides accurate numbers for local terms. So, you would do keyword research without any geographic terms, and then city names, zip codes, etc. into your list.

The free Google Adwords Keyword Tool is a great place to start.
https://adwords.google.com/o/Targeting/Explorer?__c=1000000000&__u=1000000000&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS

Additional ideas can come from Google Insights: http://www.google.com/insights/search/

And this is a neat newer tool for helping you discover local zip codes and other geo data:
http://www.localmarketingsource.com/local-keyword-research-tool/

Beyond the use of tools, it's vital that you closely interview the client about their list of most common terms - things their clients say to describe the products or services at hand. There are regional differences in terminology that are very important to reflect. For example, you may discover that a plumber in California fixes 'water heaters', while one up in British Colombia fixes 'hot water tanks'. So, zoning in on regionalism is very important, custom work every good Local SEO does, and it's not something you can expect from any automated tool. This is something I find so interesting and exciting when taking care of my clients! I just love those language differences.

[RobertFisher]

Red or Blue,

Having not seen Linkdex prior to your answer, I will first say that I have no experience with it.

I went to the site and read a bit of the data then downloaded their "white paper."

I also joined on the free trial and would suggest to Vince that he can do the same. (I like the sites where I don't have to dig out a credit card to try it out for a month and this is one.) NOTE: GeoRanking is not available on the free trial????? What's the point?

Unfortunately, I do not see how this could assist Vince given that the software is geared toward showing you where you rank and not toward showing traffic for the given keywords in a specific industry in individual cities. If, you are doing market research to determine an expansion, you would not have a site up and your competitor ranking in that city cannot be compared to where you are (because you are not there).

I appreciate you providing the info on Linkdex and will try it out for the month. If I am missing something as to how it could be used for the purpose Vince wants, please let me know.

[BabelPR]

Hi Vince,As Robert said, this is a common problem for many and an answer didn't really exist until a month ago when Linkdex released a scalable solution called geo-rankings. You can upload your keywords, enter any locations you want (cities, towns, ZIP codes etc) and compare your rankings for those keywords across all those locations. You can then see where there are new opportunities to rank in different areas and decide whether it makes sense to develop a new site for that region.A good place to start is the geo ranking page where you can download the whitepaper Linkdex have put out or use their tool to compare rankings in different locations.I hope this helps

[RobertFisher]

Vince,

This is an oft asked question and I will give you my best work around. First, there is no really good software I have found that does this for you. (Yes, there are some that say they can...)

What I would do is to utilize the keyword tool in AdWords and use it as follows:  Assuming you sell vegetables, search first on the basic terms you would use and the basic term plus the city you are checking. I live in Houston, so will use that.

Beets

Beets Houston

Fresh Beets

Fresh Beets Houston

farmers markets

farmers markets houston, etc.

For the broader terms like farmers markets, I usually see a number that is large and then a smaller number when the geolocation (Houston) is used. That will allow me to derive a general impression as to the efficacy of a vegetable market in Houston. If I am also seeing Geo Located searches on the more narrow terms, I assume that means more interest in that area.

Hope this helps,

Edit Note: For city to city, if you have a baseline city that is in same general geolocation and you want to see how city A is versus city B, use the same keywords and then append the location and compare A to B. So, for Texas: Austin Farmers Market vs. Houston Farmers Market. If there are 200 monthly searches in Houston and you are thinking of going to Austin, it could be assumed that a result for Austin of equal to or greater than Houston would be favorable given that Austin is smaller. (don't use a city in Texas against a city in New York as the data will likely have a location flavor).