How to Combine the Moz Keyword Difficulty Tool with Google Keyword Planner for LOCAL (city/town) Results

[lulu71]

Hi there,

I wish that Moz would show local (city/town) results in their Keyword Difficulty Tool. But they don't, so here's my question:

I'm trying to rank for keywords "interior design" in a local geographic area in the US. When using Google KWP, I'm selecting all the towns I want to rank in, and searching against the keywords INTERIOR DESIGN. The search volume appears to be approx. 370 a month. What I'm not sure about is whether I should instead (or in addition to), be searching for INTERIOR DESIGN (CITY), and leaving the geographic selection as US. What is most accurate?

OR...should I search for INTERIOR DESIGN (CITY) in Moz's Keyword tool?

How do you guys do it?

[lulu71]

Hi Donna...I'm very tardy with my reply but wanted to thank you for your help.  I'm glad I'm not missing any glaring actions for local SEO. Thanks for the links...very helpful. If someone comes out with a good local SEO tool they'll make a killing.

[DonnaDuncan]

Lulu,

You ask a really good question. How to do local keyword research is a question that comes up time and again in local circles. Bottom line is that while there are a bunch of keyword research tools out there, none are aimed specifically at helping achieve your goal. Moz's tool is no different. So my answer is not to recommend a specific tool, but rather to suggest you take a look at a couple of source of really helpful how-to information from Moz and Bright Local.

(1) Someone else asked a similar question on Moz back in May 2014. Miriam Ellis, a Moz staffer, gave an excellent answer. Check it out!

(2) Bright Local published a how-to article with some really helpful tips and tricks in July of this year - http://www.brightlocal.com/2014/07/22/effective-local-keyword-research/. It's well worth reading.

Hope that helps.