Local SEO - Do I need it if I don't do business locally?

[benenjerry]

Super confused about this. Our office is located in Los Angeles, but it is not a storefront, and our clients are from all over the country... and our business involves travel to other countries. So there is nothing "local" about us. But everything I read seems to say we should be doing local SEO. How to approach this?

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

"never" on my end was a strong word - I apologize. What I am saying that without proper optimization and taking advantage of opportunities like those listed above, you probably won't appear for those search queries here in Chicago.

My point being - you need to invest in associating your brand with these different regions that you provide services in and have representatives in. Whether it is dedicated on-site content or mentions on other sites that are in those regions, you have opportunities to appear for location based searches.

"It seems like what you're saying is that we need to establish locality in every large and small city in the U.S. and order to be found by people who live anywhere in the U.S."

Not at all - I am saying people in these cities do searches for hotels / tours / travel packages for different cities/countries around the world, researching where they want to go on vacation and get a deal. What I am saying is take opportunities to appear on hotels / tours / travel package websites in those cities/countries that are legitimate and relevant to your business.

Two things happen - you appear on sites in different countries and regions that you legitimately do business in and you increase chances of appearing for location based searches because you appear on sites in those countries and regions.

Does this make sense?

[benenjerry]

Thank you.

"here in Chicago, you're never going to pop up for a search I conduct like "horse back riding beach tours in Cancun"

Ok, so if this is true, then this is serious, serious problem for us. And this seems like an awful side effect of the current algorithm. Why wouldn't a successful, well established, 40 year old national business, whose physical headquarters is in Los Angeles, which operates horse back riding beach tours in Cancun show up in search results for horse back riding beach tours in Cancun by a person who lives in Chicago? That makes no sense. Our clients live in New York City or Ft Collins, Colorado or Emeryville, CA or Anytown, USA. It seems like what you're saying is that we need to establish locality in every large and small city in the U.S. and order to be found by people who live anywhere in the U.S. -- I can't imagine that is what the SEOverlords expect businesses like mine to do.

"I am trying to associate your brand to local businesses and tourist packages in different locales/regions you do business in."

As mentioned, we are in international tour operator. We do not operate tours in the United States, therefore, we have no U.S. based local businesses with whom we can be associated with.

"there are still opportunities based on brand mentions and link building via the questions above, meaning you could appear for searches based around locations + the services you are associated with in those areas."

So then, is the solution to try and make it appear to the search engines that we are local to the places we offer tours (such as your example of Cancun), even if we are not? If we did that, and you are in Chicago and you do your search for horse back in Cancun, will we pop up then?

And as far as the brand mentions... I understood that. And the new importance of brand is directly related to the other question I posted in the forum, which has not been answered yet, and is a completely different and unique problem. Maybe you could look at that and see if you have any insight there.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hey Ben

That's totally fine - what I am more or less referencing is brand mentions.

Point being, here in Chicago, you're never going to pop up for a search I conduct like "horse back riding beach tours in Cancun" - I'm not even sure you do that, but let's suspend disbelief.

By asking you the questions above, I am trying to associate your brand to local businesses and tourist packages in different locales/regions you do business in, letting you know there are opportunities out there.

So while not directly "local SEO", there are still opportunities based on brand mentions and link building via the questions above, meaning you could appear for searches based around locations + the services you are associated with in those areas.

So, say that I do do that particular search. If you are somewhere mentioned in tour packages or itineraries, or even as a trusted partner to hotels or tour groups, this can potentially help you appear as a travel agency where people can set up vacations. This could send traffic your way where people could potentially book vacations through you.

Does that make sense? Hope this gives a bit more perspective and reasoning.

Let me know if you have any more questions or comments! Good luck!

[benenjerry]

The Google Service-area businesses looks like it could be helpful. I'll look at that more closely.

As far as your questions go... These are reasonable questions, but I am not certain how this would apply as far as Local SEO goes.

We are a tour operator. So, of course, our site is all about mentioning the locations/countries we provide travel to, and the specific packages, etc.. So we have that covered.

We do partner with hotels, and we have local representative offices in the countries we provide services to. However... if our clients are 100% U.S. based, and they are contacting us because we are a U.S. based business, is it really helpful (SEO wise - or otherwise) for us to get us listed in directories and such as a local business in Aukland, New Zealand (for example)? We're not a local business in Aukland. But we provide services there. And have local reps.

We hired an SEO firm 4 years ago who listed us all over the place (on non-travel related sites and directories, like YellowPages and such) as a local Los Angeles business. They said it would help us, but didn't seem to help us in any way, and in fact ends looks to me like it is confusing to say that we are a Los Angeles tour operator. We're not. We don't do tours in Los Angeles. And people clicking on those links are going to realize that when they get to our site and contribute to a high bounce rate.

So, ultimately, the question of Local SEO that I keep reading as being important to have, just doesn't feel like it applies to us, yet, we don't want to close a door that could be helpful in search results -- which is really the only thing we are concerned about in this regard. We are a 40 year old business and have had a web presence for a long time, and we just want to stay relevant in search results.

Thank you.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

You do have the opportunity to take advantage of Google Service-area businesses through Google My Business, so keep that in mind. I would also make sure that your website mentions the areas you provide travel for.

A few questions:

• Do you have any local/regional businesses you have partnered with to provide travel options?
• Any international businesses or agencies you work with?
• What about hotels? Are there any hotels that you work with or provide packages through?
• Are you a certified agency of any kind? Can you be listed on those sites?
• Are you able to create testimonials for clients/hotels that have you used your service?
• Are you able to mention (in your About Us or Services pages) different locations/countries you provide travel opportunities to? Even beyond that, are you able to mention specific businesses/touristy packages you provide mentioning landmarks or tours?

Keep in mind, while you are a national business, you do have opportunities at the local level to mention or be mentioned by specific hotels or businesses in certain areas that can loosely associate you with different locales or regions. It's just something to keep in mind.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[ClaytonJ]

I think what you are interpreting - is take the "beach head" principle first. Which I believe in.  Like the invasion of Europe in World War II - we started with a tiny beach - Normandy and then expanded to conquer the whole of Europe.  But we made ensure we owned Normandy first.

It is unusual if your space does not have competitors. If it doesn't then you may not have to change anything.

However if it does have strong competitors - it is easiest & often best to own or rank well or at the top at least in your suburb, then build out to your town then State and slowly the Country. That said it depends on every business model. So if yours is a global business and niche it may be best to skip the "beachhead" principle.

I think it is a tactical decision you need to consider.  60% of your customers may come from Alabama and you know there is more there - so it may be best to focus there... even though your office is LA. Not sure if that helps but a good glass of red may clarify the tactical choices you have!

There are alot of business that do not focus on Local so do not run with the tide if it is not in your companies interests.

[donsilvernail]

This is a topic I have struggled with as I have a client who sells digital products to a national audience. As if it could not get any worse my client sells a digital product in the very competitive fitness industry.

So how do you start a campaign where the client wants to have national legs but has yet to make a name for himself? Answer: Locally.

You need to start somewhere. The competitive nature of a national campaign can be overwhelming. Though my client had the grand vision of promoting his product nationally to start, he did not have a bankroll to reach that kind of audience. National campaigns require onsite and offsite seo as well as large advertising campaign to produce buzz about a product.

So we started locally here in New Jersey optimizing the site to attract local customers from the state creating new content as we moved along. Building links and reaching out to influencers  beyond our local reach has now produce a regional campaign.

We can only grow from here but at every level the work load gets greater and greater.

If you do not prefer the slow build from local grass roots you could use sub domains to create region based sites that you could optimize. Rember that original content is preferred so this process could become a burden.