What is the best strategy to get a company located in one city, but does business in other cities, ranked locally in the other cities as well?

[cgray01]

For example: this client is a custom clothier located in Phoenix, but would like to come up in the search engines for Scottsdale, Tucson, Prescott, Chicago, etc., because he travels to those cities and does business there with his custom clothing business. His website is www.artfultailoring.com

Right now, he'll come up for custom suits phoenix, custom shirts phoenix az, etc.

So how would I get him to come up in the search engines in more locations than just Phoenix?

[RyanKent]

We were discussing him getting a temporary office in whatever city he wants to be found for, so then this would work with Google places, etc?

If it was a real physical address and local phone number, then yes it would work with Google Places. I would suggest using Google for whatever address you plan to obtain and examine the results. I like to obtain addresses zoned for business which appear as businesses on Google.

Also, how could he also be ranked for a city in Phoenix, like Scottsdale? Would we have to do the same thing as say Tucson or LA?

The website would need to be relevant for the area for which he wishes to rank. Relevance can be established in numerous ways:

• physical address as suggested above

• mentions of the locations on the site

• testimonials from clients in the area

• links from the areas involved

• anchor text using the area names

There are other means but the above area the major ideas.

each page needs to rank for it's own city right? You can't have the home page targeting both one or more cities without taking a hit in the SEs on each city?

Actually a single page can rank for multiple areas. It's up to you how you wish to present the site. For major areas which are far away such as Chicago and LA, you may want a specific page for those areas. For other Arizona areas, you may wish to continue using the home page. It really depends on your competitiveness and resources.

[cgray01]

Ryan,

We were discussing him getting a temporary office in whatever city he wants to be found for, so then this would work with Google places, etc?

Also, how could he also be ranked for a city in Phoenix, like Scottsdale? Would we have to do the same thing as say Tucson or LA?

Also, each page needs to rank for it's own city right? You can't have the home page targeting both one or more cities without taking a hit in the SEs on each city?

Thanks so much for all this great info!

[RyanKent]

Hi Chris.

Many business models would like to increase their visibility in local searches. Imagine a web developer who can design sites for anyone located anywhere in the country. They would love to be seen as "Web development Miami", "Web development Los Angeles", etc.

To have your site associated with the areas you mentioned, the first step would be to provide content related to those areas. A travel schedule mentioning the areas which will be visited is a start. Even better would be pages of the site dedicated to each city would be even better. "Artful Tailoring will be providing services in Chicago November 1st - 10th." then provide an itinerary including locations and times. Mention any customers you have serviced in the area, and if possible receive backlinks from local customers to your Chicago page.

Your client is currently listed as the #5 result in Google for "custom clothing Phoenix" and that is his main location. I would expect the Chicago results to be more competitive, and your client is much less established in that area. He will most likely be able to earn a listing but not on the first page of results. To improve I would recommend establishing a physical presence in Chicago. The least expensive option would be a virtual office. Your client can obtain a local Chicago address and phone number, then obtain a Google Places listing. This method would further strengthen your association with the area.