Thanks for your response.
1. This is a general question.
2. Yes, exactly.
3. Other keyword data/geographical searches means doing pretty much exactly what you've discussed- I research the category/product/industry and then add the local terms in after.
However, I've found that the best local terms can vary widely depending on the geography (low versus high income demographics, for example.) So, then I research the way people search in specific locations. When I have lots of businesses in one area, there's overlap and its no problem, but the keywords people in Grafton, VT use to describe their location within a phrase is considerably different from White Plains, NY, for example.
Am I totally overthinking this? Interestingly enough, I can't find any information on the topic. Does anyone has an easy method for figuring out the best local terms, even if its independent entirely from the global keywords?