• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

IX Brand SEO Services Company

SEO in Your Voice - Houston - Sugar Land TX

  • Home
  • SEO Marketing
    • What is SEO?
    • Local SEO
    • Content Mktg
      • Video Marketing Production
      • Check Out Our Video Production Gallery
    • Social Media
    • Websites for SEO
    • Online Business Listings
  • Reputation Mgt
  • About Us
    • IX Brand SEO Sugar Land Office
    • Wharton County SEO
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Internet Marketing Tips » Google’s Local Search Decision
Google Local Search Decision

Google’s Local Search Decision

FacebookTweetPin

Google Local Search DecisionMost small business owners and most small web developers and designers don’t know much about local Internet search, so they tend to ignore it.  That’s a big mistake, because Google and the other major search engines — Yahoo and Bing — treat local business searches differently from global searches.  Based on the search phrase entered, Google and other search engines will try to determine if the user is looking for a local business or a global result.  If Google thinks that the searcher is looking for a local business, it will append a location based on the IP address of the computer initiating the search, and it will return relevant listings of local businesses around that imputed location.  If Google thinks the searcher is not looking for a local business, the IP address of the user’s computer is ignored and Google returns relevant global results.    If you want your business rank well in search results, you have to understand this Local Search Decision and use that understanding in planning for your website.

Let’s look at an example.  If I search for “pizza,” Google assumes that I’m looking for a pizza restaurant in Wharton, TX, which is the IP address associated with my computer.  The local search results for “pizza” include relevant websites combined with local business information and links to reviews of those local businesses.  If I’m looking for a pizza restaurant in another location, it’s easy to change the location using the link in the middle of the left column.  This is what Google’s search results look like.

Google Local Search for Pizza Restaurants Near Wharton TX
Google Local Search for Pizza

If Google determines that I’m looking for a global search result, it returns a list of relevant websites without imputing a location.  Here I modified the search to “deep dish pizza” and Google provided a list of websites and images that are associated with deep dish pizzas.  However, if I were looking for a deep dish pizza in Wharton, TX, I’d be out of luck with a normal Google, Yahoo, or Bing web search.

Google Search for Deep Dish Pizza Returns Global Results
Google Search for Deep Dish Pizza

So the lesson here is that you should check your best keywords to determine if Google treats them as local or global.  If Google understands them to be local keywords, then those words and phrases should be used in developing your local business listings — the listings that appear at the very top of local search results.  For keyword phrases that Google treats as global, don’t optimize your local listings for them and plan to optimize for them in your website.

If you have any questions about Google’s local search decision and how it affects your local search engine optimization effort, please contact Rust Reviews.

FacebookTweetPin

Written by:
Paul Sherland
Published on:
April 19, 2011

Categories: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips

About Paul Sherland

Most small business marketing fails because it ignores what makes your business unique. IX Brand SEO Services helps you reach new customers in your own voice to demonstrate the unique value of your products and services. Call 281-343-3284 to learn more!

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

Content Marketing and SEO Strategy - IX Brand SEO Services

Content Marketing and SEO Strategy

How Do Our Content Marketing and SEO Strategy Work for Our Clients Paul Sherland explains how our …

Continue Reading about Content Marketing and SEO Strategy

Search our site

Internet Marketing Tips

Explore more

Get Started Now

Improving Your SEO Improving Your Reputation Get Started
IX Brand SEO Services

Footer

Our Wharton TX Office

IX Brand SEO Services Company
PO Box 869
Wharton, TX 77488
Phone: 281-343-3284

Meetings are by appointment only.

Additional Information

  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Reviews

ⓒ Copyright 2022 IX Brand SEO Services Company, All Rights Reserved · Log in

Constant Contract Partner
  • Digital Marketing Tips
  • Reputation Management Tips
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips
  • Social Media Marketing Tips
  • Video Marketing Tips