Maybe you’re not ready to conquer the world just yet. If your business has a regional focus, search engine marketing expert Dan Skeen has some tips for being found by local customers who use search engines:

Use the right lingo. Whether it’s a difference in spelling (e.g. Commonwealth "labour" versus American "labor") or product name (e.g., American "401(k)" versus Canadian "RRSP"), use the same words your audience will use to search.

Spell it out. Many people enter a broad search term such as "car insurance" and then scan for page titles and URLs that look local. They only refine the search with a more specific term, like "car insurance Canada," if they can’t find an obvious match. You can get ahead of the competition putting your location obvious in your page title or URL. It’s a great way to grab customers in their initial search.

Think locally. The location of your server influences search engines. If possible, get one that’s close to home. Cultivate links from local Web sites. If you’re in New York and suddenly get a flood of traffic from Taiwan, it’s time to reexamine your linking strategy.

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