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Is that Local Search, or just Geo-targeted?
This entry was posted on 3/20/2008 3:34 PM and is filed under Technique.
The
way I see it, local search is not just about a technical definition, it
is a mindset. I started out in local search and at the time, the
technology was not quite what it is today. But as I said, its as much a
mind set as it is a technology.
Geo targeting is about what
makes areas similar. No...seems counter intuitive? Most companies enter
into geo targeting grudgingly. They look for as much commonality as
they can between areas, see what is not common and make a decision
about the value of changing what they do for each area. For efficiency
sake, they hope that they have as few differences as possible and try
to cater to the lowest common denominator. Where it makes sense, they
will vary what they do. In search, they have the ability to message
differently by area, adjust to the area's bid landscape and generally
take into account some of the differences between areas. However, what
is the up shot? Is the bidding efficiency worth the extra work? Does
message management have ROI impact? While the answer is usually yes (at least in our industries) the fact that most marketers constantly strive to
minimize the 'break down' of the geographies is very telling about the
mindset of Geo targeting. If the could make all areas fit into one, nice
big area and still make the same profit, they would do it.
Local
search is about what makes an area unique. When you really get into
local search, the last thing you want to do is find commonness with
other things. There is a bit of pride in the distinctiveness of the
business, the people and the town. You look for those things which have
a real sense of the area. You can't fake it either. In the Chicago last
summer, there was a series of beer commercials on the radio that tried
to 'be local'. They got some of the names right, but the way they were
said was clearly not 'local'. It was disingenuous; I bet you heard the
same voice actor throwing out some lines about your town as well.
Out-of-towners can do local marketing in your area (or mine). But they
have to have a natural curiosity about the business and, more
importantly, about the people. They need to want to know what makes
them unique.
I've heard that local search is when you are
driving the consumer to a local business. Technically, perhaps, but
what is being done differently for each location? In one of our
industries, there is a 'leader' with locations throughout a large
region of the US. They have the same ad running in all geographic
areas. Technically, this is part of a local search program (I presume),
but the ads do nothing to speak to the area around the locations. Maybe
this works, but our experience is that every location's customer base
is distinct, so our search team is managing messaging to the location
level. Is there some commonality? Sure. But, we are constantly trying
to see what makes one different from the others, and leverage that into
an ad and an experience that optimizes the performance.
Is your
program technically local? It is if it has a local destination, geo targeted
paid search, locally targeted SEO efforts, map listings, iYP, and all
the other online 'local' search stuff. But, is it local at heart. Will a
person in Albany, NY be treated like the person from Miami, FL? Search
in general, and local search in particular, is about the individual
searcher. A true local search program is the epitome good SEM.    
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