Using GEOLocation for Regional Targeting

Regional Targeting

If you wish to target a certain region then there are a few steps you can take to help this process. Firstly you can choose a relevant domain such as a .co.uk (UK) or .ie (Ireland) rather than a generic .com domain. Then look at your hosting IP location, search engines can access this information and will use it to decide your target audience. Finally, Google Webmaster Tools allows you to set a geographic target which is useful if you have a .com domain.

GeoLocation

Did you know that you can attach Meta data that indicates to the search engines where your business resides. In simple terms the Meta data contains longitude and longitude readings to your business location / town / city / region. Google is starting to use GEOlocation more and more within its services, they use it for Google local for example. Each pin on the map is given a GEOlocation.

As technology introduces GEOlocation more into the public domain this technology will be used more in websites and search engines to indicate where the business is located and also where the business operates. As we all know Google wants to localise all search so its critical to get informed and educated as quick as we can to how Google looks to move forward so we can keep up and not swept away by others who are actively looking to move alongside Gogole and the other search engines.

GEOLocation testing

I am in the process of doing some testing on this to see what Google does when it reads the Meta data GEOlocation information. I want to see what results I get if I tell them I am looking to be found for a curtain region and it is only mentioned in the Meta data and not the text on the page. If it does pick this up, it could be a way to make a site very profitable and potentially easy to target anyone in any location and this can be done potentially for any page. (fingers crossed). Think of the potential in that, a page for the London area but another page that is dedicated to Manchester for instance. Letting Google and the other search engines know where the target audience is for the page its looking at.

I will be updating this article when I know more. If you would like to ask any questions or you would like to add any comments about regional targeting and GEOLocation please do so. We would be happy to hear your ideas and thoughts on the subject.