Keyword Research Tool For Local Customers

[iFuseInternetMarketing]

Hi all, and thanks in advance for your input.

I help mostly small local businesses with SEO and other IM strategy, but am having a hard time finding a good tool for local seo searches.  For instance, I have a smaller plumber that covers Denver, but really wants to market to some of the suburbs.

What is a good tool to try to find search volume for "littleton plumbers" or similar searches?  By the way Littleton is a suburb of Denver.

Thanks again.

Chris

[DesignbysoapLtd]

Hi Chris,

Google AdWords Keyword Tool, Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery are the three tools I most regularly use for finding search volumes for local search terms. If you can afford it Hitwise will give you the most accurate information, but this is out of most people's budget so not usually an option (I only include it to be thorough).

Here's a reasonably useful post for finding local search terms, that might give you a couple of ideas and help you figure out the best terms for your client:

http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/local-keyword-research/1787/

Hope that helps : )

[iFuseInternetMarketing]

Thanks John, really appreciate the tips!

[VistageSEO]

Hey Chris-

Have you tried Google Insights? http://www.google.com/insights/search/

It's pretty good for narrowing in on specific geographies. The only real issue is lack of suggested keywords using this tool. But if you know some you want to compare, this works great.

[Khem_Raj7]

Yupp, make sure you check the keywords trends with the help of Google Insight. Will really help you find some really good local keywords.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Chris,
You've received some good suggestions here, and Matt's post at Small Business SEM is a good read on this. At the end of the day, there is currently no tool of which I am aware which offers a comprehensive or accurate picture of local search terms. This is something that comes up again and again in the Local SEO industry. I consider myself fortunate to be in daily contact with some of the best Local SEOs on the planet, and basically, the suggested process for doing keyword research for local businesses is this:

1. Perform keyword research as though Local was not your goal. Just use your main keyword terms (plumber, plumbing, leaking faucet, toilet overflowed, etc.).

2. Make a big list of these terms.

3. Then, go in and add your core Local terms (city, region, zip code, etc.) to each of the terms.

4. If you are working with clients in a region of the country where there are unique language variants, explore these with the business owner. For example, a Canadian plumber may say 'hot water tank' vs. the 'hot water heater' of the USA. Keyword research tools may not show you these variants because their data isn't coming from the targeted geography of the business. So, discover regionalisms and make sure they are being given preference, as this is the way your client's customers talk and search.

You will end up with a big list of terms to work with from this process. Hope this helps!

[optimalwebinc]

Thanks John!  It's exactly what I needed.