How does local citations and links differ from national links?

[Berner]

HI

So I read on here somewhere that it is important to get local links, instead of just national links.

I am curious how does Google know if the links you are getting are from a local source?

Thank you

[kwoolf]

Matt Cutts has noted in multiple videos that Google's main objective is to return relevant search results for search queries, so naturally if you're in San Francisco searching for American BBQ you'd like to see shops in your area first.

Matt Green explains local link building here http://moz.com/blog/5-link-building-tactics-to-improve-your-local-rankings

So the question is are you are a local, national, or global business? Adjust your SEO efforts accordingly.

[Berner]

Hi Kevin,

Thank you so much for your thoughts and help.

If I may please ask,

Could you please let me know what is the best method for targeting a Local State Level seo effort?

For an example, when I type into Google keywords tools my keywords, I add the state of Colorado in my search queries, then added those keywords to my title tags and pages.

BUT--- Is there a specific method that you use to make sure you are being found in a local search?

So If someone searches for BBQ, how do you know that you will be found in your area?

Thank you for any tips and advice.

[MiriamEllis]

Hey Brandon!

If you're a local business, there are likely 2 types of links that would be most relevant to your business. These would be local links and industry links. So, a local link might be your local chamber of commerce. An industry link might come from something like a national organization that represents your industry. Obviously, it's great to get mentioned in local news, local blogs, etc., too. The main thing to concentrate on with this is that you are publishing content or joining organizations that precisely relate to your business and its location. The ideal is for these things to happen naturally.

If you are targeting a state, that is not considered a true local search. Local search relates to cities - not states. So, from your query, if you are a BBQ restaurant in Colorado, the local element of your campaign would revolve around Denver, or whatever city the restaurant is in.

If you want to gain visibility for your BBQ keywords and the state of Colorado, you'd need to approach this organically rather than locally, hoping to show up in the organic results rather than in the local pack. So, you might produce content about the history of BBQ in Colorado (like, Basque sheepherders in the 1800s BBQing or whatever) or make infographics comparing the best BBQ restaurants in the state based on some criteria or write article about statewide BBQ contests, or what have you.

Hope this helps!