To qualify or not to qualify

[Graphbyte]

Hi,

I'm targeting a local business in Gainesville Fl. They provide acupuncture services. I'm wondering if I should choose "Acupuncture services in Gainesville" as my keyword for their acupuncture page or if I should omit the "Gainesville" qualifier and go with "Acupuncture services" since anyone located in Gainesville who performs a search for the the unqualified version will be shown primarily local results (including my business).

Thanks Mozzers!

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

You can really do either or, but I would go with "Acupuncture Services", build citations through Moz Local or Whitespark, and work on your local SEO. Reason being - search engine crawlers will be able to tell through your content and site structure that you are topically an acupuncture business. The reason being, it's really easy to get carried away with over optimization when it comes to location.

That being said, I would include your address in Gainesville on your website, make sure you utilize Google My Business, and verify your site. Don't forget to consult your Search Queries in Webmaster Tools to see how people are currently getting to your site. Are they using location based queries?

If you're going to include "Gainesville" on your site, do not force it - mention it where it works, but don't over do it. If you take the proper steps for a great local SEO foundation, you won't have to mention your location on your site in a keyword style fashion.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[Graphbyte]

Hi Patrick!

Thanks so much for the info! One related question:

"If you're going to include "Gainesville" on your site, do not force it - mention it where it works" -- In their case, their company name includes the word gainesville (Gainesville Holistic Healthcare) and is also in their domain (GainesvilleHolisticHealthcare.Com). Should this fact make me use the term Gainesville even less in my KW choices?

Thanks again!

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi again

If it's in your domain and part of your company name, yes, I would use "Gainesville" less in your content and optimization. However, in your keyword research, still be mindful of location based searches, so you can optimize for those without the location. Does that make sense?

I am really worried that you are so focus on location based optimization when so many resources have been provided about local SEO - don't worry so much!

Hope this helps!

[Graphbyte]

Again, so much great feedback. Thank you!!!!

What I've opted for doing then is this:

<title>: Acupuncture Services in Gainesville Florida<br /><h1>: Acupuncture<br />Content: No mention of gainesville, just mention of word Acupuncture<br /><img> alt: Acupuncture treatment needles<br />Footer: Location info in schema markup<br />Citations: Working on them...</p> <p>That sound OK to you :)</p> <p>(BTW Here;s the page: http://gainesvilleholistichealthcare.com/treatment-options/acupuncture/ )</p> <p>One more related question (I promise!). Feel free to take a pass on this one ;)</p> <p>These guys offer a few other services in addition to Acupuncture. I'm very tempted to do simiilar <title>'s for all of them, swapping out the word Acupuncture for the various services. E.g.:</p> <p>Acupuncture Services in Gainesville Florida<br />Electroacupuncture Services in Gainesville Florida<br />Tui Na Massage Services in Gainesville Florida<br />...etc.</p> <p>Is that a horrible idea?</p> <p>Thanks soo much. </p> <p> </p></title>