Do you need exact match geographically targeted keywords for ranking within a specified city limit?

[peteboyd]

For example, I have a personal injury law firm in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I only care about potential clients searching within the city limits of Sheboygan (and not within the state of Wisconsin or on a national level).

Do the following elements need to contain an exact match geographically targeted keyword if I only care about ranking locally in Sheboygan, Wisconcsin? (The type of keyword phrase I'm referring to would be Sheboygan Personal Injury Lawyers, Sheboygan Car Accident Lawyers, etc.)

• Title Tag
• Meta Description
• Main Headline
• Body Content

Should I not include an exact match geographically targeted keyword in my content and trust that Google can make the association with where I'm located by other factors on the website?

Website factors:

• Google local business page is setup linking to my website
• Other local listings have been claimed and setup properly
• My contact page contains our full address and phone number
• My footer contains our full address and phone number on every page

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Pete,

If you are physically located in Sheboygan, then you should be reflecting this in your:

• Titles, meta description tags, content

• The footer of your website that should list your complete NAP (name, address, phone)

• The Contact Us page of the site, which should again feature your complete NAP

So, yes, if you're in Sheboygan, do optimize the site so that it makes this clear, in a natural, non-spammy manner.

If you don't have a staffed, physical office in Sheboygan, that's another story.

Hope this helps!