Many web sites use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to promote themselves to a national or worldwide audience. However, some sites really only need to target a local audience; examples include the web sites of a single hardware store, a local internet service provider, or a small book shop. In these situations, localizing SEO is a better option; this way, the site only needs to focus upon improving its rankings for locally-oriented searches.

Part of localizing SEO is to determine the different keywords and phrases people use to search for local businesses or content. For example, people looking up information about computer repair services in Portland, Oregon might search for “Computer repair Portland Oregon”, “computer repair portland OR”, or “PC repair Portland, Oregon”. Because there is another major city called Portland, searchers often put “Oregon” in their queries, whereas people in cities like Atlanta or Seattle are less likely to include the state name.

People also sometimes use zip codes when localizing their searches, particularly when looking for weather information and businesses in a specific area. The actual popularity of different search queries can be researched using online SEO tools like Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery, although such statistics are subject to change and do not cover all search engines. The web site should then use one or more of these phrases (or single SEO based keywords) in its text, META tags, URLs, and page titles.

Localizing SEO also includes the acquisition of links on other local web sites, preferably about related subjects. For example, a local TV antenna and satellite store would benefit from gaining a link on a site which offers TV listings for the same area. Obtaining links in local web directories is beneficial as well, particularly the business directories found on some city/town government sites. Many national and international web directories feature regional categories, including the major directory DMOZ.org.

It is also best if the inbound link titles (or “anchor text”) include words aimed at localizing the site’s promotion. For example, it would be better for SEO purposes if a movie rental business in Lincoln, Nebraska gained a link titled “Video Rental in Lincoln NE” than “Local Movie Rental Business”. It isn’t always possible to decide the titles of inbound links, and poorly-titled links still have value. However, localizing the site’s homepage title is esp. important to SEO, as these titles are often used by other sites when creating links.

Getting your web site listed on directories can be good for search engine optimization (SEO), while increasing direct traffic at the same time. However, not all directories are SEO friendly. When you need to determine if a site can be used for this purpose, please refer to the following SEO Friendly Directory Checklist:

- Do the directory’s links go directly to web sites? Look at one of the categories and see if (point at a link while looking at the status bar) the links go to a redirection/tracking page or directly to the sites they refer to. Directories with direct links are SEO friendly, as search engines can easily identify these links and their destination.

- Does the directory have a Google PageRank level of at least one? You can check this by entering its URL in a web site like checkpr.org. Directories with no/zero PageRank are either too new/obscure to affect SEO, or have been penalized by Google for allowing too much “link spam”. Be careful not to use “FFA” link sites or directories full of miscategorized pages.

- Are web site names used as the titles (anchor text) for links? It is more SEO friendly when directories use the title (or other relevant words) in the text of their links, rather than using a URL, an image, or a generic phrase like “Click Here”. However, gaining links with less desirable anchor text still benefits SEO efforts, just not as much.

- Does the directory not require a reciprocal link? Some directories demand a reciprocal link in return for approval, while others make it optional or don’t ask for it. It is better to gain listings on directories that don’t require reciprocal linking; generally, one-way inbound links to your web site provide greater SEO benefits.

- Is it possible for search engine “spiders” (a.k.a. “robots”) to navigate/crawl the directory and find your link? The majority of directories are search spider friendly. However, if the site can only be navigated using animated/javascript menus (and there is no alternative method like a Site Map), this could be a problem.

There are far too many SEO friendly directories to list here, but they include Yahoo! Directory, URLdirectory.org, DMOZ.org, WebWorldIndex.com, and FreeWebsiteDirectory.com. It is especially important to be listed on DMOZ.org; not only does DMOZ/ODP have an impact upon SEO, but it also provides some of the results for many small search engines.

Social bookmarking, including systems like Reddit and Digg, notably affects SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in a few different ways. Social bookmarking links can help determine which SEO keywords a web page shows up under, increase its Google PageRank, and/or make it appear in search results more quickly.

As a link receives additional votes in its favor, it will appear on more prominent pages of the social bookmarking service. This affects SEO more significantly, while producing an increase in direct traffic. Many web site operators have added links or icons to social bookmarking services at the beginning or end of each web page, thus encouraging their visitors to bookmark the pages.

When search engine “spiders” detect a link, its wording (”anchor text”) affects their identification of the content on the page it links to. Then the linked page becomes more likely to show up in search results for those words or phrases. This is why an inbound link with a vague anchor text phrase like “Amazing New Product” affects SEO less favorably than more descriptive links do.

For example, a social bookmarking link titled “New Operating System Released” would make the page it is linked to more likely to show up in search results for each of these four words. Thus, the more relevant and searchable the words in the link, the more useful it is for SEO purposes.

Most social bookmarking services are classified into categories or “tags”. Links on web pages with related content usually provide more SEO benefits, so the same is likely true for social bookmarking links which are grouped with other links on similar topics. Thus it is probably best to choose “tags” which are relevant, but not obscure.

A difference between social bookmarking and using a search engine is that people generally use search engines to find specific things they are looking for, while a social bookmarking system is more often used to explore new information they might be interested in. It is somewhat like the difference between advertising in the yellow pages and posting an advertisement on a laundromat’s bulletin board.

Basically, social bookmarking affects SEO in the same way that inbound links on other web sites do, but is different in that anyone can post or vote on these links. Their position is also more subject to change than most other links, and new content is generally favored over older material.

There has been a lot of discussion regarding domain names with keyword rich text and some of you may be wondering how important it really is. The number one benefit to having keywords in your domain name is that the anchor text in links is one of the strongest SEO factors.

This may not seem to make sense, but think about this, when people link to your site from theirs they’ll most likely use your domain name as the anchor text. If your domain name has one of your keywords in it, then your keyword becomes part of the anchor text by default. This helps your site rank higher for that particular keyword as search engines will associate your site with that keyword.

Remember though, it is important that your domain name needs to have a clear relationship with your website or this rule will not apply. Maybe it will initially, but the search engines are smart enough to catch on quickly. And then, they’ll punish your site.

Beyond that, many SEO people believe that having an exact match of keywords people are searching for in your domain name will raise your rankings for that specific keyword. This is because Google gives these sites an algorithmic relevancy boost. Also exact match domains are easier to get the Google site links under the listing of your domain name. This helps block your competition and give you more real estate on the page.

With all of that in mind you still remember what a good domain is. It needs to be memorable, easy to say and spell and descriptive. If you can’t get a domain name that meets these criteria and is keyword rich, then leave the keyword rich domains behind. After all, you’re building a site to attract customers that purchase products or join mailing lists. If you do that successfully the search engines will recognize your site and give it the ranking it deserves.

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Links from one website to another usually have anchor text, unless they are links in the form of images. Anchor text consists of the word(s) which are visible and have to be clicked on to use the links. There are a variety of ways to use anchor text which work, but some offer more benefits than others.

When you use correct methods of creating anchor text links, it can make your web pages shorter (which makes them load faster and use less bandwidth) and have search engine optimization benefits. If you are linking to another web site/page you own or receive income from, using a descriptive anchor text phrase may improve the ranking in search results of the page you are linking to. Even if you receive no benefit from people visiting the other website, using correct and descriptive link text will help search engines provide users with more relevant results. Applying correct anchor link wording also helps visually-impaired people use the website more easily.

Websites often use phrases such as “To visit Burlington Vermont’s website, click here”, with “click here” as the anchor text for the link. A more correct way to do this would be to simply have a link with the anchor text “Burlington, Vermont.” This isn’t as long, and will have the above-mentioned effect on search results. Thus, after search engines have found this link, people will be more likely to see the Burlington, VT city website in results from searching for “Burlington, Vermont.” It is also more convenient for visually-impaired people using software which reads the web page to them, as the link destinations can be more easily identified. However, you should be careful not to have any other words on the same page which look like links (underlined and a different color than the rest of the words).

Full or partial URL addresses are also sometimes used as anchor text. This eliminates the above-mentioned search engine benefits, is usually longer than other forms of links, and is generally unnecessary because people can already see the URL by moving their mouse cursors over the links. One exception where an address as the text is more correct involves links to e-mail addresses. Not everyone uses software based e-mail programs (others use web-based systems like Yahoo! Mail), so it is more convenient to make available both the actual e-mail address and a link to it. As for references to competitors’ websites or sites you disapprove of, it is better not to create links to them at all, as it will only help such websites by improving their search rank.

Keeping these recommendations in mind should help you use anchor text links in a more correct manner, both making your website easier to use and providing search engine optimization benefits.