The last two years have brought countless changes to the way that Google does business, which has made internet marketing much different. Panda and Penguin, which were changes to the algorithm used by Google to determine search engine rankings, caused problems for many websites, as they had to restructure their SEO strategies.
Today, however, Google focuses greatly on local advertising by evaluating your location and search history to give you the most relevant results. Therefore, it is important that those using search engine optimization develop a strategy that focuses on certain locations if they want to reach consumers.
Custom Google Results
The Google changes provide each user with a set of custom results for a search phrase. Therefore, if a person in New York and a person in Los Angeles both search for baseball gloves, each of them will receive different results. Google wants to provide each individual with local results first, so the person in New York will be presented with local retailers that sell baseball gloves.
The Problem with Custom Results
These custom results have made life difficult for some involved with internet marketing, since it is harder to advertise nationally with a single piece of content. Previously, if you had an article written about your store that sells baseball gloves and the search engines ranked it highly, the article would appear to people all over the country. Today, however, this article is unlikely to rank highly unless it is about a specific a city.
The Benefit of Customization
At the same time, this is good news for those who want to attract local customers, since Google does much of the work for you. Your reaction to these Google changes depends largely on your target audience and the goals of your business.
Google Adwords
This change can also have an influence on Google Adwords advertising, as the ads that are presented to a consumer are more likely to be localized. Therefore, when choosing the words associated with your Google Adwords advertising campaign, it is a good idea to include the names of individual cities.
One problem is that those searching for your city will often come across your advertising, which can lead to a waste of money if you are using a PPC campaign. For example, if an individual searches for Los Angeles baseball, your website that is advertising Los Angeles baseball gloves could come up. If the customer clicks on your link, it could cost you money, even though he or she has no interest in your gloves.
Luckily, Google Adwords advertising offers the chance to advertise to those in your targeted location exclusively. This cuts down on wasted clicks and can minimize the amount of money spent on this campaign.
Coming up with a Plan
Overall, it is easy to come up with a Google Adwords advertising plan once you have set your business goals. Those looking to advertise a local brick and mortar location in their city will love these changes and can use Google Adwords successfully by limiting their target audience. Those who are looking to reach consumers all over the country will run into additional problems, however, as they will need to develop specialized content for every area in which they wish to advertise.
Featured images: License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MH900422299.jpg
Virginia B. Lauritsen is a blogger and webpreneur who uses Google AdWords to attract more visitors to her website.