Keywords optimize blog content for businesses in any industry. Local keywords are an essential niche that’s easy to forget. Some of the best advice I give to my clients is to add blog content that uses them. Learn more about how they net a larger audience and make your website more competitive.

Scrabble letters spell out the word Blog on a wooden table.

What Are Local Keywords?

Local keywords are words or phrases that incorporate your business’s location. They specifically help people close to your place of work find your services. Although national and international keywords help your content find readers anywhere, local keywords expand your local customer base, which helps businesses in numerous ways.

Benefits of Using Local Keywords In Your Content

They Increase Your Visibility

Local keywords attract more nearby traffic to your site based on what your target audience is searching for. A photographer in Charlotte, North Carolina, who wants to work closer to home might change their future blog content for a geographically closer audience. Instead of choosing “best wedding portrait poses” for an article, they might choose “best places for wedding pictures in Charlotte, NC.”

They Get Your Business More Relevant Traffic

Every business owner has unique goals that change throughout their careers. A local health clinic in Boise, Idaho, that serves primarily retirees might decide to increase its revenue by attracting families that live nearby. Local families would find the clinic’s website if it tailored its content marketing plan to keywords like “how to keep your kids healthy during Boise flu season” or “Boise flu shots for school year.”

They Make Your Brand More Competitive

Your competitors might target similar keywords if you’re working with the same audience. However, they might not use both local and wide-reaching keywords. Experts estimate that 46% of Google searches are local. If you’re the only business in your niche using local keywords, you’ll capitalize on those searches while your competitors miss out on them.

A person points a finger at the word Analytics, which is spelled out in block letters. A row of colored pencils in different hues are lined up unevenly beneath the word.

Examples of Local Keywords by Industry

Not all local keywords are created equal. An expert copywriter will know how to find relevant keywords for your business, but those might be difficult to picture if you’re new to optimized content. Here are a few examples of local keywords that work well in the industries I write for:

Health Industry

Fitness Centers: “Best gym in Miami” or “24-hour fitness in Dallas”
Holistic Coaches: “Wellness coach near Portland” or “health retreats in Sedona”
Medical Professionals: “Pediatrician in Charlotte” or “physical therapy clinic in Denver”

Wedding Industry

Venues: “Outdoor wedding venues in Asheville” or “banquet hall in Las Vegas”
Planners: “Destination wedding planner in NYC” or “day-of coordinator near Houston”
Photographers: “Elopement photographer in Seattle” or “best engagement photography in Atlanta”

Wellness Industry

Yoga and Pilates: “Hot yoga studio in Boston” or “private pilates lessons in San Francisco”
Nutritionists: “Registered dietitian in Chicago” or “meal plans near Phoenix”
Massage Therapy: “Prenatal massage in Orlando” or “deep tissue massage near me”

A page of google results for child care services appears on a blurry Macbook that sits on a wooden table. The results target local keywords.

How to Find the Best Local Keywords

Finding the best keywords for your site requires SEO research based on site data, competitor content, trending topics and other factors. That’s why expert copywriters provide multiple packages to interested business owners. Long-term content that doesn’t include these services won’t deliver the results you’re looking for because it’s not tracking every influencing variable.

The good news is that local keywords are much simpler to choose. These are some steps you can take to figure out which phrases should be the center of your future content.

1. Pretend You’re Your Target Audience

Ask yourself—what are your customers thinking? What would someone type into Google to find your business? They’ll likely google your type of business plus your town (“primary care physician, Houston, TX”) or your services and location (“wedding officiant for interfaith couples, Boston, MA”).

2. Utilize Free Keyword Research Tools

Use the keyword research tools at your disposal. Google Keyword Planner is more for people interested in making ads but can give you a list of keywords that are at least relevant to your audience. Moz Keyword Explorer is also free and provides keyword insights if you know how to read them.

3. See What Your Competitors Are Publishing

Visit your competitors’ websites. Browse their blogs and figure out what keywords they’re choosing based on what phrases are in the titles and introductory paragraphs. This can feel more tricky than the first two steps if you don’t know where keywords go in blog posts, but they’re always at least in the title and used once in every introduction.

Use Local Keywords More Effectively—Starting Today

Now that you know what local keywords are, you can start using them as part of your content marketing strategy. Whether you’re helping people on wellness journeys, couples planning their weddings or serving patients in a medical office, local SEO will expand your consumer base online.

I’m here to help if you have any questions! Reach out through my contact page to ask what’s on your mind in a free consult call. We’ll figure out what’s not working with your current SEO strategies and plan a better path forward for your unique needs.

What Are Local Keywords?