• majorAlexa

        See all notifications

        Skip to content
        Moz logo Menu open Menu close
        • Products
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Pro Home
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Home
          • STAT
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Home
          • Compare SEO Products
          • Moz Data
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis
          • Keyword Explorer
          • Link Explorer
          • Competitive Research
          • MozBar
          • More Free SEO Tools
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO
          • SEO Learning Center
          • Moz Academy
          • MozCon
          • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers
          • Agency Solutions
          • Enterprise Solutions
          • Small Business Solutions
          • The Moz Story
          • New Releases
        • Log in
        • Log out
        • Products
          • Moz Pro

            Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

          • Moz Local

            Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

          • STAT

            SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

          • Moz API

            Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

          • Compare SEO Products

            See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

          • Moz Data

            Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

          Let your business shine with Listings AI
          Moz Local

          Let your business shine with Listings AI

          Learn more
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis

            Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

          • Keyword Explorer

            Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

          • Link Explorer

            Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

          • Competitive Research

            Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

          • MozBar

            See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

          • More Free SEO Tools

            Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

          NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
          Moz Pro

          NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

          Learn more
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO

            The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

          • SEO Learning Center

            Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

          • On-Demand Webinars

            Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

          • How-To Guides

            Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

          • Moz Academy

            Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

          • MozCon

            Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

          Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
          Moz API

          Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

          Find your plan
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers

            Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

          • Small Business Solutions

            Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

          • Agency Solutions

            Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

          • Enterprise Solutions

            Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

          • The Moz Story

            Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

          • New Releases

            Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

          Surface actionable competitive intel
          New Feature

          Surface actionable competitive intel

          Learn More
        • Log in
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Dashboard
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Dashboard
          • Moz Academy
        • Avatar
          • Moz Home
          • Notifications
          • Account & Billing
          • Manage Users
          • Community Profile
          • My Q&A
          • My Videos
          • Log Out

        The Moz Q&A Forum

        • Forum
        • Questions
        • My Q&A
        • Users
        • Ask the Community

        Welcome to the Q&A Forum

        Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

        1. Home
        2. SEO Tactics
        3. Keyword Research
        4. Include Location in Keywords?

        Moz Q&A is closed.

        After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

        Include Location in Keywords?

        Keyword Research
        6
        9
        14204
        Loading More Posts
        • Watching

          Notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread.

        • Not Watching

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread if category is not ignored.

        • Ignoring

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Do not show question in unread.

        • Oldest to Newest
        • Newest to Oldest
        • Most Votes
        Reply
        • Reply as question
        Locked
        This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
        • reidsteven75
          reidsteven75 last edited by

          I understand Google's local search automatically searches keywords with the location you are searching from.   For example if I'm searching from Calgary and query "best shoe repair", Google knows I'm searching from Calgary and presents Calgary based results.

          I'm using Google's new Keyword Planner tool which allows for city based search results, meaning I don't have to include "Calgary" in the keywords I submit.

          The question I have is should I be attaching "Calgary" to my keywords for on-page optimization, and why or why not?

          Any help would be greatly appreciated!

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • joony
            joony last edited by

            I just want to ask more questions regarding location in keywords.

            Can we treat these two keywords differently?

            "Calgary's best shoe repair" vs "best shoe repair in Calgary"

            or

            "Canadian shoe repair" vs "shoe repair in Canada"

            Searchers' intent is pretty much the same. but we should target two different keywords? if they are both popular?

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • MiriamEllis
              MiriamEllis Subject Expert last edited by

              Great discussion here with many excellent points covered by everyone who has responded. I will only add, because I think this is something that may come up frequently, Google's new Keyword Planner Tool only changes the way you might do keyword research - not the way you optimize a site. It is still vital to locally optimize the website. The only difference is that you hopefully now have more and better insight into important terms to include in your optimization.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • reidsteven75
                reidsteven75 @IXBrandSEO last edited by

                Great thanks a lot Paul!

                Those search volumes were just made up, although I did see something similar with my research.  Once I decide what I'm going to do I'll let you know what I've decided.

                Thanks again!

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • IXBrandSEO
                  IXBrandSEO last edited by

                  Thanks very much Steve!

                  I discussed this issue last week with my Google Engage advisor and she recommended focusing on "shoe repair" instead of "Calgary shoe repair" since we'd be targeting the Adwords campaign to a specific city.  My landing pages will be focused on my Houston equivalent of "shoe repair" and "Calgary shoe repair."

                  As an aside, it surprises me that "Calgary shoe repair" would have 1000 searches per month and "shoe repair" within Calgary would have only 750 searches.  The keyword planner is supposed to include mobile searches and you'd think that most people wouldn't include Calgary in the search phrase in a mobile device search -- they'd just key in "shoe repair" on the tablet or smart phone.  My impression is that search volumes Google publishes for "Calgary shoe repair" and "shoe repair" within Calgary are not exact and should be considered as kind of "order of magnitude" estimates of search volume.  Please let me know what you decide to do in your campaign and what results you see.

                  Thanks again,  Paul

                  reidsteven75 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • reidsteven75
                    reidsteven75 @IXBrandSEO last edited by

                    Hey Paul,

                    Thanks for the in depth response, that makes a lot of sense.  Perhaps you can answer my next question...

                    I've received monthly search volume from Google's Keyword Planner tool on a bunch of keywords.  With this tool I returned search volume within Calgary as a filter.  Some of these keywords include the word Calgary.  For example lets say I have two keywords that look promising...

                    • calgary shoe repair - 1000 searches / month , low competition
                    • shoe repair - 750 searches / month , low competition

                    Both of these search volumes only include searches in Calgary.  Am I correct in assuming I can choose both "calgary shoe repair" and "shoe repair" as two separate keywords?  Or would it be wise to only choose one of the two?

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • IXBrandSEO
                      IXBrandSEO last edited by

                      Hi Steve,

                      If I understand your question, yes you should include the use of the city name - Calgary - in your on-page optimization efforts.  You want to make it very clear to the search engines where your local business is located so you want your NAP: name, address, and phone number displayed in text prominently on multiple pages of your website.  You also want to make sure that the NAP you use on your site is consistent with the NAP information submitted to online business listings and local business directories like the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau.

                      For a local business, I'll always use a location keyword in the page titles and meta description tags.  However, in using any keywords on-page in text, Alt tags, and headings, you want to be judicious in avoiding overuse.  So in talking about shoe repair, I wouldn't attach "Calgary" to the keyword phrase "shoe repair" every time I used it.

                      Remember that Google and the other search engines associate a location with a search phrase by associating a location with the IP address used to originate the search.  In many cities with substantial suburban populations, that means that people located in the suburbs and looking for shoe repair in the suburbs will be counted in the city search volumes because their IP addresses are associated with the city.  So if your business is located in the suburbs, you might want to think of using location keywords for the major city and for your suburb location too.

                      I hope this helps!

                      reidsteven75 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • john4math
                        john4math last edited by

                        If you don't use the word "Calgary" on the page, how would Google know your website is related to Calgary for it's location-based results?  They have a location option in the keyword tool so you can see how much traffic that term has in Calgary, as well as the average CPC in Calgary, if you're planning on running an advertising campaign in Adwords.

                        As an aside, for Adwords you no longer have to include "Calgary" in your keywords if your campaign targets the location Calgary.  For your "best shoe repair" example, Adwords default location setting would show ads for "best show repair" for people searching that in Calgary, but also people searching for "Calgary best show repair" around the world.  There is a sub-setting to make it target only people physically in Calgary if you only want locals seeing the ad.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Squee
                          Squee last edited by

                          I would say yes, include your location in your on page text.

                          If I am searching for shoe repair I would most likely search "city shoe repair"

                          If your shoe repair shop does pop up and you have NOTHING about where you are actually located, I might go to the next site that has a location.

                          And location will just reinforce the location shoe repair that Google has already started on.It also would help if I am out of town and a bit lost, knowing exactly where this show place is without having to go to googlemaps or places or another map site...

                          Many times I actually use Yelp (Yelp always has address right easy to find, when websites hide their address)

                          It might not rank your location-shoe repair SERPS that much, but it SHOULD help your buyers conversion...

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • 1 / 1
                          • First post
                            Last post

                          Browse Questions

                          Explore more categories

                          • Moz Tools

                            Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                          • SEO Tactics

                            Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                          • Community

                            Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                          • Digital Marketing

                            Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                          • Research & Trends

                            Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                          • Support

                            Connect on product support and feature requests.

                          • See all categories

                          Related Questions

                          • Voucherstore 0

                            Choosing the right keywords when the products are similar

                            What keywords should I choose if I have 3 similar products, only the value differs?
                            It is recommended to use the same keyword, and change the value? Example: Product 1: $ 100 discount coupon
                            Keyword: $ 100 discount coupon Product 2: $ 75 discount coupon
                            Keyword:? Product 3: $ 50 discount coupon
                            Keyword:? Any advice? Thank you, Sergio K.

                            Keyword Research | | Voucherstore 0
                            0
                          • Gabijaurbs

                            Keywords problems

                            Hello,
                            I am having a problem while I am searching for keywords - it just says "Getting serp analysis failed. Please retry your search or refresh this page" on all browsers I try it on. Hard reloaded too and still not working. Could you help me with this?
                            Best regards, Gabija

                            Keyword Research | | Gabijaurbs
                            0
                          • daimon67

                            Long tail keyword research

                            Hi guys, what is the best practice to find the long tail keywords, like Google Instant Suggestion, people also search, or moz keyword explorer I have experienced a lot in MOZ pro Keyword Planner, but now I want to know easiest way to find long tail keywords for my website olehana Makeup, still I'm using just 3 keyword that I already ranked in Google SERP top 3 positions now I also want that some long tail keywords also gets ranked.

                            Keyword Research | | daimon67
                            0
                          • aplnzmarch18

                            Paid vs Organic Keyword Optimisation

                            Hi Im wondering whether I should optimise my site with Organic search terms that drive traffic to the site or the paid terms i use in Google search ads?

                            Keyword Research | | aplnzmarch18
                            0
                          • Jseddon92

                            Multilingual keyword research

                            Does anyone have any experience in multilingual SEO? We are looking for software that conducts research for GEO Locations such as UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan & India. Writing content for each of these countries is difficult unless we speak their language, we could look at outsourcing the translation but conducting keyword research for each location is almost impossible.

                            Keyword Research | | Jseddon92
                            0
                          • Kingalan1

                            Setting Up a Keyword Matrix

                            Greetings MOZ community!! My real estate web site contains about 500 pages with perhaps 70 pages targeting low volume, somewhat valuable but not very competitive keywords. Three to four URLs target very competitive terms. The following  terms are among the most valuable: New York City office space,
                            New York office space,
                            Manhattan office space,
                            NYC office space Such variants as: Office space in New York City,
                            Office space in New York,
                            Office space in Manhattan,
                            Office space in NYC
                            ETCETERA convert really well How would I match different terms to different URLs? For example I have just re-written the following two critical URLs: www.nyc-officespace-leader.com (home page)
                            http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/commercial-space/office-space (product page) Would it make sense to use "Manhattan office space" and variants on the home page while excluding "New York City office space" variants? At the same time I would use "New York City office space" variants on the "office-space" product page while excluding all mention of "Manhattan office space". Is this logical and does it conform to SEO best practices? For the "NYC office space" terms I would add them to http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/listings. This URL has almost no text but a strong potential to rent because of a high number of incoming internal links. Is this approach sensible? In general what measures should I take to prevent URLs from competing for the same keywords? Also, is there a software package or tools that I can use to come up with keyword variants? As a non SEO professional, can I create my own keyword matrix or is this really in the realm of a professional SEO consultant? Thanks, Alan

                            Keyword Research | | Kingalan1
                            0
                          • IrishTimes

                            Keyword Moderator List

                            Hi Moz Community, I'm wondering if anyone has a comprehensive list of keyword moderators that they could share? For example: online
                            buy [keyword] online
                            cheap
                            cheapest
                            best
                            top
                            free
                            [country name]
                            [area name]
                            store
                            shop
                            purchase etc... I always find that it's useful to run [keyword + moderator] for search volumes as it sometimes uncovers some exact match surprises that you may not have thought of. Thanks everyone! Gavin

                            Keyword Research | | IrishTimes
                            1
                          • ACann

                            Should we change our site domain name to include our keyword?

                            Our niche has one keyword phrase that is much, much more active than any other comparable phrase. Let's call that phrase "math problems". Within this phrase, the "math" is absolutely the most important keyword, as it is also used in every spin-off search phrase, like "math answers", "math practice", etc. We've had our domain since 1996, and is currently the company name - "Rocketproblems.com". Over the last year (2010-2011) our SERPs have steadily dropped to the point where we're not getting a sustainable level of business from organic search, whereas in 2009 we were doing fantastic. However, we've also had "Rocketmathproblems.com" since about 2000, just gathering dust. What I've noticed from the top search results is that nearly every domain has either "math" or "math problems" in its URL. Do you think it's worth it to switch to the keyword-rich URL? It is a bit more verbose, and the "Rocketmathproblems.com" v.s. "Rocketproblems.com" example perfectly captures the different feeling. My inclination is that SEO is only becoming more competitive, and if we aren't getting worthwhile business from organic search at the moment then we should bite the bullet and make the switch for the future, along with ramping up our content generation. However, I also noticed that in late 2009 a previous webmaster switched to "Rogermath.com" but switched back within a month when our SERP for the key phrase was a page lower - I gleaned this from a Moz Juicy Keywords Report :). Thoughts?

                            Keyword Research | | ACann
                            0

                          Get started with Moz Pro!

                          Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                          Start my free trial
                          Products
                          • Moz Pro
                          • Moz Local
                          • Moz API
                          • Moz Data
                          • STAT
                          • Product Updates
                          Moz Solutions
                          • SMB Solutions
                          • Agency Solutions
                          • Enterprise Solutions
                          • Digital Marketers
                          Free SEO Tools
                          • Domain Authority Checker
                          • Link Explorer
                          • Keyword Explorer
                          • Competitive Research
                          • Brand Authority Checker
                          • Local Citation Checker
                          • MozBar Extension
                          • MozCast
                          Resources
                          • Blog
                          • SEO Learning Center
                          • Help Hub
                          • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                          • How-to Guides
                          • Moz Academy
                          • API Docs
                          About Moz
                          • About
                          • Team
                          • Careers
                          • Contact
                          Why Moz
                          • Case Studies
                          • Testimonials
                          Get Involved
                          • Become an Affiliate
                          • MozCon
                          • Webinars
                          • Practical Marketer Series
                          • MozPod
                          Connect with us

                          Contact the Help team

                          Join our newsletter
                          Moz logo
                          © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                          • Accessibility
                          • Terms of Use
                          • Privacy

                          Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.