Local Search for International SEO
Local search is a great way to get you noticed. In the US, local search is big business (and it even just recently had its own SEO convention in California). To find products and services near you, it’s handy to be able to type in a search like “carpet cleaning Minneapolis” or “bakery supplies Chicago.” Google and Yahoo! both bring up maps in their search results showing the locations of local businesses with those services near me.
But can local search be effective for an international market? Yes! Local search abroad isn’t as advanced as what we’re used to in the US, but there’s no harm in implementing good, local search techniques if you’re able to. Before I talk about those techniques, here’s quick look at some local searches I did for bakery equipment and supplies in Paris.
I used two different search terms, fournitures boulangerie paris and equipement boulangerie paris, in three search engines, Google France, Yahoo! France, and Voila. I chose a big city like Paris, because it’s sure to have those industries. Also, in France, how would all that delicious bread get made without the suppliers to back up the bakers?
Let’s start with Yahoo! France. With fournitures boulangerie paris, I immediately a got a local search box at the top of the search results.
Yahoo! France local search results for Paris
Unfortunately, the search results seemed less towards bakery supplies and more about bakeries listed. But the local box did link me to fr.local.yahoo.com, which is the local search for Yahoo! France. Unfortunately, this didn’t give me any results for the term. I had better luck with “equipement boulangerie paris.” This time, I got results showing locations of equipment suppliers and also the industry union. The local search page gave me almost 60 results, all seemingly relevant at a quick glance.
In Voila, I had my best luck with “equipement boulangerie paris,” telling me that this was probably the best term to use for this particular industry in France. Voila, at the top of the results, asked me if I wanted to use their local search feature. It didn’t give me a map right away, but made it easy to use local search and directing me to their 118712 service.
Voila Local Search Results for Paris
You’ll notice that this is in beta, so Voila is just beginning to branch out into this feature. Using their local search pages, I got a very nice map with several good results on it. It seems that Voila is really trying to move on their 118712 product, which is their local business and people search. The simple interface may also be handy for mobile phones, enabling mobile search as well.
Google.fr was not quite as helpful in local search this time around. The initial search results page gave me a map with few possibilities in Paris, and the regular results seemed fairly relevant. However, on the maps page, when trying to find more results in the city, Google seemed to drop the ball. Most of the results I got were outside of Paris itself, mostly in surrounding suburbs and nearby towns.
Google France Local Search Results
Google France Local Search Map
So, although local search at the moment isn’t as advanced or detailed as it is in the US, it’s still helpful. Yahoo! France and Voila had the best results with the most relevant suggestions and better identification of locations within Paris. Google was just OK this time around.
So, how can you get in early on the budding local search abroad? Make use of the same good SEO that you do for local search in the US. On your website, put your local address down, so it’s easy for visitors to see and easy for search engines to read. Make sure you spell out all location names as well. Sign up with the relevant local business listings. Tell Google, Yahoo!, and other search engines that you’re there and want to be found. For Voila, they’ve partnered with Kompass.fr. It’s a business to business directory for France.
The bottom line? Local search is beginning to grow abroad, so take advantage of it early. There’s also nothing to be lost by putting your locations, addresses, and business in search listings. Thinking locally will help you sell globally.
