Local websites have an advantage over larger sites in the sense they only compete locally, and therefore are only in competition with other local businesses for top keyword positions. Here are a few rules of thumb to live by when conducting localized keyword research:

• Select a only few keywords to focus on when starting optimization. The goal is to find one or two keywords that will represent your entire website and draw customers. The more keywords a SEO strategy pursues the more work you will be creating, and in the short run it will be harder to see results from SEO. Take baby steps, and make the final list of keywords for optimization a short one.

• Choose keywords based on the competition, keyword research tools, analytics, search results, and search engine recommended phrases. That is a lot to consider, but ultimately the keywords selected for optimization will create a SEO finish line and the only way to cross is by achieving top ranking. Take time to objectively examine several keywords in-depth before selecting a few for optimization. This can save a lot of resources in the future. Later posts will discuss exactly how to measure keyword challenges and potential.
   
• Avoid optimizing for too broad of phrase, or locations that don’t make sense for your business. For instance, if I own a bike shop in Valencia, CA my business may not truly benefit by optimizing for “Los Angeles bike shops.” LA is simply too large, and someone searching within Valencia might not find the shop versus someone in LA not wanting to drive all the way to Valencia. Keep in mind, plenty of searchers are becoming more specific with location based search, meaning even if you operate in a less known neighborhood chances are strong someone is searching.