SEO is a proven marketing channel that is effective irrespective of niche or industry. The demand for SEO services is enormous and the industry has matured and adapted to a meet a diverse set challenges. From Mom and Pop businesses to Fortune 100 companies everyone recognizes the value of top search engine rankings and wants a piece of the action. But, just like any other industry, the online competition amongst SEO companies is growing exponentially.

Rather than target broad terms like ‘Search Engine Optimization' which attracts more than its fair share if tire kickers, savvy SEOs are targeting highly focused terms that focus on quality rather than quantity. In my experience people will search for an SEO company according to:

• The location of the SEO
• Their requirement for SEO specific service
• Proven marketing expertise within an Industry or niche

Location, Location, Location

Considering that over 50% of all online searches are local in nature it would be crass foolishness to ignore your local market. I am an SEO, I am Scottish and I enjoy raising the visibility of Scottish companies online. It did not take me long to discover that my local audience tagged Scotland onto many searches, SEO Scotland, SEO Services Scotland and SEO Company Scotland for example. I know this search trend is not limited to Scotland.

A requirement for SEO specific service

Anyone who has taken time to research SEO or has worked with SEO Company in the past may already have a good idea as to what needs to be done to their site. This will result in searches for specific services like link building, copywriting or multilingual SEO. This could result in searches like ‘SEO Copywriting Services' which could also contain location ‘SEO Copywriting Services Scotland'.

Proven marketing expertise within an Industry or niche

A few SEOs have worked hard to positioned themselves as experts within a specific vertical or niche. This type of SEO can offer a tailored service based on their understanding of SEO coupled with their expertise and understanding of specific markets. Searching on Google for ‘Real Estate SEO' will give you a list of SEOs specializing in that field. Normally, the companies this type of SEOs works with are local by nature. A real estate company in Madison, Wisconsin should not see a conflict of interest if the same SEO has Real Estate client in Denver Colorado.

If you are looking for an SEO that has expertise within your industry you may have to look further afield than your city or even country.

The final Mix

While location may be important to some it may be a secondary consideration to others. Ultimately, it's the inner conversation of the searcher, their progress through the buying cycle and their understanding of their requirements that frame the exact keyphrases they type into search engines.

This article has been written in answer to a question by Craig P. Gill and is written from the perspective of an SEO.

SEO Scotland: Promoting business online with professionalism and integrity.