SEO - Should you target the largest city near you or town?

[john1]

I live in a very small town and the biggest city is about 45-60 minutes away which is Baltimore (South) and Philly (North). Do you think it would be wise to optimize my website for searches in the largest city (pick one) near me or the local and surrounding towns?

Obviously my town has businesses and it would be great to serve those businesses but the nearest city has a ton more people with businesses. Just thought it would be a greater chance doing a big city near me.

Thanks for any advice on this.

 

[Hicalibersigns]

We are located in Plano, Texas. Dallas is adjacent. However, we also target Fort Worth (~35 miles). Why not? Business is business wherever you find it. You may have to take a few sheckles less due to longer travel times, but it is what it is.

 

[HulkSmash]

I live in a very small town and the biggest city is about 45-60 minutes away which is Baltimore (South) and Philly (North). Do you think it would be wise to optimize my website for searches in the largest city (pick one) near me or the local and surrounding towns?

Obviously my town has businesses and it would be great to serve those businesses but the nearest city has a ton more people with businesses. Just thought it would be a greater chance doing a big city near me.

Thanks for any advice on this.

you'd might consider moving closer to the one of the 2 bigger cities if you do indeed open up your own store front.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Not a bad idea but something to keep in mind. Although Baltimore and Philly are much larger and have a larger population, they also have much fiercer competition. You might compare the two cities to see which one would allow you to have a better foothold.

On the other hand, I believe in pig-headed determination and focus. Sometimes the smaller local town is the better option. If there is a hole, and you could become the BEST sign shop in your town, I would ABSOLUTELY head in that direction.

 

[signswi]

The answer is optimize for every town and district in your service area but to make sure your actual location is prominent for Google Local rankings reasons.

Complex topic but that's the simple answer.

 

[signworldusinc]

The answer is optimize for every town and district in your service area but to make sure your actual location is prominent for Google Local rankings reasons.

Complex topic but that's the simple answer.

I would do it for all of the nearest cities and improve your local presence. Make it worth while for the customers who are driving an hour to pick up their product though.

 

[john1]

Thanks guys, I am having a heck of a time figuring out how to do this since i have about 7 pages with various services for my local area.

I know how to do it it's just i am not sure how to display it the best way on my site for each area.

 

[signswi]

Hire a local search expert. Work on your business, not in it, and not in a skill area that isn't even in your business core.

 

[Gino]

What can you do for a city 50 mile away, that a local guy can't already take care of without any travel time invested ??

Why not just perfect what you do in your area and once you become known for doing top notch work, they will seek you out ??

You wanna be bothered traveling 45 minutes to get information for a quote and then get turned down because you're too expensive cause of all of your extra travel time ??

Heck, you could be traveling all week long doing quotes and not getting a single job. How's that doing any better than whacha got already ??

 

[Mosh]

Who wants to live in a big city? You can't shoot guns, pee in your yard, or ride around getting drunk on golf carts in big cities without gettin in trouble.

 

[Mike F]

You may have better luck with Baltimore, if you have any luck doing that at all. Between the absurd amount of shops in PA, NJ, and Philly itself (plus I'm sure there are plenty of lowballers with stolen equipment right over the bridge in Camden), you'd be hard pressed to find someone willing to pay the extra costs of dealing with a business so far away.

 

[john1]

Tiny update, Have gotten 1 job off it this week and 1 quote. Seems to be working decent so far.

 

[SD&F]

If you can be competitive with all the shops in the big city, then go for it. You will of course have to include shipping costs.

 

[jkdbjj]

John I haven't had time to follow up with you lately. However, it sounds like things are moving in the right direction. Did you end up implementing some of the strategies we discussed or are you working on some new things? Love to hear!

I'll check your site out again and see what else can be done.

 

[jkdbjj]

Just checked it out. Bravo, I looked at your vinyl banner page, and noticed you really took advantage of the url address.
I noticed the contact url is without a location, but just sign-company-contact. try getting the location in there.
The customer reviews page url and page title are without keyword info also.

Anyway, keep it up and good luck with everything!