This document discusses geo-targeted SEO strategies for online retailers. It begins by defining geo-targeted SEO and distinguishing it from standard local and international SEO approaches. It then covers specific ranking factors and tactics for geo-targeted SEO, including on-page optimization with location-specific keywords and structured data, links from locally relevant sites, consistent business listings, and tailored local content. Examples from Grubhub demonstrate how these techniques have helped rank their local landing pages. The document emphasizes that geo-targeting requires dedicated approaches for each location to improve search visibility and conversions for target audiences.

1. Geo-Targeted SEO for the Online Retailer
Benj Arriola & Clara Li

2. Benj Arriola
Spoken at 46
conferences in
4 different
countries, 20
cities since
2007.
Won major prizes
in 7 international
SEO competitions
from 2005 to 2009
that include cash
and a brand new
car!

3. Clara Li
5+ Years in SEO and digital
marketing, currently working as
SEO product manager at
Grubhub
Experience with agency and in-
house, from startup sites to
enterprise with millions of pages

4. What is Geo-Target SEO
SEO
Search Engine
Optimization
Strategies and tactics
involved in the
improvement of sales
and conversions
coming from organic
search traffic.
Geo-Targeted SEO
Local SEO &
International SEO
SEO strategies and
tactics to further
improve sales and
conversions from the
localized search
results of search
engines.

5. International SEO
Google.com Google.ca
• Shopping
• Paid Search Ads
• Organic Search
• Map Results
• Image Results
• Related Words
Example search query: Laptop Bag

6. International SEO
Example search query: Laptop Bag
Google.com Google.ca
• Organic Search

7.  Organic Search
International SEO / Multilingual SEOInternational SEO
Google.com Google.caGoogle.it
Example search query: Laptop BagExample search query: Laptop Bag / Borsa del Portatile

8. Google.it
International SEO / Multilingual SEOLocal SEO
Google.com in ChicagoGoogle.comGoogle.com in San Diego
• Organic Search
• Map Results
Example search query: Laptop Bag / Borsa del PortatileExample search query: Laptop Bag

9. Grubhub Local SEO
Grubhub ranks #1 for “food delivery” in NYC Grubhub’s “order” link in Google’s local results
Paid Search Results
#1

10. Why Geo-Target Search Results?
Better Ranking
Rank higher in the location
of your target audience
Better User Targeting
Show better results to your
target audience
Better ROI
Higher organic click through
rates (CTR)
More CTR giving more
traffic
More traffic leading to more
conversions

11. Grubhub’s Local SEO Benefits
Create customized content
on local landing pages,
leading to a better
conversion rate
Local landing pages rank
higher than homepage in
some markets
Multiple local landing pages
take more space in SERPs

12. SEO
On-Page
Server Settings
& Code
Content
Off-Page Links
SEO Diagnostics
Content Marketing
Foundational
Continuous
Difference of Plain SEO vs. Geo-Targeted SEO
SEO Overview
Not Just Links:
• Map Submissions
• Local Citations
• Reviews and Ratings
• Geo-Targeted Links
Server Settings & Code:
• IP Address/Hosting
• ccTLDs
• Language Tags
• Hreflang Tags
• Address Tag
• Schema Structure Data
• Tap to Dial Phone Numbers
Content:
• NAP Information
• Geo-Targeted Keywords
• Translated Content
• Localized Content
• Duplicate Content Fixes

13. Source: Moz
https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
Moz Local Search Ranking Factors (2017)

14. Moz Local Search Ranking Factors (2017)
Local SEO Ranking Factor Organic Search Local Maps Average
Link Signals 29% 17% 23%
On-Page Signals 24% 14% 19%
My Business Signals 7% 19% 13%
Citation Signals 8% 13% 11%
Behavioral Signals 11% 10% 11%
Review Signals 7% 13% 10%
Personalization 9% 10% 10%
Social Signals 4% 4% 4%
Source: Moz
https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

15. Moz Local Search Ranking Factors (2017)
Local SEO Ranking Factor Organic Search Local Maps Average
Link Signals 29% 17% 23%
On-Page Signals 24% 14% 19%
My Business Signals 7% 19% 13%
Citation Signals 8% 13% 11%
Behavioral Signals 11% 10% 11%
Review Signals 7% 13% 10%
Personalization 9% 10% 10%
Social Signals 4% 4% 4%
Source: Moz
https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
Local SEO Ranking Factor Organic Search Local Maps Average
Link Signals 29% 17% 23%
On-Page Signals 24% 14% 19%
My Business Signals 7% 19% 13%
Citation Signals 8% 13% 11%
Behavioral Signals 11% 10% 11%
Review Signals 7% 13% 10%
Personalization 9% 10% 10%
Social Signals 4% 4% 4%
Prioritize working on
ranking factors that
give a larger impact on
local search with the
least amount of effort.
Local SEO Ranking Factor
ContentCreativeDeveloper
OutreachResearchSign
UpProm
otion
Total General Task
Link Signals 5 5 2 5 4 1 5 27 Content Marketing
Social Signals 1 1 1 5 5 0 5 18 Content Marketing
Review Signals 0 0 0 3 2 5 4 14 Local Map Submissions / Optimization
Behavioral Signals 5 3 2 0 2 0 0 12 Standard SEO
On-Page Signals 2 2 5 0 1 0 0 10 Standard SEO
Personalization 1 1 1 1 0 0 5 9 Content Marketing
My Business Signals 1 0 0 1 1 5 1 9 Local Map Submissions / Optimization
Citation Signals 1 0 0 1 1 5 1 9 Local Map Submissions / Optimization
General Task Effort Impact
Content Marketing
Local Map Submissions / Optimization
Standard SEO

16. 1. Link Signals
General SEO
Link Quantity
Link Quality
Natural vs. Artificial
Penguin Update
Earned Links
Content Marketing / Inbound
Marketing / Viral Marketing / Influence
Marketing / Link Baiting
http://bit.ly/ContentMarketingStrategyToExecution
Geo-Targeted SEO
Content marketing targeted to
influence websites that belong to
the same geographic target
audience to link to your website.
http://bit.ly/MultiLingualContentMarketing

17. 2. On-Page Signals
General SEO
Keyword Research
Use the Keywords
Title Tag
Meta Description
Heading Tags
Main Content
Image Alt Text
Anchor Text
Site Architecture &
Content Hierarchy
Structured Data
Panda Update
Good Quality
Avoid Duplicate
Content
Avoid Thin
Content
Geo-Targeted SEO
Geo-Targeted Keywords
Caution: Do not over do it.
 Site Architecture
 Dedicated Site or Page per Location
 International Offices
 Local Offices
 No Offices Customers Visit
 Structured Data
 Use of all mailing address related schema.org
structured data
 Use the <address> tag
 Panda Update
 2 or more locations may end up with duplicate
content. Make sure this does not happen.
 Use hreflang tags for international websites.
Chicago was used in the:
 Title Tag
 Meta Description
 Heading Tags
 Main Content
 Anchor Text

18. Grubhub’s Local Landing Pages
Local keywords in on-page
elements
Browser geo location
prompting for address
Internal links to
nearby cities
Structure data for
Google local
business cards

19. 2. On-Page Signals
General SEO
Keyword Research
Use the Keywords
Title Tag
Meta Description
Heading Tags
Main Content
Image Alt Text
Anchor Text
Site Architecture &
Content Hierarchy
Structured Data
Panda Update
Good Quality
Avoid Duplicate
Content
Avoid Thin
Content
Geo-Targeted SEO
Geo-Targeted Keywords
Caution: Do not over do it.
Site Architecture
Dedicated Site or Page per Location
International Offices
Local Offices
No Offices Customers Visit
• Structured Data
• Use of all mailing address related schema.org
structured data
• Use the <address> tag
• Panda Update
• 2 or more locations may end up with duplicate
content. Make sure this does not happen.
• Use hreflang tags for international websites.

20. 2. On-Page Signals
General SEO
Keyword Research
Use the Keywords
Title Tag
Meta Description
Heading Tags
Main Content
Image Alt Text
Anchor Text
Site Architecture &
Content Hierarchy
Structured Data
Panda Update
Good Quality
Avoid Duplicate
Content
Avoid Thin
Content
Geo-Targeted SEO
Geo-Targeted Keywords
Caution: Do not over do it.
Site Architecture
Dedicated Site or Page per Location
International Offices
Local Offices
No Offices Customers Visit
Structured Data
Use of all mailing address related schema.org
structured data http://schema.org/address
Use the <address> tag
Panda Update
2 or more locations may end up with duplicate
content. Make sure this does not happen.
Use hreflang tags for international websites.
https://www.boostability.com/8-ways-multi-location-businesses-can-diversify-local-seo-pages
Leverage data & automation when dealing with
hundreds to thousands of business locations.
Thin
Content
Duplicate
Content

21. Single Business Location, Selling Local
Physical Address on Every Page
Commonly
placed on the
footer, but it can
be anywhere
appropriate.
Enclose the
address in an
<address> tag
and use
schema.org
markup.

22. Multiple Local Business Locations, Selling at Every Location
Dedicated Page/Site Per Location
Created pages dedicated
to business locations.
Too specific page
More Content
Avoid Thin Content
Avoid Duplicate Content
State Page, listing down all local
businesses within the same state.
City Page, listing down all local
businesses within the same city.

23. Multiple International Locations – TLDs and
ccTLDs
Using country code top
level domains (ccTLDs)
add more international
ranking signals signifying
the country where the
site should rank well.

24. ccTLDs vs. Subdomains vs. Folders
Order of priority:
ccTLD, Subdomain,
Folder
ccTLD and
subdomains are
easier to have
separate XML
sitemaps, robots.txt
and Google Search
Console country
targeting settings.
example.fr
fr.example.com
example.com/fr

25. International SEO – Language vs. Location
Prioritize countries
over location.
There are different
Google versions for
different countries, not
for different
languages.
Global Top Level
Domains (gTLDs) like
.asia and .eu are known
to not perform that well
in international SEO.
example.ca/en
example.ca/fr
ca.example.com/en
ca.example.com/fr

26. International Duplicate Content
Use Hreflang Tags
Use the rel=“alternate” link tag to specify language
and optionally the location of duplicate pages
<link rel="alternate" hreflang=“x-default"
href="http://www.example.com/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-CA"
href="http://www.example.ca" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-US"
href="http://www.example.us" />
.ca
Duplicate Page
Content Here
.us
Duplicate Page
Content Here
.com
Duplicate Page
Content Here

27. IP Address & Hosting
All websites are hosted on a
server.
Each server has an IP address.
An IP address is often tied to a
physical location online.
Ideally, you want your site
hosted in a country of your
target audience.
Based on Experience:
This ranking factor is very weak.
And I have only seen it work
week for businesses outside of
the US trying to target a US
audience, and hosting was done
in the US.
Business
Location
Target
Audience
Ideal Web
Host Location
In the US In the US US
Outside of US In the US US
In the US Outside of US Location of
Target Audience
Outside of US Outside of US Location of
Target Audience

28. Content Translation
Literal
Source text is
translated into the
nearest equivalent
of the target
language.
Modified Literal
Translation follows the
grammatical rules of the
target language, but is still
literal. If used wrong, it may
fail to correctly express the
meaning of the source text.
Idiomatic
Preserves the meaning of
the source text and
expresses it in a natural
way in the target
language.
Unduly free
Translation is too
"loose" and strays from
the meaning of the
source text.
Specify the language in
the Doctype
HTML5
<html lang="fr">
XHTML 1.x
<html lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
XML
<html xml:lang="fr"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

29. International Marketing Blunders
Pepsi
US: Pepsi brings you
back to life.
China:
Come alive out of the
grave with Pepsi.
Pepsi will bring your
ancestors back from the
dead.
Bring dead ancestors
back from heaven.

30. International Marketing Blunders
Clairol
US: Mist Stick
Germany: Mist is a slang
term for manure.
Electrolux
Scandinavian
Manufacturer of Vacuum
Cleaner
US printed brochures:
Nothing sucks like an
Electrolux!

31. Good International Localization Examples
Berliner
Stadtreinigungsbetriebe
Company in Germany.
The company name
translated means: Berlin
City Cleaning Services.
The German word kehr
means sweep.
McDonalds
Austria: Not every
country knows what a
drive thru is.

32. Mobile SEO is Good for Local SEO
General and Local Intent Searches
Using Google on a Smartphone vs.
Desktop (2015)
Source: Google: Inside Adwords
http://screenwerk.com/2015/05/11/data-suggest-that-local-intent-queries-nearly-half-of-all-search-volume/
Almost half of all searches on
Google on a mobile phone
has a local intent.
Action Item: Use responsive
design to be mobile friendly.

33. Local Search Conversion by Device
(2014)
Source: comScore, Neustar Localeze, 15 Miles
https://searchengineland.com/study-78-percent-local-mobile-searches-result-offline-purchases-188660
78% of local
searches on a
mobile phone
resulted in a
purchase!
Action Item: Make
sure that making a
purchase online is
possible, user
friendly and safe
when done on a
mobile phone.

34. Actions driven by local search (2008)
Source: TMP Directional Marketing/ComScore
http://searchengineland.com/relying-on-print-yellow-pages-most-local-customers-turn-to-the-web-15082
Local search one of the
top contributors that lead
to actions.
IYP is different from Local
SEO, however optimizing
these IYP entries help
contribute to Local search
ranking.
Action Item: Make sure
all information that
supports these actions
are all available.
Driving
Directions, Hours
of Operation
Href=“tel:xxx-xxx-xxxx”
Email forms
Bookmark,
social share
Answer
questions to help
in the buying
decision.
Supply sources
of offline
information.

35. 3 Main Purchase Actions in
Local/International SEO
Some SEO action items for local SEO do not necessarily have sales and conversions on the pages. But
the information they provide help lead to a conversion; sometimes online, sometimes offline.

36. Tap to Dial Phone Numbers
Some mobile browsers try to
identify phone numbers and
automatically make them
“tappable” to dial. Not all
browsers do that.
<a href="tel:1234567890">

37. Voice Search in Good for Mobile SEO
Voice Search of a Local Business by Business Type (2018)
Source: BrightLocal
https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/voice-search-for-local-business-study/
Action Item: Create a
smart speaker phone
app to order
products. (Amazon
Skills)
Optimize for Google’s
Answer Box, and
answer many general
questions related to
your product or
industry.

38. Top Use Cases of Smart Speakers (2018)
Source: MarketingCharts.com / comScore
https://www.marketingcharts.com/digital/non-mobile-connected-devices-82795/attachment/comscore-smart-speaker-activities-mar2018
In 2018, Smart Speaker Use: Find local business 18% (up 2%), order products 30% (up 21%), order
food/services 13% (up 2%). General questions 77% (up 17%).

39. 3. My Business Signals
Local Maps Submissions
Google My Business (GMB)
https://www.google.com/business/
Bing Places for Business
https://www.bingplaces.com/
Yahoo
https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN26672.html
Mapquest
https://listings.mapquest.com/pl/mapquest-claims/preview.html

40. NAP Information Consistency
NAP – Name, Address, Phone
Use consistent information as
much as possible on our own
website, in local map
submissions, local directories
and yellow pages, press
releases, everywhere
Example of Inconsistencies
Acronyms and Abbreviations
West Olive St.
W. Olive Street
West Olive Street
W. Olive St.
Punctuations
W Olive St
W. Olive St.
W Olive St.,
W. Olive St,
Phone Number Formats
(123) 456-7890
1234567890
123-456-7890
123.456.7890

41. Complete Information in Local Maps
Fill out all possible information that
applies to your business.
Business Name*
Business Hours
Description*
Photos
Virtual Tours
Customer Photos
Reviews and Ratings
Avoid custom categories, and
always use existing business
categories if possible.
*See opportunities to use your main
targeted keywords, but do not over
do it. Just 1 mention of your main
keyword should be sufficient.

42. 4. Citation Signals
Citations help prove
that your company is a
legitimate company.
Similar to map
submissions, use
consistent NAP
information
and
complete business
information
as much as possible in
the top citation
sources.
Some common
citation sources:
Acxiom
Apple Maps
Bing
Citygrid
Facebook
Factual
Foursquare
Infogroup /
ExpressUpdate
Localeze
Superpages
YP
Yelp
More US Citation
Sources on Moz:
https://moz.com/learn
/seo/citations-by-city
International Citation
Sources on
Whitespark:
https://whitespark.ca/
top-local-citation-
sources-by-country/

43. Consistent NAP Everywhere
Even if there are
official citation
sources, keeping
consistent NAP
information
everywhere is still a
good practice.
A few things to look
out for NAP
consistency:
Donation Sites
Press Releases
Partnerships
Distributed PDFs

44. 5. Behavioral Signals
Clickthrough Rates
(CTR)
Title tag & description
Proper keyword–URL
association
Dwell time, pogo
sticking, time on site,
bounce rates
Quality content
Good user experience
Think of the second call
to action
Resources:
User behavior: a ranking
factor to reckon with.
By: Masha Maksimava
User Behaviour Data as a
Ranking Signal
By: Pan Petrovic

45. 6. Review Signals
Source: BrightLocal
https://www.practicalecommerce.com/Consumers-Change-Shopping-Habits-with-Local-Businesses
Reading online reviews before
purchasing from a local business
has been increasing over time.
Reading Online Reviews of a Local Business (2013)
Google is aware of this behavior
and all Google wants is to give
good search results to the users,
thus it leverages reviews and
ratings in local results.

46. 6. Review Signals
Generally, you cannot
control what people say.
Making fake reviews can
have a negative impact.
Happy customers tend
to passively leave good
reviews while irate and
mad customers tend to
actively leave bad
reviews.
Action Item: Capture the moment of
happiness. Be prepared to solicite a review
when you know the client is happy.
Give extra attention the client that is irate and
mad. Try to make them happy or resolve
issues before they post negative reviews
online.

47. 7. Personalization
Google also
personalizes results
based on the users’
search habits.
Generally, you cannot
control what people
click.
Use content marketing
to increase popularity,
improve brand
awareness, increase
influence, generate
demand.

48. 8. Social Signals
Search engines deny social
signals as a ranking factor
Correlation vs. Causation
Some SEOs swear it has a
direct effect by running their
own isolated experiments.
Direct or indirect
More social popularity = more user
interaction
More user interaction = potentially
more user engagement
More user engagement = potentially
more natural links from the users
Answer:
Content Marketing

49. Measuring Success: Web Analytics
Traffic by City,
Country,
Subcontinent, and
Continent
In Google Analytics, you
can navigate to Audience >
Geo > Location.
Language and Mobile are
also under Audience
You can set the city,
country, subcontinent or
continent as a primary or
secondary dimension.

50. Measuring Success: Web Analytics
Mobile Applications
Can also be tracked
with some web
analytics platforms.
In Google Analytics,
mobile application
usage can be tracked.
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2587086?hl=en

51. Track Keyword Ranks by Devices
from Different Local Locations
Rank tracking
by SEMRush
Other tools that
can do rank
tracking by
location:
Stat
AWRCloud
AuthorityLabs

52. Monitor Brand Search Interests
from Different Local Locations
Measured
through Google
Trends

53. Backlink Profiles
Use tools that can give
locations of backlinks
The dots are the locations of
the backlinks going to
IRCE.com
This report is generated by
Majestic. But there are other
backlink research tools such
as:
Ahrefs
Moz OSE
Sistrix
There are other tools also that
use their APIs such as
Link Research Tools
SEMRush
Cognitive SEO

54. Summary
Geo-Targeted SEO
Local SEO
International SEO
Optimization differs if you
have local offices or not.
Average importance of
Local Ranking Factors
Implementing changes for
many locations for many
products may need a data
driven implementation.
Local SEO Ranking Factor Organic Search Local Maps Average
Link Signals 29% 17% 23%
On-Page Signals 24% 14% 19%
My Business Signals 7% 19% 13%
Citation Signals 8% 13% 11%
Behavioral Signals 11% 10% 11%
Review Signals 7% 13% 10%
Personalization 9% 10% 10%
Social Signals 4% 4% 4%
Measure your success
well by tracking geo-
targeted metrics and
checking mobile and web
traffic.
General Task Effort Impact
Content Marketing
Local Map Submissions / Optimization
Standard SEO

55. Questions? Thank You!
Benj Arriola & Clara Li