In designing a SEO campaign, one of the first questions to ask is where do we want to market to? Do you market your products locally, regionally, nationally or internationally? This affects how you select keyword phrases which geo modifiers or local terms that you use.
From a local SEO viewpoint, it is important to include localization (aka “geo-modifiers”) throughout the content and in any link building. You need to signal to Google where your business is located and where you do business. This helps Google return relevant search results.
The first step is to identify your current sales area. Where do 80% of your sales currently come from? This could be anywhere from your neighborhood to the entire US or specific countries. As an example, if your business is in Los Angeles, California and 90% of your business comes from Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, then you would want optimize for keywords that use Los Angeles as part of your keyword phrase.
It doesn’t matter if you have 5% of your sales coming from Phoenix and 5% from New York City. Your prime sales area is still Los Angeles. You will receive your greatest increase in sales by focusing your Internet marketing efforts on the LA area.
Let’s say you want to transform your business into a national company. You want to move from a local company to sales spread nationwide. Then design your SEO effort around where you want 80% of your sales to come from.
The 80 percent rule can be applied to actual historical sales or your vision of where you want your sales to come from.