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Our free click-through in the newsletters of www.matamata-info.co.nz - www.tearoha-info.co.nz - www.thames-info.co.nz - www.morrinsville-info.co.nz goes to the following town websites - www.thames-info.co.nz/cotswold (4 Star Plus Qualmark Guest and Hosted accommodation in Thames) - www.tearoha-info.co.nz/harcourts (Te Aroha's real estate experts) - www.morrinsville-info.co.nz/littletheatre (check out Morrinsville's upcoming theatre attractions)

August Stats - 12192 Pageviews from 5325 unique visitors.
August's top directories in order of popularity were -

www.matamata-info.co.nz/southernbelleorchard
www.matamata-info.co.nz/countrylodge
www.matamata-info.co.nz/jellicoe-farmstay
www.matamata-info.co.nz/MatamataClubInc

www.matamata-info.co.nz/pohlen
www.matamata-info.co.nz/totara_springs
www.matamata-info.co.nz/TirauGolfClub
www.matamata-info.co.nz/bayleys
www.matamata-info.co.nz/farmstay

www.matamata-info.co.nz/stocker
www.matamata-info.co.nz/landforsale
www.matamata-info.co.nz/workmans


Our most visited index pages, in order of popularity were: ACCOMMODATION - BUSINESSES - REAL ESTATE - ATTRACTIONS - INFORMATION - CLASSIFIEDS

Local Search Engine Optimisation

Around a year ago, local search engine optimisation was all the rage - the new frontier in search engine marketing. For a while, it seemed that everyone was interested in the local search angle - even multi-national companies. However, for many companies selling products or services to the entire world, local New Zealand search engine optimisation seemed like a non-starter. Companies that counted on people looking for certain products or services that did not require close proximity to the company's location were unaffected. As far as local search engine optimisation goes, things have changed a bit since then - at least for some.

Some time ago, Google introduced a "geographic box" at the top of its search results. This is tied in to its mapping feature, and, when it was first introduced, the engine would display three results at the top of its search results whenever somebody entered a geographic modifier into the search box ("New Zealand widgets," for example). The Google algorithm then has the intelligence to determine whether the query calls for results that are primarily local in scope.

Since that initial trial, Google has obviously found that its users appreciate the feature. The engine now displays ten local search results at the top of the listings for certain queries, provided that they have a geographic modifier attached. For example, if you type in "Auckland gyms" in Google, you will see grouped results alongside a map that shows the location of gyms in Auckland, with the opportunity to click for more.

It should be noted that you will not see local search results for all queries that contain a local modifier. In certain instances, it almost seems as if Google somehow "knows" when a geographic modifier really means that you only offer services in a particular area. Yes, those guys are pretty good.

There are many resources on the Internet to turn to if you are looking for local search engine optimisation for your regional website. However, many companies have client bases that cater primarily to a national or international field. Can they benefit from local search?

Yes, they can - in two ways (with a warning for the first).

First, many customers prefer to deal with people that are local, even if the business is national, or even global. A businessperson that is looking for, say, marketing consulting, may be inclined to work with someone with an address in close proximity found through local search. It just feels more comfortable - if something goes wrong, he or she can request a meeting, rather than calling an 800 number.

Here's the warning - you may not want people showing up at your doorstep. Some companies invite people to show up at the headquarters and voice concerns or sing praises, but others would prefer to keep things at a distance. This is not a value judgment by any means. With many companies that deal with thousands, or even millions, of customers, it would be impossible to service every complaint in person.

The second way, which seems more customer friendly (but actually isn't), applies when a large company has many locations. This doesn't mean that your company has "walk-in" locations that are open to the public. If you have locations in a number of locations, each serving a different function, you can still benefit from local search engine optimisation.

Say, for example, you are headquartered in Wellington. You have distribution centers in other towns throughout New Zealand. Each of your physical locations is eligible to show up in local search results on Google, provided that you supply the engine with the proper information.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, not all searches with regional modifiers attached will bring up regional results. But based on recent happenings, it's a good idea to make your regional presence known and consider the effects of local search engine optimisation. After the years of talk about it, local search might finally turn out to be something that most businesses can take advantage of.


A great way to improve your link popularity which is directly related to your search engine ranking, is to take advantage of our FREE classified advertisement offer. We have "classifieds" on our four town websites (www.matamata-info.co.nz/classifieds.html - www.morrinsville-info.co.nz/classifieds.html - www.tearoha-info.co.nz/classifieds.html - www.thames-info.co.nz/classifieds.html) and they receive an enormous amount of visitors - if you're not there you're missing out!! All you have to do is forward us 25 words about your business - a breeze surely!! Your classified advertisement will be linked to your website and also have an email link on it if requested - www.matamata-info.co.nz/classifieds.html was the 6th most visited directory on the site during August!! Take a look at our top ranking town websites >>>>


This month we show the Usage by Country stats - Visitors from 57 countries have checked out www.matamata-info.co.nz ...

Usage by Country for August 2008

Top 30 of 57 Total Countries
# Hits Files KBytes Country
1 6709 25.48% 5395 28.59% 60792 27.17% New Zealand (Aotearoa)
2 6120 23.24% 4675 24.77% 56923 25.44% Unresolved/Unknown
3 5059 19.21% 2982 15.80% 28706 12.83% US Commercial
4 4847 18.41% 3070 16.27% 48174 21.53% Network
5 722 2.74% 575 3.05% 6640 2.97% Australia
6 534 2.03% 467 2.47% 4529 2.02% Japan
7 385 1.46% 243 1.29% 3176 1.42% Netherlands
8 364 1.38% 356 1.89% 2079 0.93% Non-Profit Organization
9 225 0.85% 169 0.90% 1814 0.81% Ireland
10 184 0.70% 118 0.63% 861 0.38% Germany
11 118 0.45% 86 0.46% 1018 0.45% United Kingdom
12 112 0.43% 93 0.49% 960 0.43% South Africa
13 110 0.42% 79 0.42% 1036 0.46% US Educational
14 84 0.32% 52 0.28% 628 0.28% Russian Federation
15 81 0.31% 31 0.16% 324 0.14% France
16 72 0.27% 62 0.33% 503 0.22% Brazil
17 65 0.25% 54 0.29% 609 0.27% Italy
18 57 0.22% 37 0.20% 446 0.20% Canada
19 46 0.17% 39 0.21% 406 0.18% Iceland
20 43 0.16% 23 0.12% 197 0.09% Poland
21 42 0.16% 32 0.17% 425 0.19% India
22 33 0.13% 24 0.13% 273 0.12% Czech Republic
23 32 0.12% 28 0.15% 294 0.13% Switzerland
24 24 0.09% 18 0.10% 206 0.09% Finland
25 21 0.08% 13 0.07% 236 0.11% Norway
26 21 0.08% 15 0.08% 42 0.02% Taiwan
27 20 0.08% 13 0.07% 238 0.11% Turkey
28 16 0.06% 12 0.06% 137 0.06% China
29 16 0.06% 14 0.07% 137 0.06% Sweden
30 13 0.05% 11 0.06% 80 0.04% Argentina

Site of the Month is Jellicoe Road Stables Farmstay Bed & Breakfast - and they receive a free direct click through and feature image from www.matamata-info.co.nz to their website.

Leanne Taylor
:: www.wwwdesign.co.nz ::
Innovative Website Design, Hosting & Maintenance
Phone (09) 817 9656 ~ Mobile (0274) 701990

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