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Dependency of search results on the user's region allows search engines to provide more relevant answers to queries, especially when it comes to commercial queries or queries related to local search. Since most business requests depend on the region, small local business owners have new opportunities to attract customers.
A region is often assigned to a site automatically, based on information on the contact page. However, this does not always happen correctly, and if necessary, you can manually specify the desired region through webmaster panels or services for local business.
What to do if you need to promote your website in several regions? This can be useful not only for SEO, but also for improving paid traffic and increasing conversions through more precise targeting.
There are several ways to solve this problem, and in this article I will consider each of them in detail.
As mentioned earlier, search engines can automatically assign a region to a site. But this process is not always accurate, and sometimes you need to manually specify a region if it is not defined correctly.
In Google, this can be done through the Google Search Console. Targeting is only available at the country level and is set through the “Legacy Tools and Reports” -> “Targeting by Country and Language” section.
In Yandex, the assignment of a region occurs after moderation. Most often, this moderation is automatic, but before this you must indicate the company’s address on the contact page. Next, in Yandex.Webmaster, in the “Site Information” section, you can select “Regionality” to see the assigned data and, if necessary, make changes.
This method allows you to specify only one region for a site. However, it will be useful for further steps, which we will talk about below.
This method is useful as it allows you to get additional marks on Maps, increase visibility in local search and get your company card displayed for branded and vital queries. To do this, you need to register profiles in Yandex.Directory and Google My Business, fill them with data and undergo moderation.
You can add any number of regions in Yandex.Directory, and in Google My Business you can add new addresses through the “Address Management” -> “Add Address” section.
The downside to this method is that to add multiple regions, you must have a real offline presence in each target region. Without this, passing moderation will be problematic.
Additionally, when using toponym queries in meta tags and titles for regional optimization, it will be difficult to mention all the desired regions in one content.
Creating geofolders is a technically simple way to organize promoted regions on a website. A separate directory with a corresponding geomarker is created for each region. A catalog of goods or service offers is copied or placed in this section. Then the page uses meta tags, texts mentioning the necessary toponyms, and builds up the link profile to increase the relevance of the page.
To improve relevance, it is recommended to use geoblocks, for example, a list of pickup points in the region, mentions in the media, customer reviews (for B2B). Such elements will increase the credibility and relevance of the page.
The advantage of geofolders is that you continue to work with one site, which simplifies technical support and building trust. In search engines, the age of the site and links are not “reset”.
However, this approach works better in Google, and Yandex may give preference to subdomains or individual second-level domains with an assigned region in the Directory.
Creating subdomains is the most difficult, but also effective way to promote a website in several regions. In this case, a subdomain of the form region1.site.ru, region2.site.ru, and so on is created for each region. Each subdomain can have its own unique region setting through webmaster panels or business services.
You can use a single design and core content, and make it unique through meta tags, text, geoblocks and data on the contact page. Depending on the specifics of the business, the range of goods and services may be different for each region.
Promotion through subdomains provides a great advantage, as it allows you to obtain a high level of relevance for each region. But the downside is that this method is more technically complex and requires additional resources to support a network of sites.
As you can see, website promotion in several regions is a completely feasible task, and there are several approaches for this. Some of them are quite simple, others require more time and technical training.
Which method to choose depends on your goals, capabilities, business specifics and other factors. If you don’t have enough information to make a decision, it’s better to consult with an SEO specialist or ask questions in the comments.
If you have experience promoting a website in several regions, share it in the comments. What challenges did you encounter during the process?
If you have any questions, you can always contact the SEO studio "SEO COMPUTER" for any question by email info@seo.computer.
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