Search Engine Optimisation: Local Results are Easier to Get
I recently came across someone who was really chuffed he’d achieved #1 position on a major search engine (MSN) for the phrase Search Engine Optimisation. He got short shrift from some members of the webmaster community when the search volumes for the keyword were pointed out. There really weren’t a huge number of searches for the keyword since “search engine optimisation” is the British English spelling whereas most of the English-speaking world use “search engine optimization“, i.e. they spell optimization with a z.
Using Google’s keyword tool to look for monthly search volumes ..
search engine optimization - 300,000 searches
search engine optimisation - 18,000 searches
This means that, on Google at least, less than 5% of the searches are for the UK-specific spelling.
Now, you could assume the guy was a bit foolish to publicise his supposed success on a forum with an international group of members. The more knowledgeable members soon pointed out he was top of a very small heap.
On the other hand, you could think that the guy was being very astute. He was at least ruling the #1 position for a good keyword, even if the number of searches isn’t huge. If you aren’t on page 1 for a keyword then really you aren’t going to get much traffic. It’s better to concentrate on being on page 1 for a pretty good keyword than be on page 10 for a superb keyword with 20 times the search volume.
Making searches localised is a good way of reducing the pool of competitors - so “search engine optimisation” is easier than “search engine optimization” and “adsense optimisation” is easier to rule than “adsense optimization”. Of course, localising results doesn’t just involve choosing locale-specific spellings. For example, you might choose to concentrate on the keyword “web design london” rather than the ultra-competitive “web design”. Think carefully when choosing keywords for a website and, with young websites at least, start optimising for less competitive phrases first.