"As you may have noticed, the search engine results pages on Google's geo-targeted search services frequently display different rankings than those you experience on Google.com," Aaron Wall says. "In order to make search results more relevant to local audiences, Google uses different sorting methodologies than those used on Google.com." And Wall offers tips for optimizing your copy, domain and overall strategy for regional searchers. First, decide whether you need a local domain extension for your top-level domain (TLD). "There are exceptions, but the local TLD tends to trump .com when it comes to local result sets," Wall says. …

Google AdWords released a new Geographic Performance Report last week, and David Rodnitsky explains why the data is about to (or should be about to) become your best friend--particularly if you're currently using Conversion Tracker as well. "Geographic performance will show you--down to the suburb if you want it to--the relative performance of different geographic regions," he says. Rodnitsky used the report for an Arizona-based client that was buying keywords on a national level and adding their city/region name to narrow the focus. Analysis of the geographic performance reports found that the keyword was performing well in …

Good content is the "manna" of SEO--but how do you bake up that life-giving, nutritious bread to draw readers in? Lisa Barone offers some examples of good content for the readers tired of more vague descriptions. So instead of saying "write interesting copy," she says "write something no one else has," and offers an example of just that. Comb through competitors' (and colleagues') sites to find angles that they haven't covered, products that they haven't reviewed or problems that they haven't been able to solve, and you have fodder for your next blog post or product page. …

There's black hat SEO and white hat SEO, but as Stephen Shankland notes, there's a huge swath of gray in-between that can snag you (or your client) either stellar results or severe search engine penalties, or some random combination of the two. "Earlier this year, Matthew Inman had achieved the notable distinction of vaulting a Web site called JustSayHi high into the results for a search on 'online dating,'" Shankman says. "But after he expanded his effort to new areas, Google obliterated the site from its search results. Inman had used an aggressive technique called widget bait …

Jeff Muendel reviews Wordpot.com, a keyword research tool that's nestled squarely between freebies like Google Suggest and pay-to-play tools like Wordtracker and KeywordDiscovery. According to the company, Wordpot.com is designed specifically to find niche keywords for AdWords optimization. It works like most other tools, pulling results from multiple search engines, and offers daily and monthly reporting. Users can also refine keyword searches by match type, and once you register, you can export your lists to an Excel or text file. "Wordpot claims to have much more on the horizon, and perhaps that means they will eventually …

Kevin Lee extols the virtues of search-centric microsites in this post, arguing that a company's main Web site is often built to serve the needs of various visitors--shareholders, press, casual browsers and even job-seekers--but not to snag searchers with particular products or services in mind. "If search is important for your business, you should probably stop selling to your search visitors from your headquarters," he says. "Start thinking like them, and design a user experience that balances your need to sell against their desires to select the best solution for their needs." That means developing a …

Noah Mallin weighs in on how the various "privacy modes" of the crop of new browsers may make it harder to track search conversions (both on- and offline) for products with a longer purchase and decision cycle. "In privacy mode, cookies are turned off, so for a longer interaction cycle it can be difficult if not impossible to know that the user who is making the purchase is the same user who clicked through the search ad a month ago," he says. Of course, the full weight of the impact depends on how many users actually browse while …

Diamond retailers have long told consumers to think of the "four Cs" when it comes to determining the quality of a stone--clarity, cut, color and carats--and Sonia Simone applies those same traits to quality Web site copy. Clarity means be clear and simple--but not dumbed-down. "Effective content must be absolutely clear if it's going to persuade," Simone says. "Whether you want your readers to subscribe, to bookmark, or to buy, confusion is the enemy of action." Likewise, cut your copy to remove hyperbole, useless words and make sure you're focused tightly on one (or a few) main themes. …

On the hunt for a bike on Craigslist? Or maybe it's new blog posts related to your hotelier client? Whatever the info, Yotify can scour the Web for you and report back on any new info, sort of like Google Alerts on steroids. "Create a 'Scout' keyed to Craigslist, YouTube, Hotels.com, shopping sites like eBay, blogs, or mainstream media," Rafi says. "When your information is found, the Scout reports back to you as often or periodical[ly] as you'd like, hourly or daily." You can program scouts to simply search for keywords, or get complex and base one on …