Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • Case Studies
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      What is your Brand Authority?
      Moz

      What is your Brand Authority?

      Check yours now
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • SEO Q&A

        Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • Case Studies

        Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Image & Video Optimization
    4. Is there an easy way to see how competitive a local search term is?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Is there an easy way to see how competitive a local search term is?

    Image & Video Optimization
    14
    14
    4161
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • jimmyseo
      jimmyseo last edited by

      Is there a quick and easy way to see how competitive local search terms are?  I am looking at helping my clients show up on the local search results.  Some times all I have to do is claim a listing and they move right to the top.  Sometimes I claim a listing and nothing happens so I get links and I get reviews and it takes awhile.  I want to be able to put an accurate price point on the service I am offering.  I have looked at the search volume and it hasn't been the best indicator because some industries are more competitve than others.  Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

      Brown_Miller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • asfand448
        asfand448 last edited by

        Hi JimmySEO,

        Thank you for reaching out with your question about evaluating the competitiveness of local search terms for your clients. It's great to see your dedication to helping your clients improve their visibility in local search results.

        Assessing the competitiveness of local search terms can indeed be challenging, as it varies depending on factors such as industry, location, and the level of competition. While search volume can provide some insights, it's not always the most accurate indicator of competitiveness.

        Here are a few strategies you can consider to better understand and evaluate the competitiveness of local search terms:

        Google My Business Insights: Utilize the insights provided by Google My Business to gain a better understanding of how your clients' listings are performing. Pay attention to metrics such as views, clicks, and actions taken by users, which can give you an idea of the level of competition in your clients' local market.

        Competitor Analysis: Take a closer look at your clients' competitors who are ranking well in local search results. Analyze factors such as their website optimization, content strategy, reviews, and backlink profile to identify areas where your clients can improve.

        Local Search Ranking Tools: Consider using local search ranking tools such as Moz Local, SEMrush, or BrightLocal to assess the competition level for specific keywords and locations. These tools can provide valuable insights into keyword difficulty, local search rankings, and competitor analysis.

        Review and Reputation Management: Pay attention to your clients' online reviews and reputation, as positive reviews can significantly impact their visibility in local search results. Encourage your clients to actively solicit and manage their reviews to improve their local search rankings.

        When it comes to specific keywords like "balloon garlands," it's important to analyze the search volume and competition level in your clients' local market. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to get insights into keyword trends and search volume.

        Consultation with SEO Experts: If you're unsure about the competitiveness of certain local search terms, consider consulting with SEO experts or agencies who specialize in local search optimization. They can provide valuable insights and recommendations based on their experience and expertise.
        Ultimately, accurately pricing your services will depend on factors such as the level of competition in your clients' local market, the complexity of the optimization work required, and the potential impact on their business. By leveraging a combination of the strategies mentioned above, you can better assess the competitiveness of local search terms like "balloon garlands" and provide your clients with informed recommendations.

        I hope these suggestions help you better understand and evaluate the competitiveness of local search terms for your clients. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out anytime.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Brown_Miller
          Brown_Miller @jimmyseo last edited by

          @jimmyseo
          To quickly assess the competitiveness of local queries:

          • Use keyword research and competitor analysis tools.
          • Analyze search results and local listings.
          • Actively gather reviews and links, and optimize your website for local search.
          • Track and analyze metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy.
          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Zarii4041
            Zarii4041 last edited by

            To gauge the competitiveness of a local search term, utilize keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush. Analyze the search engine results page (SERP) to see the number of ads and local businesses competing for the keyword. Check local business directories and listings to assess the local competition. Use location-specific modifiers in your keyword research to narrow down competition. Additionally, consider analyzing competitors' websites to understand their targeted keywords and rankings.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • gooday2day
              gooday2day last edited by

              All this time later, Google Keyword Planner remains one of the best options for assessing the competitiveness of a local search term. It provides insights into the average monthly search volume, competition level, and suggested bid for specific keywords. Enter your desired search term and location to see how competitive it is. For example, if you're a local bakery in New York City, you can use Google Keyword Planner to gauge the competition for keywords like "bakery NYC" or "best cupcakes in NYC." Also, you can explore related keywords and their competitiveness to refine your local SEO strategy. Remember to consider factors like search volume and relevance to your business when analyzing competitiveness.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • tom533
                tom533 last edited by

                Yes, several tools and methods can help assess the competitiveness of a local search term. One straightforward approach is to conduct a manual search on search engines like Google, using the target search term and observing the number of results returned, as well as the types of websites ranking prominently. Additionally, utilizing keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs can provide insights into search volume, competition level, and potential difficulty for ranking locally. These tools often offer data on keyword difficulty scores, estimated competition levels, and suggested bid amounts for paid search campaigns. Analyzing local business directories, competitor websites, and social media platforms can also offer valuable insights into the competitiveness of specific search terms within your locality. By combining these methods, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of the competitiveness of local search terms and formulate effective strategies for optimizing their online presence.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • vividkreations
                  vividkreations last edited by

                  Google Keyword Planner is a free tool provided by Google Ads that helps advertisers and website owners research keywords for their ad campaigns and SEO efforts.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • jhon832745
                    jhon832745 last edited by

                    Yes, there are several methods you can use to gauge the competitiveness of a local search term:

                    Google Keyword Planner: Google Keyword Planner is a free tool within Google Ads that allows you to research keywords and see their competition level. While it primarily focuses on paid search, it can still provide insights into the competitiveness of keywords in general.

                    Google Search: Simply searching for the term on Google and observing the number of search results and the types of businesses or websites ranking can give you an idea of the competition level. Look for the presence of local businesses, directories, and other relevant websites.

                    Local SEO Tools: There are several SEO tools specifically designed for local SEO that can provide insights into keyword competitiveness. Tools like Moz Local, SEMrush, and BrightLocal offer features to analyze local search terms and competition levels.

                    Google Maps: Searching for the keyword on Google Maps can show you how many businesses are listed for that term in the local area. Pay attention to the number and quality of the listings, as well as the presence of reviews and ratings.

                    Google Trends: Google Trends can help you identify the popularity of a search term over time. While it doesn't directly measure competitiveness, a consistently high search volume for a term may indicate higher competition.

                    Manual Analysis: Manually reviewing the top-ranking websites for the keyword and analyzing factors such as domain authority, content quality, backlink profile, and on-page optimization can give you insights into the level of competition.

                    By using a combination of these methods, you can get a better understanding of how competitive a local search term is and make informed decisions for your SEO strategy.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • sarahwalsh
                      sarahwalsh last edited by

                      Yes, we would highly recommend using Moz Pro, to see how many backlinks your competitors have, this can give you a good idea, of how much SEO work you need to do.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • WhatsApp_Gold_APK
                        WhatsApp_Gold_APK last edited by

                        Thank you Greetings واتساب الذهبي .

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Gyi
                          Gyi @MarloSchneider last edited by

                          +1 for mozbar overlay & getlisteg.org

                          You can also look at your competitors' Google Places and review the "More about this place" section. You should be able to get a good idea of where your competitors are obtaining local citations.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • MiriamEllis
                            MiriamEllis Subject Expert last edited by

                            Hi JimmySEO,

                            Some good responses here. I also thought I'd throw into the mix SEOverflow's competitive analysis toolkit:

                            http://www.localsearchtoolkit.com/

                            I think you might find that very helpful.

                            Cheers!

                            Miriam

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • MarloSchneider
                              MarloSchneider last edited by

                              Casey's answer pretty much nails it, here are a few specific tricks I use to make the process faster though:

                              Using the moztoolbar do a SERP overlay on the sites for the search term to easily get a feel for the difficulty of competition based on domainrank.

                              Do a whitespark report to see how many citations the other sites have compared to your site.

                              Do getlisted.org search on their sites/your sites to get a basic idea of how involved the other sites on the local search are.

                              Run on page optimization reports for the terms, local and not, to see if you can gain a relevancy advatnage.

                              Gyi 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • caseyhen
                                caseyhen last edited by

                                Hi Kicksetc - it's not quick and easy, but you can do some comparisons that will be helpful.

                                Basically, you'd want to build an Excel chart (or Google Spreadsheets / OpenOffice) that mimics the metrics that might go into local rankings. For example, see this post talking about all the potential ranking factors and how they correlate - http://www.seomoz.org/blog/google-places-seo-lessons-learned-from-rank-correlation-data

                                You could extract out those data points and compare them against each other for different queries to get a sense of how competitive/hard it might be to rank in the top results on a local/maps/places search.

                                Sorry there's nothing quick and simple. We're working in the long term to expand our KW Difficulty tool to perform analyses on local/places results, but it's going to be a while before we get there.

                                Best of luck!

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 5
                                • 1 / 1
                                • First post
                                  Last post

                                Got a burning SEO question?

                                Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                                Start my free trial


                                Browse Questions

                                Explore more categories

                                • Moz Tools

                                  Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                                • SEO Tactics

                                  Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                                • Community

                                  Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                                • Digital Marketing

                                  Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                                • Research & Trends

                                  Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                                • Support

                                  Connect on product support and feature requests.

                                • See all categories

                                Related Questions

                                • BobGW

                                  Local SEO: Links with the citations so should I slow down?

                                  Hello, There seems to be some nofollow and dofollow links building as I add structured citations. Is this a reason to slow down the building citation process if you want the links to count? Do they help organic SEO?

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | BobGW
                                  0
                                • BobGW

                                  Local SEO: Can you add citations too fast?

                                  Should you spread adding citations out over several weeks or can you add them all at once?

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | BobGW
                                  0
                                • unitedairlines

                                  Metadata stored in images read by search engines?

                                  Does anyone know if metadata stored in images is read by search engines?My company stores images in digital asset management systems and metadata keyword tags are added to the images, so they can easily be found within the system. Since these keywords are stored in the image file, I was wondering if search engines can read them once the image is placed on the website, but I'm not finding any evidence of this in my research.

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | unitedairlines
                                  0
                                • BedeFahey

                                  Practice Name vs. Dr. Name in Local Search

                                  I wanted to get some opinions on an interesting situation for local search. Many doctors and dentists are found in one of two ways online: Their name and title, e.g. Dr. James A. Smith, MD Their practice name, e.g Smith Plastic Surgery, P.C Often sites like Healthgrades are providing data on the doctor him or herself, and the information can be tough to switch out. At the same time, there's a tendancy on the Dr's part to want to be listed as their practice name. Their site is often set up that way. How are you handling this kind of setup? Have you found a way to reliably associate (and format) a practice and doctor's name in a listing, in such a way that doesn't violate Google's quality guidelines? I know the drill for handling a doctor within a hospital, but this is a slightly different situation...

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | BedeFahey
                                  0
                                • Clicksjim

                                  Does displaying a mobile number for business hurt local SEO?

                                  Perhaps a silly question but could someone please clarify if displaying a mobile number in the main site or Google places etc would hurt local SEO? Is having a regional landline/fixed telephone number a ranking factor? EDIT: This is for a UK site, does anyone have experience of this is UK please?

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | Clicksjim
                                  0
                                • casper434

                                  Local Citation Sites

                                  After searching through many local citation site I find that most only apply to the US. Are there any really good ones in Canada?

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | casper434
                                  0
                                • danatanseo

                                  What is the best way to include video transcripts on your pages?

                                  I just posted a question as a comment on this blog post (http://www.audiotranscription.org/6-reasons-you-need-to-have-your-sites-videos-transcribed/comment-page-1/#comment-4311) and realized I probably should have asked the question here because it is really SEO-related. We are in the process of transcribing all of our videos. Can you someone recommend how best to post the transcript file on our product pages? For example, here's a product page that has a video review on it: http://www.ccisolutions.com/StoreFront/product/behringer-x32-digital-mixing-system.  Would it be best to  post a link to the transcript file or insert the iframe transcript file from DotSub.com (in that case wouldn't DotSub.com be getting credit for our original content?) or, should we just let our captions on the YouTube stream from there (which is what's happening right now)? Will Google still crawl the transcript if the only place it's available is on YouTube? If so, doesn't YouTube get credited for that content, and not our site?  Even if we do post a trascript on the page, if it appeared at YouTube first, wouldn't YouTube get credit for the original version? We want credit for that content...just not sure how to get it? I understand that moving to Wistia.com would probably solve most of these issues. What I'm trying to figure out is how best to handle new transcripts for existing videos over at YouTube?

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | danatanseo
                                  0
                                • MozMan2

                                  Local SEO address question - adding a suite number for shared address for office building

                                  Hi, I have a client that has an address that is shared for a few different businesses in the holistic health field. My client is a chiropractor. There is an eye doctor, massage therapist and acupuncturist aslo sharing the same address. It's a subburban setting with two buildings all sharing one address. In the interest of preventing any merged listings down the road, I recently added un unofficial suite number to his website and Google places business listing. I also did this for all of his online directory listings, and for Bing and Yahoo as well. Did I do the right thing here? It seems to be having a positive impact on his local SEO as far as I can tell. Or at least there has not been any negative impact in the last 6 months Your thoughts?

                                  Image & Video Optimization | | MozMan2
                                  0

                                Get started with Moz Pro!

                                Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                                Start my free trial
                                Products
                                • Moz Pro
                                • Moz Local
                                • Moz API
                                • Moz Data
                                • STAT
                                • Product Updates
                                Moz Solutions
                                • SMB Solutions
                                • Agency Solutions
                                • Enterprise Solutions
                                Free SEO Tools
                                • Domain Authority Checker
                                • Link Explorer
                                • Keyword Explorer
                                • Competitive Research
                                • Brand Authority Checker
                                • MozBar Extension
                                • MozCast
                                Resources
                                • Blog
                                • SEO Learning Center
                                • Help Hub
                                • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                                • How-to Guides
                                • Moz Academy
                                • API Docs
                                About Moz
                                • About
                                • Team
                                • Careers
                                • Contact
                                Why Moz
                                • Case Studies
                                • Testimonials
                                Get Involved
                                • Become an Affiliate
                                • MozCon
                                • Webinars
                                • Practical Marketer Series
                                • MozPod
                                Connect with us

                                Contact the Help team

                                Join our newsletter
                                Moz logo
                                © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                                • Accessibility
                                • Terms of Use
                                • Privacy

                                Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.