Local search is one of the hottest areas of interest in search marketing. What types of local businesses are people searching for? Using Wordtracker, I ran my own analysis. I checked the cities of Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Portland to see which businesses or services were being searched for. The total daily searches for all cities combined are shown next to the keyword phrase.

What kinds of Geo modifiers were used? The city name was most often used. Many times it was the city and the state. All phrases included at least the the city name and the phrase. Some of the results were surprises to me. I expected higher numbers of searches on auto repair (#75) and nightlife (#3) was high across all cities except Portland.

It was also interesting to compare the variances in the searches between cities. Minneapolis had by far the highest number of searches for limos (#8) and limousines (#9). Atlanta was the only city not searching for a cosmetic dentists (#13). Portland and Phoenix had the lowest need for both criminal lawyers (#15) and accident lawyers (#18). Denver and Miami had the highest need. Denver had the highest number of searches for laser dentistry (#58).

1. hotels (1891)
2. restaurants (1744)
3. nightlife  (1263)
4. shopping  (1252)
5. bars  (1206)
6. taxis  (1130)
7. newspaper  (679)
8. limo  (462)
9. limousine  (421)
10. dentist  (326)
11. injury attorney  (325)
12. real estate  (323)
13. cosmetic dentist  (321)
14. plumbing  (297)
15. criminal lawyer  (289)
16. plumber  (278)
17. accident lawyer  (272)
18. electrical contractor  (261)
19. lawyers  (250)
20. nightclubs  (249)
21. remodeling contractors (249)
22. implant dentist  (232)
23. remodeling (224)
24. dental implants  (221)
25. electrician  (219)
26. attorney (213)
27. hvac (210)
28. cosmetic dentistry  (205)
29. teeth whitening  (204)
30. roofer  (195)
31. general contractor (193)
32. landscaper (190)
33. dentistry  (176)
34. floor  (176)
35. flooring (175)
36. car rental  (167)
37. painter  (166)
38. heating  (162)
39. locks (161)
40. furniture  (157)
41. web design  (154)
42. locksmith (152)
43. used cars  (134)
44. computer repair (120)
45. garage door repair (116)
46. eye doctor  (113)
47. botox  (112)
48. garage doors (112)
49. plastic surgeon  (110)
50. plastic surgery  (106)
51. cosmetic surgeon  (99)
52. lasik surgeon  (99)
53. laser eye surgery  (97)
54. eyecare (92)
55. concrete  (86)
56. eye surgery  (86)
57. theatres  (83)
58. laser dentistry  (75)
59. car dealer  (73)
60. orthodontics (73)
61. cabinets (72)
62. ophthalmology  (67)
63. dentures  (66)
64. lasek  (64)
65. florists (62)
66. car loans  (56)
67. orthodontist  (56)
68. thrift stores  (54)
69. divorce lawyers  (47)
70. drywall  (45)
71. nursery  (40)
72. auto glass repair (33)
73. auto body repair (31)
74. funeral homes  (30)
75. auto repair (23)
76. pawn shops  (18)