One of the most significant common misses by search engine optimizers is the assumtion that a search engine spider will make the same assumtions as a human would. This is not the case. If you say you are from BC you will not be found on a search including British Columbia unless you have specifically included it in your text content.

Be very specific write in complete thoughts, if your market area is the Boundary area (for simplicity I have chosen my own area) don't forget in your written content to mention the different communities and areas which make up that area.

Grand Forks is in the Boundary area but if I optimize just for the area in general I will not rank on a search for Grand Forks. What I am trying to say is search engine spiders have no prior knowledge, they work solely on content they find on your page while they are in it.

Be specific, mention geographic areas people may be searching for ie: Boundary "region" "area" "west Kootenay" the spider will only see what you write so be very aware and write in detail regarding the specifics of the market area you are choosing to go after.

Have a Great Day!
Don Mann

I've always thought the se's DO have some idea ("prior knowledge", as you say) of how words/topics relate to each other, so that if you write "BC" the se's know that the page might be related to "British Columbia" (which they might verify from finding related words on the page, like "Vancouver", "province", "Canada", "west coast", etc.).

In other words, I think you don't necessarily need to have "Boundary "region" "area" "west Kootenay"" on your page verbatim in order to rank for that term, unless it's competitive.

As far as my experience. I know you are right in one way of looking at this matter the SE's will come up with relevant information without the terms in place. But if a local wants to be at the top they can use the words and pass by the generalized content. It is not compulsory but it does allow less optimized websites to surpass more optimized websites by making themselves more relevant for their own little niche.

More importantly, perhaps, people are becoming better at searching. So the more specifics you include, the more likely you'll pull in searchers who are specific as well.

In addition, I think the SE's have always rewarded specificity, and will probably continue to do so as the internet gets even more immense.

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-Dan
Oregon House Market - How to Buy, Sell, or Finance a Home

while i mostly agree with your point, on a sidenote there are abbreviations that are more generally acceptable; e.g. Washington 'DC' as opposed to 'District of Columbia'

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Bad Credit history not such a problem with mortgages:
mortgages for people with bad credit, bad credit mortgage and IVA mortgage

Thanks

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Bellingham Real Estate
Bellingham Condos
Bellingham MLS

One other thing that you may want to put in your keywords...if there is a keyword that is commonly misspelled, put it in your keyword section

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