Geo Targeting Search Engine Marketing – The Cheat Sheet

by David Curtis on 10/15/2010

Advanced Search Engine Marketing includes using PPC to Geo-Target locations where you would like your ads to be seen (and not be seen). Selecting the right cities to sell the right things in areas where people have money is the smart way to do it. Here’s a current map:

RECESSION-PROOF CITIES

Strongest employment, goods & services, housing prices (in order):

  1. Austin, Texas
  2. Baton Rouge, La
  3. Columbus, S.C.
  4. Dallas
  5. Des Moines, Iowa
  6. El Paso, Texas
  7. Harrisburg, Pa.
  8. Honolulu, Hawaii
  9. Houston
  10. Jackson, Miss.
  11. Little Rock, Ark.
  12. McAllen, Texas
  13. Oklahoma City
  14. Omaha, Neb.
  15. Pittsburgh, Pa.
  16. Rochester, N.Y.
  17. San Antonio
  18. Tulsa, Okla.
  19. Virginia Beach, Va.
  20. Washington, D.C.

Source: Brookings Intitution

GREEN TECHNOLOGY AREAS

Best metropolitan areas based on employment opportunities in renewable energy/green industries based on patent applications, employment positions and investment:

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif.
  2. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Califl
  3. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
  4. Boston-Worcester-Lawrence-Lowell Brockton, Mass.
  5. Washington, D.C.-Baltimore
  6. Denver-Boulder-Greeley, Colo.
  7. Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Wash.
  8. Portland-Salem, Ore.
  9. Chicago-Gary-Kentucky, Ill.-Ind.
  10. Sacramento-Yolo County, Calif.
  11. San Diego
  12. Austin-San Marcos, Texas
  13. Phoenix
  14. Detroit-Ann Arbor, Mich.
  15. Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas

Source: Clean Edge, Inc., 2009

MOST ROBUST URBAN ECONOMIES

Measured by output of goods and services (2008):

  1. New York $1.26 trillion
  2. Los Angeles $$717.9 billion
  3. Chicago $520.7 billion
  4. Houston $403.2 billion
  5. Washington D.C. $395.7
  6. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas $$379.9 billion
  7. Philadelphia $331.9 billion
  8. San Francisco-Oakland, Calif $310.9 billion
  9. Boston $299.6 billion
  10. Atlanta $269.8 billion

Source: Commerce Department

BEST EDUCATED URBAN AREAS

Populations of over 500,000 that have the most residents with college degrees:

  1. Seattle                        55.2%
  2. San Francisco              51.2%
  3. Washington D.C.         48.2%
  4. Atlanta                       44.1%
  5. Portland, Ore              42.2%
  6. Boston                       42.1%
  7. Austin, Texas             42.1%
  8. San Diego                  40.8%
  9. Charlotte, N.C.           39.9%
  10. Denver                      38.5%

Source: US Census Bureau

STRONGEST FOREIGN TRADE DRIVEN METROPOLITAN AREA ECONOMIES

By export value:

  1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island  $80.9 billion
  2. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas  $62.8 billion
  3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif.  $54.4 billion
  4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.  $53.9 billion
  5. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.  $49.2 billion
  6. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.  $30.6 billion
  7. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla.  $26.2 billion
  8. San Jose-Sunnyvale-SantaClara, Calif.  $28.2 billion
  9. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.  $21.6 billion
  10. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.  $21.0 billion

Source: International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce