Localized Domain Names...

I'm buying up domain names right now dealing with a product I'm marketing and I was wondering if localizing the domain names would significantly increase search engine rankings. For example, instead of doing BobsToolsInc.com, and choosing your region and that redirecting to BobsToolsInc.com/California, I was going to buy up each state - aka BobsToolsCalifornia.com. Is that unnecessary spending on domain names, or would having it categorized like that actually benefit me?

I think that it could hurt my rankings of the main BobsToolsInc.com site, because that particular website wouldn't get as much traffic since it would be going to each individual state websites if they came from a search engine. The goal is to make sure I show up on large results, if someone were to type in our main product(s) into a search engine, for example "New Hammers"; but we also want to make sure and show up with local searchings since its a new topic, for example "Local Construction Laws"

What would you suggest? Should i buy up all the domain names and do it local, or is there a better way to do all of this that I'm not aware of?

Thanks!

You could try subdomains...
ie. bobstoolsinc.com can have the subdomain california.bobstoolsinc.com or even chicago.bobstoolsinc.com if you want to hammer down & try ranking for specific cities.

May not be QUITE as good as having separate domains for each and every state or city, but certainly cheaper and easier to manage with just the one primary domain.

Plus, compared to using a folder in a domain (like BobsToolsInc.com/California ) some directories will include cleaner looking sub domains but will now allow a website url with a folder attached to it. So if you plan on adding your websites to local directories (ie chamber of commerce, or other localized business directories) subdomains are a far better choice than folders.

Since subdomains (afaik) are treated as quasi-separate domains from the root domain, ensure you cross link using keywords as the linktext and also attain outside links for each subdomain too - not just to your primary url.

That's my 2 cents and hope it helps. Good luck!

for SEO, its better to have a / than a sub domain, as in:
bobswhatever/california is better than california.bobswhatever

im not sure how much localizing the domains per region will help. im not from the states, so i have never had experience with that. internationally, it makes a huge difference. a co.uk domain ranks better in th UK than any other, so im sure it will make some difference.

i wouldnt bother tho, stick to one domain, cut down costs and increase your ROI
if your one domain gets enough traffic, it will rank better than the localized ones anyway, since traffic contributes a lot to where your site stands in search results much more than a domain name does.

dont beleive me? then how come a craigslist ad for, for example a fishtank for sale will come up in a searchengine before fishtanksforsale.com

Ok, and on the other side - my company name contains a very overly used word (maybe for my own lack of creativity) so i can't actually get BobsTools.com, nor BobsToolsinc.com or BobsGlobalTools.com or anything that i can think of, so using BobsToolsCalifornia.com was another way of getting the company name as well as the state, although at a hefty price of over $400/yr just for domains.

Is there another option im missing? Or do i just need to try and find a better name, or loose out on search rankings and $500+/yr for domains.

eskimo said:

for SEO, its better to have a / than a sub domain, as in:
bobswhatever/california is better than california.bobswhatever

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These are 2 different things right? one is counted as part of the main domain, the other is a completely separate domain in big G's eyes.

keropikero said:

These are 2 different things right? one is counted as part of the main domain, the other is a completely separate domain in big G's eyes.

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From what I understand that is correct.