Optimizing for Local Search with Local SEO Targeting

Managing local visibility across cities and regions can feel like chasing shadows. Whether you're building landing pages for specific markets or trying to rank in AI-generated summaries, Clearscope’s Local SEO Targeting helps you create content that shows up where it matters most.

Today we’ll walk through how Local SEO Targeting helps you tailor your strategy to real-world search behavior without adding complexity to your workflow.

What Is Local SEO Targeting?

Local SEO Targeting is a Draft-level setting that lets you optimize content for specific cities or regions. In addition to our terms, questions, and heading recommendations you'll also gain location-specific insights that reflect how people actually search in your target area.

This includes:

• Terms used by local audiences

• Competitor content from the selected locale

Put simply, Local SEO Targeting helps you write content that ranks locally, whether you're targeting “coffee shop in Chicago” or building pages for regional services.

How Local SEO Targeting Works

When you select a city or region in your Draft:

• Salient Terms update to reflect what people in that location actually search. For example, searching for “coffee shops” in Portland surfaces independent roasters, while in Seattle it highlights chains like Starbucks.

• Competitors shift based on who is ranking locally. A law firm in Miami will see different competitors than one in Dallas, even for the same practice area terms.

• SERP results localize, showing you the content formats and sites that perform best in your chosen region.

By surfacing these differences, Clearscope helps you create content that matches real-world search behavior in your target market.

How to Use Local Targeting

When creating a new Draft, simply input a city or region into the optional Local Targeting field. Clearscope will generate a report using data from that location, that tailor the SERP analysis to your target market.

For example, selecting Portland, OR surfaces terms like “cafe,” “coffee roasters,” and “Portland vibe” which are terms that wouldn’t appear in a national-level report.

This helps you align your content with local search intent and stand out against both regional and national competitors.

Ready to see the difference? Turn on Local SEO Targeting in your next Draft and start creating content that ranks where your audience is searching. Let’s get local!