HubShout | Online Marketing Solutions

I get this question a lot, and the short of it is organically yes, but not likely on G+Local.

Google will rank your Local listing for the city you are physically in, but depending on competition and search volume it's kind of a long shot to get a good ranking outside of that.

Unless you have a physical location within the city you're trying to rank in, it's very hard for an outside company to penetrate that market (locally speaking).

If i'm looking for a mechanic within Rochester, but results appear for a mechanic in Victor, NY (20 miles away) that really doesn't help me much. This applies to pretty much all businesses. The best way to get found for cities you're not currently located in are through organic SEO or through PPC.

I would also advise against using a PO box or a regus suite to claim a listing in a city you aren't actually in. Both are in violation of Google guidelines and you will get suspended.

Local is important, but you need to understand limitations. Can a business rank well for a city they're not in? It's possible, but won't happen every time. Be aware of what will benefit the client the most.

What other issues do you run into when selling local or trying to work on client's pages yourself?

Forgive me if this is a silly question, but what would be the benefit to ranking in a city that's not your location?

Ranking in a major city (NYC, atlanta, chicago, or even rochester) when your business is actually located in the suburbs or any location outside the city. Trying to get to a larger customer base.

Service area businesses and online-only businesses assume they can profit from doing this. In truth - much like Eric said - this is not advised, as it can get you suspended.

If you're a legitimate business with a physical storefront, it is possible to rank outside your physical address, but most listings will run into very hardcore obstacles when it comes to this.

Gotcha. OK, thanks.

Right, for people who are interested in what they can do as far as Local SEO, I recommend this video.

Good call Jenna - gotta love HubShout resources.

Thanks for the link!