Local SEOing

[Chrisli]

Hi,
I just wanted to ask some experts, when ranking websites for local keywords is it beneficial to buy domains with the local extension? For example, I live in australia, so if I was ranking for a local keyword would keyword.com.au be better than a keyword.com in terms of ranking power?

Thanks,
Chris

[Chrisli]

This is annoying, i've just noticed that i'm ranking #2 if i search google from a usa proxy, but for a city of the same name in usa. So i'm guessing next time i should use the .au extension?

[edit]

To any Aussie Warriors out there can you recommend where to purchase .au domains

[C Rebecca]

Yes, country specific domain extensions help a lot in targeting local audience (as it gives them a hint that this website is specifically created for them)

Also, it gives a hint to search engines about your target local area. Apart from this, you can specify your target location in Google webmaster tools.