Local Business Wanting National Customers

Nationwide keyword isn't cheap, make sure your client match up their expectation with their budget.

One website always better, your homepage can target nationwide (generic) keyword, and create pages for local keywords.

And you might not ask, but I'll give my opinion anyway .... try not to obsess with keywords, there are tons of other methods to promote the service, especially B2B to larger companies.

He needs to do a true national competitive review before he tackles that market. There are a lot of competitors out there in this same. Can he compete on price? If not how will he win over customers? Why would they choose him?

As for multiple websites? I would say to split the brands. Make a national brand and keep the local brand.

As for attacking the national arena if he truly things he can compete I would focus on blogs, articles, and videos. Not for the SEO so much but literally just to get eyes on his site. That is hopefully if no one else has decided to do this which I suspect they have.

This really seems at this point to be more a fundamental business model question vs. a marketing question and one that to give a truly valuable answer I would have to know a lot more. I'd plan a 2 hour consult with them personally and have them do pre-research or pay me/someone to do the research.

Your marketing strategy depends so much on what business plan they choose so in many ways you will be in a holding pattern till they are sure which avenue to pursue.

Best of luck. If you end up being their business consultant as well and want a second opinion based on their info feel free to message me and i would be happy to give my thought based on what you found in discovery.

I would go with a "Local based site" with local keywords.
National is not the way to go...the more specific the better.

Guillermo Mata -

I'd have one site for everything. And as far as seo I'd go the route of ( Whatever the name is ) is located ( at the place) and continue that way constantly referring to their point of origin.

Well, a couple of things, and I think that Aaron Doud was off to a good start, but didn't mention a few material points. Marketing is marketing. Online and offline just use different methods.

If budget is an issue, which is almost always is, you don't have to go for the whole nation. I have a client who does bookkeeping for small businesses. She started marketing online locally and then branched out into other local markets in other states based on business growth in the city, the difference in her cost vs local costs, etc. So she didn't go "Nation" she went "Multi-Local". (If noone else has ever used that term before, I'd like historical credit for making it up just now )

Also, Google results vary by region. There are about 20 regions that I know of and they each have their own listings for general keywords. Add the whole Google Local concept to the mix and it makes it VERY difficult anymore to get nationwide exposure for any keyword (unless your keyword is your brand name, like Progressive or Pizza Hut or you really are in the top 3-5 businesses in the country for a product or service like Verizon Wireless for cell phones).

Do some marketing research about where you client's clients actually are and where the largest numbers of them are that would be paying high enough prices locally for the same service that would make them want to mail in their device. Then hit those markets. I'm guessing that folks in small town Montana aren't the easiest people to reach, but folks on Long Island or Cambridge may be eager to send away for service, while most folks in Aspen may have the money, but won't take the time.

That said, Multi-Local, ( remember, you heard it here first ) is much easier, in my experience, with multiple sites AS LONG AS you are not just duplicating content. And for most service based businesses, I use directory sites to add more visibility to the local site. Seems to work well to get the site lots of exposure in the organic results as well as local results.