How Far Will You Go For SEO?

Changing your city’s name is a little bizarre and far-fetched. But how about changing your entire county’s name just to show up better in search results?
While a rare occurrence, changing your business name in an effort to increase search traffic isn’t unheard of. Changing your city’s name is a little bizarre and far-fetched.

But how about changing your entire county’s name just to show up better in search results?

That’s exactly what Seminole County in Florida will be voting on today, to change their name to “Orlando North”. Officials believe that this change will help drive tourism to their hotels and attractions, drawing attention to their proximity to the tourist haven of Orlando. Will their efforts be worthwhile? While that is yet to be seen, my first instinct is to say yes. This re-branding effort could be successful SEO-wise.

I think it might make them more likely to appear for Orlando based searches, if the name “Orlando North” is reflected accurately on their websites. However, I doubt the change will come without controversy.

Vacationers looking for strictly Orlando based hotels and attractions could become frustrated when their search results potentially include destinations well outside the city center. I can’t help but wonder if other counties will take note if the proposed change is approved and successful.

Will other counties soon follow suit? Will we begin seeing “Dallas North”, “Dallas South”, or even “Dallas Far North East”? Only time will tell. In my opinion, it seems a little nuts to go this far for SEO.

But, it also proves just how important SEO is in your marketing efforts. If you’ve been questioning whether or not your business needs SEO, this might just be the wake-up call you needed.