The Local SEO process implies receiving reviews, citations and backlinks from different sources on your targeted keywords.

Most of the How To’s available on the internet define the Prospecting process as running customized Google queries by using some filtering attributes in order to find reviewers or websites in a certain area as David Mihm recommends at the SEOLove conference in 2012. Here is his samples:

“…
54) Use this search on Google:
“title=”Elite 2012″” location site:yelp.co.uk/user_details”
to find Yelp power users (people who review a lot) if you’re in the UK.
So, if you were looking for Yelp reviewers in Manchester your search would be:
“title=”Elite 2012″” Manchester site:yelp.co.uk/user_details”

55) And if you were looking in New Jersey, USA you’d try:
“title=”Elite 2012″” new jersey site:yelp.com/user_details 

56) Use this search string to find Google users connected to Portland:
site:plus.google.com “lived * Portland” If you’re looking for other locations, just swap Portland for the location you’re interested in”

There are also several platforms on the internet allowing users to create this kind of customized searches only by selecting the keywords, targeted location and the footprint type.

All those search results are relevant for identifying Local URLs but all of them are missing to check the site authority level for Local SEO in a certain area.

For best results your goal shall be to obtain reviews, citations or backlinks from the ones placed on top positions in the Local Rankings.

The right Local SEO Prospecting Strategy steps for you to follow are:

1) chose desired keywords, for example “auto service” ( without including the location in the keyword )

2) run customized queries on each of those location ( by changing the location in Google or by using for ex KeywordSearchRankings services )

ex: http://www.keywordsearchrankings.com/keywordreport/auto-service-SERP-Position-Report-558a5386ad

3)  identify the top ranking websites on each location and do your best to get a review, backlink or citation on them

In this way you can be sure that will win Local Authority Advantages against your competitors and will rank higher for the targeted keywords in the selected locations.