It may surprise some the volume of business that comes from non-local consumers even for those not in traditional travel or tourism markets.  I took a look at my Dallas suburb and found that local stores and shops might expect 33% of their business to come from out of town non-locals.

Frisco, Texas is not a big name in tourism.  Yet travelers come for business and events such as spectator or youth sports.  Combined with the fact that travelers often spend more than locals in food and shopping, in a town like Frisco, non-local customers can make up a substantial part of revenue for a local business.

There are some differences in marketing strategies for non-locals compared to local residents and it is important to understand these differences to make sure you’re not missing out on a material portion of business.

In this month’s Search Engine Land column, I cover 7 tips for capturing traffic from non-local customers.  One example in particular emphasizes the importance of testing search results with different search terms.  A restaurant named Piada Italian Street Food in Frisco can easily be found with more specific search terms that locals might use, but doesn’t appear at all when broader search terms that non-locals might use are entered.

Read more details on why this restaurant wasn’t able to be found and other tips for capturing non-local traffic at “Case study: 33% of local search business is from nonlocals – 7 tips for capturing that traffic.”