Have you ever heard the expression, “If I can make it can here, I can make it anywhere”? Well, the expression was meant for New York , but more accurately depicts Toronto when it comes to SEO. Toronto SEO (search engine optimization) is possibly the most difficult market in the world. I imagine many people would be surprised to hear this, but it really true. Back in the 2002, I became involved in real estate marketing. It meant targeting keywords like: Toronto real estate, Toronto condos, Toronto homes for sale, etc. It was the first market I tried because it was my local market. Even at that time it was really competitive. I worked long hours but eventually I dominated all of the Toronto search terms for real estate. I figured that the skills I learned about targeting the Toronto SEO game I could apply to other markets. Amazingly, I was right. The funny thing was the other markets were so easy. I targeted New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc and none were even close to difficult as the Toronto SEO market.
Since that time, I’ve done SEO work for companies all over the world and most of the markets in North America. Still Toronto remains the most challenging and most competitive.
So why is Toronto SEO is difficult?
Here are some of the reasons for why SEO in Toronto is so competitive.
1) Population: Canada is a huge country and the majority of Canadians live in only a hand full of cities. The greater Toronto area has almost 10 million people. That makes one of the biggest urban centers in North America.
2) Name: Often even the people who live near but not in Toronto when they search for local products they search by Toronto + product or business. Businesses know this and many target Toronto even if they may be located an hour or two outside of the city. Also, businesses see the large size of the market as huge customer base so only makes sense to target it.
3) Type of people: Toronto is a very modern city. It is very technological based and the people who live here embrace technology with open arms. As a result, Toronto is a city that usually ranks at top for Internet activity. For example it #6 in the world for its use of Twitter. The people here are savvy and businesses share this mentality and are aggressive about their internet marketing efforts. Toronto is also very multicultural. Over 150 languages are spoken in Toronto. As result there are many people with very wide range of approaches to online marketing.
4) A few key companies: Toronto is usually an office city or headquarters city. If an American companies wants to have a Canadian presence, they usually set up a head office in Toronto. It is the best Canadian city for its infrastructure and human resources. So Toronto has many big businesses here and as a result some of the top SEO companies are in Toronto vying for their business.
5) Hub city: Education is extremely important as a web marketer. Toronto SEO’s rely on constantly improving their knowledge to stay on top. Fortunately because Toronto is a hub city there many conferences and Internet seminars that happen here each year. Toronto is the easiest city to fly into and easiest one to fly out making it a popular choice of host.
For all of the reasons and many more Toronto SEO remains one most competitive markets in the world. I am very proud of my Toronto home and the knowledge and the experience it has given me.
If you can make it in Toronto, you can make it anywhere.
