Is there any SEO value to adding geo locationi info to a url?

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

• 
  Theo M: [I have seen a similar question to this, but do not remember the answer and have not been able to find that original question.]
  Is there any SEO value to adding geo locationi info to a url?  ;For example, currently the url is:
  company_name_acupuncture(dot)com
  and client wanted to get a new url of: company_name_acupuncture_CITY_NAME(dot)com
  (where [company_name] Acupuncture is the name of the company.)
  
  The current domain is 3 years old with a PR of 0.
  
  It seems to me that this technique is old, but he showed me several websites that did exactly this and ranked well in local SEO, though I am sure that there were other factors involved as well.  ;(His example was a dog grooming website, www.fairfaxfancygrooming(dot)com which seems to use many old school SEO techniques (keyword stuffing, light text which includes keywords, etc.) and yet it ranks well.  ;At times it is difficult to explain to a client that certain techniques should not be employed when some websites that are using those techniques appear to be benefiting from those very techniques.
  
  Any thoughts?  ;Thanks.
  
  #localseo  ;
• 
  Rob Maas: "Old" techniques can work (sadly enough)  ; But that is just what Google is trying to fight with their Spam Team , their special Algo updates and their daily improvements on the 220+ factors in the basic algo.  ;If you think you're smarter then Google, just do it. If you want to secure a stable position in the SERPs and build a reputable business, think twice. You won't end up in jail but is your client willing to take the risc of a (semi) permanent ban/penalty ?  ;
• 
  Theo M: +Rob Maas, I am definitely not smarter than Google.  ;:-)
   ;I also do not want to do anything that would get me in trouble with the Big G, which is why I am seeking guidance from people with much more SEO knowledge than I.  ;
  
  Is including the city name in the URL one of those things that 1. might be problematic from Google's perspective or is it 2. just ineffective and therefore just a waste of time and energy to get a new URL or 3. still helpful from a local SEO perspective?  ;
  Thanks.
• 
  Jim Munro: Please disable the active link in your question, +Theo M ;:)
• 
  Theo M: +Jim Munro ;my apologies.  ;Forgot the (dot) com trick.  ;Blame it on forgetfulness, not malice.  ;:-)
• 
  Edwin Jonk: So basically you want to move to a new TLD that includes the city name because the branded name doesn't rank? That move will have zero impact on ranking. Just moving to a new TLD doesn't do anything. In contrast it can lead to a temporarily drop in ranking because Googlebot has to figure out that the site has been moved. After the move you will rank as you did before, but with a new TLD, all things equal.
  
  To me, it would be more of a defensive decision to buy that TLD. That is, I would buy that TLD so that others can't buy it. Furthermore, I would work with the current, nicely branded, TLD and try to optimize it. Maybe this can be start:
  http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
• 
  Theo M: Thanks +Edwin Jonk.  ;That is exactly what I will do. I thought as much about the domain name, but just wanted to be make sure that I was steering my client in the right direction.  ;Also thanks for the resource link.  ;I have seen this before and found it very helpful, so you are reminding me to go back and look at it again.
  
  I know that name, address, phone number (NAP) consistency is really important and unfortunately my client's last web guy decided it was a good idea to stuff keywords into the name, so I need to clean that up all over the web, with many many variations on his name.  ;Kind of a mess, but needs to be done before he can start ranking.
  
  Thanks again for the advice.  ;Glad you all are here to help. Have a great day!
• 
  Edwin Jonk: From the expert panel in this weeks SEO Questions hangout on air on 00:09:25 into the YouTube video: https://dumbseoquestions.com/q/is_there_any_seo_value_to_adding_geo_locationi_info_to_a_url +Theo M
  
  The cuetimes listed on this page are functional while the live broadcast continues and also once Youtube has finished processing the public broadcast. Processing time varies between 6-24 hours. During this period the clip is viewable in full but the cuetimes cannot be relied on.