Traditional SEO focuses on improving a website's visibility on a national or global scale, while local SEO allows businesses to capture local search territory and connect with searchers in their area. The main difference between organic and local search is that local SEO has a geographic component. It is a subsection of search engine optimisation that focuses on the geographic components of search. Local SEO is the practice of optimising your website for local search results, which can not only increase visibility and traffic to your site, but also foot traffic to your brick and mortar business. Local SEO is a search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy that helps businesses become more visible in local search results on Google.
Google uses an algorithm to evaluate all websites and creates a list of organic search results, also known as search engine results pages or SERPs. These organic search results are augmented by Google's suggestion to find results on specific directories, such as Tripadvisor or Facebook. In addition to organic search, there is paid search that places Google and other paid ads even more prominently than organic search results. Creating internal links between the different pages of a website makes it easier for Google to crawl web pages and their content. Software known as web crawlers or spiders automatically searches for websites across the Internet and creates an index.
The search results are listed from this index. This means that trust and relevance are not only critical to users' online experience, but are also key ranking factors for organic search engine optimisation. The better Google understands your website's content, the more experience, authority and trust the search engine attributes to your website and the more likely it is to appear prominently in search results and, in turn, reach more consumers. Local search results (local 3-pack) for "Liverpool coffee" Local search results suggest relevant places that are close to users. They appear when search queries include local references such as "supermarket open now", "restaurants near me" or "electronics shop Liverpool centre".
Even simple Google searches for "coffee shops" or "post offices" will immediately show three nearby locations: Google's local 3-pack. As with organic search results, the search engine prioritises locations with the most relevant business information that matches the search query. With organic search results, search engines display the websites that offer the most relevant and attractive content for a search query. This is the usual process for search engines, regardless of whether the query is local or not. When Google and other search engines see that a user's query is "local", they supplement the organic search results with relevant places near the user. Local 3-pack in local search results for "pizza".
Companies that focus on organic SEO usually aim to rank for specific keywords and trusted content. On the other hand, businesses working on a local search marketing campaign aim to rank for the particular location linked to the business. The choice of doing organic SEO or local SEO depends on the nature and type of your business, as each has its merits. If your customers are not tied to a specific location, you will want to go for organic SEO, on the other hand, if you have a business that sells its products or provides its services in a particular geographic area only, then local SEO is the thing for you. Both types of SEO share the same principles for ranking higher on Google and other search engines and getting maximum traffic, but they are also different in many ways. Still, there are some strategies that can be applied to both approaches, such as link building or content marketing.
And whether it's local or national SEO, remember to have a measurement plan in place so you can evaluate performance over time. The fact is that local search queries ("near me" searches) are more relevant than ever: around 53% of all Google searches include a local reference. By using local SEO optimisation techniques you can promote your products and services to your customers when they really need them and are literally looking for you. Consistent NAP citations and a reputation management plan are important parts of a holistic local SEO approach. To state the obvious for local SEO, you must ensure that your business name, address and phone number (NAP) are consistent in local listing directories as well as on your website. In other words, local keywords help Google include your business in local searches, making it more likely that people in your area will know about your business.
