Local SEO Vs. Organic SEO - What's The Difference?

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Local SEO or Organic SEO?

That's the question businesses ask themselves when they want to grow their online presence. Both are equally important, and while local SEO is part of organic SEO, some nuances set them apart.
Today, we'll decipher the differences and decide which is better for your company based on your industry.

Local SEO vs. Organic SEO

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Benefits of Local SEO

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1. Appear in Local Searches

People searching for products and services in their vicinity have increased. This is partly due to lockdown limitations and the popular 'shop local' consumer trend. According to Think with Google, 'where to buy' and 'near me' searches have grown 200% since 2017.
Local SEO tactics are the most effective way to appear in these area-specific searches. Take advantage of this consumer and online user trend. Implement Local SEO practices to your market strategy today.
Do this by:

• Optimize your Google My Business profile to appear on Google Maps and searches.
• Optimizing URLs, meta tags, etc., with location-specific keywords.
• Adding location pages to your web pages and footers.

Here’s an example of how your business will look on Google Maps after setting up your GMB profile:

2. Attain 3-Pack Spot

According to Sistrix, the first search result has a CTR of 28.5%. Which swiftly falls to 2.5% for the tenth spot. So, if you want more traffic, you have to rank in the top spots.
Local searches are gi7n top page priority, also known as the 3-pack spot. According to SEO Clarity, local businesses appear in the 3-pack position 93% of the time in local search. So, say you have a clothing store in New Jersey.
Doing local SEO for your company has a 93% chance of showing up in the 3-pack position when someone in the area looks for a 'clothing store.'
Attain a 3-pack spot by:

• Claiming your business listing on directories.
• Updating your NAP information on all platforms.
• Creating location-specific content that establishes your company in that area.

Here’s an example of the 3-Pack on Google search results:

3. Get More Visibility

According to Moz, citation building is the fifth most crucial ranking factor for local SEO. Plus, it's also instrumental in getting more brand visibility. An online citation is when a website, social platform, or listing mentions your company name, address, and phone (NAP) info.
For example, when you create a profile on a social media platform. You have to fill in the company description, address, and phone number. Each of these profiles builds a bank of valuable links or citations.
More citations = more visibility. That's because each of these platforms has a unique demographic that gets exposed to your company information. Here are some options:

• LinkedIn - a social networking platform for professionals/companies.
• Facebook/Meta - a social networking platform for personal/businesses profiles.
• Foursquare - a search and discovery app for companies/brands.

Here’s an example of what your business will look like on Foursquare:

4. Increase Relevant Traffic

Local SEO tactics promote your business to people in your area looking for your services. Therefore, you get more relevant traffic to your website and your store/office.
Say a person is driving to an interview and realizes that they forgot their CV. A simple search for 'where can I get print out' will pull up printing companies within the area. If you've claimed your listings on reputed directories, your printing shop will show up.
So, ensure your business has many listings to increase your local ranking.

• Google My Business is essential because Google relies on your GMB information to rank businesses.
• Bing Places is another great directory to list your business. It's simple and free.
• Yelp For Business is a very popular directory because it uses crowd-sourced and trusted reviews to rate its listings.

Here’s a screenshot of the Yelp For Business page in which you can add details about your business:

Which Type of Companies Should Focus on Local SEO

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• Healthcare/Medical - Hospitals, clinics, private practices, etc., depend on their serviceable area for new and return clients. Local SEO tactics can help medical professionals gain more traffic and walk-ins.
• Restaurants/Cafes - People in the food industry who have a physical space require local SEO to increase visibility, outrank their competitors and get more clients.
• Real Estate - Potential homeowners/property-owners look for agents in their desired location to find properties. Therefore, local SEO tactics can help real estate firms show up in more searches.
• Automobile - Dealerships, mechanics, etc., depend on people in their community to grow their business. Therefore, local SEO strategies can help them with their marketing needs.
• Travel Agencies - Travellers look online to find the best agents in their area to help them book their holidays. Travel agents can get more traffic and quality leads to their websites and offices using local SEO practices.
• Lawyers/Legal - Potential clients look online for legal advice and book a consultation after online research. Therefore, Local SEO practices can help lawyers attract more quality clients by appearing in these searches.

Benefits of Organic SEO

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1. Higher ROI

Compared to traditional marketing, organic SEO methods are budget-friendly. Plus, SEO campaigns yield results years after the campaign period is over. That's why the return on the interest is high when pitted against any other form of marketing.
For example, a full-page magazine ad can cost 1000s of dollars and only targets a specific reader, who may or may not follow through on the ad's content. However, an SEO-friendly blog post about the same ad's content will reach a wider audience. Plus, it has a higher conversion rate because you can add a call to action within the blog post.
Organic SEO has a higher ROI compared to other types of marketing because:

• It reaches a wider demographic.
• Consistently gets results even after the campaign duration is over.
• Most SEO tactics are either free or low-cost.

Using long-tail keywords, you can find on Google search’s autosuggest improves organic SEO:

2. More Organic Traffic

Your website will garner more organic traffic through SEO tactics and content marketing. That's because SEO focuses on search terms and user search intent. Both factors help search engines push your content or website to users searching for your brand, product, content, or services.
Say you're an e-commerce site that specializes in educational toys for kids. By creating SEO-friendly blogs around the subject or creating product videos that have been optimized, your website will start to rank higher on search results. Therefore, you will get more organic traffic.
So, to get more organic traffic, make sure your use the best practices such as:

• Do keyword research to find the best performers for your niche. Then create content around it.
• Add keywords to meta descriptions, URLs, alt tags, etc.
• Increase site's loading speed.

Here’s a screenshot of a website’s loading speed analysis results by GTmetrix:

3. Outrank Competition

Say two companies are offering the same product. But, one uses SEO, and the other doesn't. Which do you think will grow?
The answer is simple. It's the one that uses SEO because it appears on search pages!
You have to outrank your immediate competition when getting more traffic and visibility. The best way to do this is through competitor analysis. Thankfully, many SEO tools offer reports and insights into your competition's strategy.
Currently, the best tools for competitor analysis are:

• Ahrefs gives you an instant overview of your brand pitted against your top competitors, among other features.
• SEMrush is an all-in-one SEO management platform that lets your track new competitors, find competitors' best keywords, etc.
• Spyfu shows you the keywords your competitors have bought and are ranking for.

Here’s a screenshot of Ahrefs showing competing domains:

4. Track The Results

One of the biggest benefits of SEO is tracking every little detail about your campaigns and your website. Through SEO tools, it's very easy to track a campaign and then replicate its success.
Say you run a PPC ad launching your latest product. At the same time, you publish a blog and a social media campaign about the same product. You can easily assess which campaign performed better through SEO tools such as Moz, Ahrefs, and Google Analytics.
There are many KPIs to track the success of your campaigns, but here are some common ones:

• Organic traffic - how much traffic comes to your site.
• CTR - how many people clicked on your link.
• Conversion rate - how many times a user took a desired action such as signing up, buying a product, clicking on your website, etc.

Here’s a screenshot of a CTR report by Google Analytics:

Which Type of Companies Should Focus on Organic SEO

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• Online Exclusive Retail Companies - Fashion, lifestyle, home decor, etc., companies that do not have physical stores require SEO to rank on search engines. SEO tactics will also increase their visibility and get more quality clients.
• Chain Restaurants - Adding geo-specific keywords on multiple pages can help boost a chain restaurant's ranking on search pages. Many SEO techniques can effectively increase traffic to all restaurants' locations when done right.
• Banks - Financial institutions require the help of SEO to grow their brand, gain visibility, outrank the competition and acquire new clients. Banks can improve these marketing goals through effective SEO strategies such as content marketing and PPC ads.
• Educational Institutes - Schools and colleges can gain more visibility and prospective students by implementing SEO tactics. Parents and students are searching the internet first to find schools. Therefore, SEO is necessary to reach the people looking for your school.
• Multi-Location Businesses - If you're a business with many locations, it's important to implement SEO tactics to help rank all those locations independently. SEO campaigns that target demographics in different areas are ideal for your business. Hire an SEO agency to accomplish this complicated but vital process.
• IT Companies - The IT industry is a highly competitive space. Therefore, SEO is a great way to gain reputation, outrank your competition, and gain more traffic. Whether you want to promote your services or simply increase web rank, SEO tactics will help you achieve those goals.

Important Local SEO Stats

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• 88% of users will call or purchase after searching for local businesses on mobile phones. (Graffiti9).
• 72% of users who did a local search visited the store within five miles (HubSpot).
• 28% of local searches are followed by a purchase (Safari Digital).
• 97% of users learn about local businesses online (SEO tribunal).
• 18% of local smartphone searches were purchased within 24 hours (Think With Google).
• 24.4% of users click the first result of local business searches (Safari Digital).
• 'Near me' searches grew by 200% since 2019 (Think With Google).

Important Organic SEO Stats

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• 75% of web users don't go past the first page of results on search engines (HubSpot).
• 32% is the average organic click-through rate for the first search result on Google (Advanced Web Ranking)
• 91.1% of all global web traffic goes to Google for their search queries (Stat Counter).
• 70% of online marketers agree that SEO is better than PPC ads for sales (HubSpot).

Local SEO & Organic SEO - FAQs

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Q1: Is There A Difference Between Local And Organic SEO?

Yes. Local SEO is a strategy based on ranking your business using location signals. It targets a local demographic to promote your website/company. Organic SEO implements tactics that grow your business globally and increase its ranking.

Q2: Which Is Better Local Or Organic SEO For My E-Commerce Shop?

Organic SEO is more beneficial for your online store. However, local SEO practices such as claiming your Google My Business listing will help you appear in more search results because Google uses information from this platform to rank businesses.

Q3: Does My Web Content Matter For Local SEO?

Content is important for organic SEO. The right keywords and writing valuable content will help your website rank organically. However, adding NAP info and location keywords in your URLs, meta descriptions, etc., will help your business appear in local searches.

Key Takeaways

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• Write content valuable to your demographic; this will help attract organic SEO traffic.
• Claim your business listing on directories to increase your local SEO ranking.
• Add Location-specific keywords to your pages to boost your visibility in local SEO searches.
• Add Schema markup to your web pages to show up in more first-page search results.
• Create a mobile-friendly website to boost local and organic SEO ranking.
• Ensure your NAP info is the same across all platforms, including your web pages.
• Add your company address to the footer of all your web pages.
• Create location-specific pages to attract leads from your desired area.