Local SEO and General SEO (or National/Global SEO) serve different purposes and target different audiences.
| Local SEO | General SEO |
Target Audience | Targets a specific geographic location where the business serves. | Targets a broader audience without a geographic restriction. |
Objective | Help businesses promote their products or services to local customers who are near their location. | Increase a websiteβs visibility on search engines for broader, often highly competitive keywords. |
Strategy Core Pillars | π Google Business Profile optimization, which involves claiming and optimizing a businessβs listing to appear on Google Maps and local search results. π NAP Consistency (Name, Address, Phone number), ensuring this information is accurate and consistent across the web. π Local citations and directory listings on sites like Yelp, Foursquare, and industry-specific directories. π Gaining local reviews to build trust with the local audience. πLocalized content creation, often involving city-specific or neighborhood-specific keywords. | π Keyword research and content optimization for competitive, high-volume keywords. π Building backlinks to improve domain authority. Developing and maintaining a solid content strategy with blog posts, articles, and other resources to attract a global audience. π Technical SEO improvements, like optimizing site speed, mobile-friendliness, and structured data to help search engines crawl and index the site. π On-page SEO practices to improve meta titles, descriptions, and content relevancy. |
Best for | Brick-and-mortar stores, restaurants, service providers, and any business looking to attract customers within a particular geographic area. | E-commerce, SaaS, content publishers, and businesses aiming to reach a broad or international audience. |
Key Differences
π Audience Targeting: Local SEO focuses on reaching nearby customers, while general SEO targets users based on intent or interests, regardless of location.
π Keyword Strategy: Local SEO keywords often include location modifiers (e.g., "coffee shop in Austin"), whereas general SEO keywords focus on broad search terms (e.g., "best coffee shop").
π Listings and Directories: Local SEO relies heavily on local directories and reviews, whereas general SEO is more focused on link-building from a wider range of sites.
Both types of SEO are complementary and can be integrated for businesses with both local and broader objectives.
If you have any further questions, please contact us at
β[email protected].