Global SEO vs. Local SEO: Which is Best for Your Business?

SEO can be very helpful in growing a business. But, it’s up to you to decide between using a global SEO vs. local SEO strategy, and what’s best for your business.

Well, simply put, you should know the right type of SEO plan that suits your brand before subscribing to any SEO monthly plans you may have found on Google.

Would your business do better with local SEO or a more elaborate SEO plan? No matter the size, nature, or financial capacity of a business, one fact is universal: all businesses want to be profitable.

Now, how can knowing the right type of SEO plan help your business become as profitable as possible? Let’s start by highlighting the differences between the different types of SEO.

Global SEO vs. Local SEO: Differences

Regular SEO is the process of upgrading the visibility of your website, either on a global, national, or targeted scale. Whereas local SEO, is when you focus on targeting a specific group of prospects within a certain area.

No matter which Google search your website pops up on, or the amount of quality traffic it generates, your SEO plan will fall into one of these categories.

What Does SEO Mean?

To be able to make an informed decision on what SEO plan would work best for you, you should first know what it is all about.

According to Wikipedia, SEO is the process of using search engines to improve the quantity and overall quality of traffic that a website can get. Ideally, SEO does not focus on paid or direct traffic, but targets unpaid or organic traffic instead.

For the average person who might be thinking: “Is SEO worth it for a small business?”, there are a few more things that you should understand about search engine results and how they work.

Beyond just the basic definition of what SEO is about, we’ll show you some interesting things about search results that make them important for any business – big and small alike.

What Does a Traditional Google Search Result Look Like?

When it comes to using this particular search engine, Google is famous for pulling up some of the following elements when you run a search:

1. Images related to your search
2. A knowledge graph to provide focused information
3. A list of shopping results
4. A featured snippet
5. A box of answers
6. “Snippets”, or better still, the actual search results

Just remember that the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) will display these results based on available data and the search words you used.

What are the Most Popular Traditional SEO Strategies?

An SEO strategy simply refers to the process of upgrading a website’s ranking on search engines by creating a thorough plan. This is smart for every website as it attract more traffic organically, and also creates a level of quality traffic control.

Some of the most popular traditional SEO strategies include, but are not limited to, the following:

Optimization of Your Website:

This is the process of driving more traffic to your website and improving its performance by using advanced strategies and digital tools.

Building Links:

This focuses on improving a website’s search engine rankings by increasing the quality and quantity of inbound links to the webpage.

Consistent Posting of Content:

A regularly updated blog/website should naturally attract organic traffic and growth.

Putting these strategies to good use is a good way of getting the SEO results you want for your website.

 

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What Types of Businesses Need an SEO Plan?

Without a doubt, we believe that every business, big or small, should not only use SEO but also have a great SEO plan that they consistently follow.

Whether you have an in-house SEO team or you’d rather have “done for you SEO”, you should know what strategies work best for your business type and size.

“Done for you SEO” refers to the process of contracting a company that provides SEO for small business owners and letting them handle your digital optimization needs.

What Does Local SEO Mean?

According to Mail Chimp, local SEO “is a strategy that highly benefits businesses that serve a particular geographical area or is physically situated in a locality”. This is because this strategy helps a business to boost its visibility on Google’s local search results pages.

Local SEO is widely regarded as a unique SEO strategy because, for the local search results rankings, Google uses an entirely different set of factors.

What Does A Local Google Search Result Look?

Even without putting in keywords like “local” or “in my vicinity”, Google adds a lot of local data into most searches, unless you’ve expressly said not to within your keywords.

That said, what are the components that an average local Google search result would have?

• “My Business” listing on Google
• Outline of keywords in the profile of “My Business” listing on Google
• Locations of where each visitor starts their search from
• The number of “check-ins” the location generates
• The business’s star rating on Google Maps
• Citations of NAP
• Online review keywords
• Number of social media shares
• Online reviews sentiments

These components are some of the major reasons why having a great local SEO strategy is important for any localized business, regardless of its size.

What are the Best Local SEO Strategies?

As a business owner, you can boost the organic traffic your website gets when customers in nearby areas perform online searches.

How? By simply following these local SEO strategies below:

1. Ensure you have content based around local events and news on your website.
2. Make sure your website is optimized for voice search.
3. Ensure that you have top-quality backlinks.
4. Remember get and post reviews from satisfied customers.
5. Make sure to create a Google My Business account.
6. Use online directories to your business’s advantage.
7. Maximize the use of local keywords.
8. Ensure that your website works on mobile devices.

Local SEO helps you compete against bigger businesses that have large digital marketing budgets, as it offers you a lot more conversions, website traffic, and leads from your local customer base.

Does Your Business Need Local SEO?

Since local SEO focuses more on ranking well on SERPs within targeted locations, it is key to the growth of small businesses.

Every small business should think of using local SEO, as their customer base is limited to a more regional level, and this could help them tremendously. Both existing and prospective customers, as well as local leads, should be the main focus as you market your services, brand, and products; and local SEO is just the thing for you to reach them on their level.

Conclusion

As a business owner, you should also understand that no SEO strategy works forever, this is why you should always strive to keep gaining more knowledge about how best to use it.

Your business is only as profitable as it is visible. Hence, whether using traditional or local, SEO best practices that match your brand’s business and size are crucial to your success.

If you need assistance with your SEO, or digital marketing in general, please let us know! You can connect with us via our Contact page, or through the form below.