Both local and organic SEO aim to lift your site higher in search results to earn more traffic, exposure, and sales. The difference is scope: organic SEO targets rankings on a national or global level, while local SEO captures search territory tied to searchers in your own area. Used together, the two strategies cover more ground on Google.
How Google handles local searches
Google’s local results are not a fixed street-address map. They are built from individual data feeds from people Google labels “local searchers.” Local SEO techniques take advantage of that setup, making it easier for your site to rise in results for specific local queries.
In a Google press release, the company said it would keep rolling out new features and services tied to local searches over the next couple of years, including smarter ranking algorithms, better maps, and richer content. One of those changes is a map pack rankings system designed to let local businesses benefit from their area’s demographics and geographic information across the web.
Why map listings matter
If you run a local business with a website, your pages typically list your products, services, prices, and hours of operation. That is the kind of detail a search engine can use. A site that specializes in finding pizza joints in an area, for example, could filter results by calories or topping types, and Google could surface local searches based on those criteria.
If your site is not currently listed on Google Maps, adding it today is worth considering. The map lets people searching locally see your location, so they know where to go when looking up your pizza joint’s menu items and pricing.
Main benefits of local SEO
- Improved user experience. Optimized local listings in Google Maps give searchers a clearer result, and they are more likely to see your listing because it is part of your local SEO campaign.
- Higher click-through rate on organic listings. Local SEO provides useful information about your business, which can push visitors toward a purchase or a store visit.
- Link popularity. Local SEO efforts help you build link popularity, which is vital for organic search engine rankings. To rank well on Google, you have to rank for specific location searches within your location, industry, and industry niche.
A pizza parlor owner in Bradenton, Florida, for instance, would want the site to rank in the top 10 percent of searches in the city for pizza so that it lands among the first few results for any location-specific search in that area and industry.
Organic SEO still depends on relevance
Organic search engine optimization is widely treated as the most effective and proven way to improve rankings. Even so, rankings are determined by relevance, so your site, content, graphics, and images need to match the specific keywords you are targeting in the location you are trying to rank in. Targeting unrelated keywords makes organic SEO work useless, which is why up-to-date local SEO techniques matter if you want high rankings on the major search engines and lasting organic results.
FAQ
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your website so it appears in search results tied to a specific geographic area, capturing searches from people in your own market rather than on a national or global scale.
How does local SEO differ from organic SEO?
Organic SEO focuses on growing page rankings on a national or global level. Local SEO narrows that focus to local online search territory so results relate to searchers in your area, often through map listings and location-specific queries.
What are the main benefits of local SEO?
Local SEO improves user experience through optimized listings, raises click-through rates on organic results, and helps build link popularity for location-based queries. Google has also said it will add features like map pack rankings, better maps, and smarter ranking algorithms that local businesses can benefit from.
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