Determining What Your Business Needs: Local SEO Or National SEO?

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization today, we often look at two things: National SEO and Local SEO. While both types are beneficial and important for many businesses, you have to note that there are distinct differences between the two. Find out what the differences are and how you can tell which approach best suits your business needs.

What is National SEO and When is It Needed?

If you want your website to be ranked for specific keywords that are related to your business across the country, you should opt for National SEO campaigns. For example, if you run an international or national business, and a more specific location does not matter to you, National SEO is a good approach to reach your target audience. More than 90% of consumers today look for a product or service through online means. Hence, it is essential that your business remains visible in search rankings. Here is a quick look at some of the things that will be done for National SEO:

• Thorough review of current SEO strategies and practices
• Citations
• Optimizing Google Maps
• Optimization of on-site content
• Keyword mapping
• Advanced keyword research

National campaigns are more challenging to navigate because of its complex and competitive nature, thereby requiring a larger campaign budget. For example, it will be more difficult to get to the top of Google’s search engine result pages for “tea seller” as opposed to “tea seller in San Leandro, CA”. There is a huge difference between competing with similar businesses around the word and competing with similar businesses in that local area. Before you decide whether national campaigns suit your business, it is pertinent that you talk to SEOs so that they can help you build effective campaigns based on your needs.

What is Local SEO and When is It Needed?

Local SEO is based off the principles of traditional SEO, and is particularly useful when you want to appeal to people within a certain geographic area. For example, you are a restaurant owner and you own a fine dining restaurant that is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. You will want your restaurant to appear in the results when potential customers search for “fine dining restaurants in New Brunswick” or something along these lines.

A local campaign is also a good way to appeal your target audience locally, determine where potential customers live, and establish your business or brand as part of that local community. Another great thing about local SEO is that it costs less due to the smaller outreach that it provides. On the whole, decent-to-pretty good local SEO results are achieved by following simple strategies such as:

• Creating social media profiles on key websites with information that includes business NAP (Name, Address and Phone number)
• Submission and quality maintenance of your business NAP on review and directory sites
• Create optimized pages on your site for each location you are targeting. This means your site will include specific information and resources that people would normally search online
• Including the names of the cities you served within your site’s content
• Your business’s city names will be incorporated as keywords on your website

Whether you need National SEO or Local SEO help, we at SmartSites can help you score a resounding success in both types of campaigns. Talk to our SEO experts today!