Oct 11, 2023

The Business Guide to Organic SEO vs. Local SEO

The Business Guide to Organic SEO vs. Local SEO

Many businesses are confused by the different types of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). What is more confusing is deciding which version you need to use and when. If this describes your company, you are not alone. Many companies struggle with the concept of SEO and how to use it effectively, although they know that they need to be able to use it to maximize the impact of their online content.

There are two types of SEO that most companies try to decide between: organic SEO and local SEO. Both options are important but have distinct uses in making a big difference for companies. Here is everything you need to know about how your business can benefit from organic SEO and local SEO.

Organic SEO

Organic SEO is the type of SEO most often used to improve the ranking of content and companies. It focuses on using keywords naturally within the content to connect the content to customers' organic searches. This is likely the most effective form of SEO as it creates content that works best for the reader. It doesn't try to fit keywords and where they wouldn't happen naturally, which would make the content sound strange.

Search engines have been adapted to prefer organic SEO since it creates better content for readers. You can easily implement organic SEO into your company’s content by identifying appropriate keywords and using them in your writing. 

Search engines are far more sophisticated than they once were. Google is much better at determining when a piece was written to get the search engine’s attention and when it was designed for readers. You want to use organic SEO as much as possible because of the benefits for everyone involved. 

Local SEO

Local SEO focuses on connecting content to customers’ searches in a specific area. Put more simply, it focuses on getting your content to show up for searches by local customers. This type of SEO is best used when you have a company that mostly sells to local customers. For example, most restaurants only sell to customers that can walk into the store. While organic SEO can help drive traffic, local SEO may have a bigger impact. 

By optimizing for local Google search results, that restaurant can bring in more customers that are likely to come. Being at the top of the search results for customers that are out of traveling distance may not help the restaurant see a noticeable increase in traffic. This is why many companies want to focus on Local SEO over taking a more general approach. 

Always Include Organic SEO

If you are trying to choose which version of SEO to use, always include organic SEO. Ranking well on Google’s organic listings will help drive traffic to your online resources and maybe to your location. You will likely still rank highly with local traffic if you focus on organic SEO. 

This does not mean that you cannot include other forms of SEO. You likely should if that is what you need to do. However, all parts of your content should use some form of SEO. In many cases, multiple page websites can do this. They use organic SEO for pages that are not location-specific and local SEO for pages that are. This ensures that all of your content is contributing to your search engine rankings in a positive way. 

Include Local SEO If You Need It

If you are implementing organic SEO, then you are meeting the basic requirement for all online content. This can make a big difference in your company’s ability to bring in new customers. However, having a business that primarily relies on local traffic means that you should be using local SEO as well. It is possible to implement both methods into your content. 

If your company is restricted to only serving local customers, then it is more important than ever to implement local SEO. You need to be high in the Google local results to drive traffic to your store. Implementing local SEO and organic SEO follow a similar process. You’ll have to find keywords that are relevant to your customers and incorporate them into your content. The main difference is what those keywords focus on. Use this to your advantage to integrate the appropriate type of keywords into your content and see a noticeable difference in how the search results develop. 

Get Help With Both

If you are struggling to improve your SEO organic search results or local search results, you can get help using both. KitelyTech offers SEO services for a variety of business needs that can help you rise to the top of the search engine rankings. Our teams have extensive experience working with startups and established businesses to help them establish an effective plan to use SEO in business growth strategies. Call KitelyTech at (800) 274 2908 to discuss how we can help your business maximize its return on SEO.