SEO is very important for any modern business. Boosting your organic SEO and getting more visitors to your website means more business, a higher profile, and, potentially, increased profits.

Yet what does organic SEO entail and how is it different from local SEO? In this guide, we’re going to cut through the marketing jargon and explain the key differences between these two terms. 

Are you ready to learn more about search engine optimization and how you can benefit from both of these types of SEO? Then read on and let’s get started!

What Is Organic SEO?

Organic SEO is the name given to a whole host of different techniques that aim to increase your website’s traffic without using ads. These techniques can include a huge range of practices including keyword research and optimization, improving your website speed, image optimization, and making sure that your business’s website uses the right meta tags and descriptions.

All of these techniques can work wonders for your website. While the results will take longer to come to fruition than if you used paid search engine marketing techniques, they are very cost-effective. You’re likely to see the results for a long time after you’ve ended the campaign.

However, organic SEO is focused on capturing the attention of the internet at large. If you want to capture a local audience, you need to use local SEO.

What Is Local SEO?

While organic SEO will help you get a bigger audience, it’s not especially effective at helping you get a local audience. Local SEO comes into play here: this set of techniques will help more people in your area find your business.

Google’s local search wants to give you relevant results, so it takes geographical location into account when serving up results. For instance, if you do a search for “French restaurant,” Google will show you French restaurants near you, rather than in New York.

If you want to improve your local SEO, you need to focus on specific techniques that will help Google recognize where you are, as well as recognizing that your business is relevant.

Some of these techniques may include:

  1. Featuring your address and phone number on your website
  2. Creating a Google My Business listing
  3. Ensuring your Google Maps listing is up to date
  4. Creating content that’s relevant to your local area
  5. Encouraging more reviews

All of these techniques can result in an increased local search ranking. This is especially important for brick-and-mortar businesses that can’t afford to rely on foot traffic alone. 

Organic SEO vs Local SEO

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this look at organic SEO and local SEO. It’s tempting to think of these as two opposing concepts, but in fact, you need both if you’re going to improve your website’s SEO.

We understand that SEO is a complex topic and we’re here to help. If you’d like to have us improve your website and help you get more visitors, take a look at our services or contact us!