Local SEO vs Traditional SEO: What’s Best for Your Business?

There is no doubt about the fact that there is a cut throat rivalry today in the business industry. One of the crucial components for business owners to showcase their business online is SEO. It stands for Search engine optimization. Now depending upon the exact nature of your particular business, there can be two types of SEO that you can take into consideration. One is local SEO. The other one is Traditional SEO. So if you are a beginner in the SEO world then it’s important to learn about the major differences between both types. As they are meant for different purposes. So this guide is going to serve you as a helping hand. 

What Is Traditional SEO ?

First remember Traditional SEO is also known by various other names like national or global SEO. So basically with traditional SEO you can optimize your website for broader and non-location specific keywords. With traditional SEO you can reach a wider audience. Here you target general keywords. For eg: best earphones, digital marketing services or best camera for videography. To succeed with traditional SEO you need solid backlinks, the technical structure of your website needs to be proper. Further your website should be mobile optimized, it means it should load up within a blink of an eye, provide clear call to action options and the information on it should be top-notch which means well researched and accurate. 

Businesses that benefit most from traditional SEO are usually e-commerce stores, online publications, or any brand that is trying to reach customers nationally or internationally. 

What Is Local SEO ?

As the name itself suggests, local SEO targets the local audience where your business operates. With local SEO you get to optimize your online presence that helps in attracting consumers from local searches. These local searches are conducted on different search engines. It also includes Google. In this users generally search for products and services that include keywords like near me or a specific location name like best grocery store in Chicago. 

Now to succeed with Local SEO you need to first claim and optimize your Google business profile. Further maintain NAP consistency on every platform. It means your business name, its address and contacting details should be the same everywhere, so as to diminish any sort of confusion. Customer reviews also play a significant role in the success of Local SEO. 

Local SEO is ideal for businesses that are dependent on the people of the local community. For eg: Restaurants, Gym, Clubs, Law firms, Clinics, or any business with a physical store. 

Key Differences Between Local And Traditional SEO 

The main difference lies in which audience you are trying to reach, whether it’s local or overall that is nationally and internationally as well. 

Local SEO is ideal for businesses who are looking forward to delivering to the customers of a certain city, region or neighborhood. Let’s get through it by taking an example. Suppose you own a bakery in Austin. So when any consumer searches for the best bakery in Austin, you would want the search engine to show your business to that person. This is Local SEO. 

On the other hand Traditional or you can say Global SEO targets a more vast audience. For example, if you sell demi fine jewellery online and ship it worldwide then you will focus on ranking for terms like “best demi fine jewellery” or “affordable demi fine jewellery” without mentioning about a specific location.

When To Choose Local SEO ?

You should go for Local SEO if you own a business like that of a restaurant, gym, club, coffee shop, clothing store or alike. Basically if you operate a brick and mortar business then Local SEO is meant for you. 

Moving further if you provide services to a specific local area like that of plumbing, marketing, photography, consultation then also Local SEO should be your pick. 

If you are looking forward to increasing foot traffic to your store then Local SEO will lend a helping hand. 

So basically Local SEO can help you stand out from your competitors in your specific geographical area. 

When To Pick Traditional SEO ?

Traditional SEO is perfect if you do your whole business online and cater to every individual be it local, national or international. Basically it’s perfect for e-commerce website runners. 

Moving further, traditional SEO is the perfect route if you want to build brand awareness as well as authority across the web. 

Businesses who rely on blog content, affiliate marketing or online sales for driving revenue should also pick Traditional SEO. 

Can You Amalgamate Local And Traditional SEO ?

Yes, is the answer to the above written question. It’s very simple. So for example, you own a physical clothing store in Austin. But you also sell online. Now your aim is to get complete attention both locally as well as globally. So what you can do is, grab advantage of Local SEO to drive more foot traffic to your physical store. Whereas consider Traditional SEO for attracting an overall audience online. So this way you can combine both and take your business to new heights. 

Basically the task here is to understand your primary goals as well as the audience. From there, you can adjust your overall content, keywords selection and optimization techniques. 

Let’s Conclude!

So to conclude, it’s quite simple. Businesses who want to invite more foot traffic to their physical stores or want to serve the local community, then Local SEO is the way one needs to take. Whereas businesses who want to cater beyond a certain geographical area need to optimize on Traditional SEO. Both strategies have their own strengths. So it doesn’t matter which one you select, the results will always be in your favor. 

So overall the main agenda is to know your exact needs, you should know whom you want to serve. According to that you can build up your SEO strategy. Remember with the right approach, SEO can turn out to be the greatest weapon for your businesses success. With SEO you not just increase your online visibility, but also gain more credibility.