Google doesn’t use the same algorithm for national SEO results and local 3-pack (local SEO). The algorithms themselves and the target results are somewhat different, although there are of course some overlapping ranking factors. However, some industry experts have taken this to mean that local SEO and national SEO are completely different.
For example, a local company might focus exclusively on ranking in the local 3-pack and ignore national search. Or a national company might ignore local rankings altogether.
Despite the split in Google’s algorithms, approaching search engine optimisation (SEO) from one side or the other is a flawed strategy. To generate inbound traffic, it’s much better to use a group of strategies.
When starting online, small businesses try different strategies. Some try to take on the whole world as their market. Others start small, targeting their local region.
As the online world becomes saturated with companies vying for top global reach, some are turning to smaller, concentrated markets through national and local searches.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) and what it can do for your business is no secret at this point. When done well, SEO ensures that your website appears at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) when customers search for your products, services, or any other keywords relevant to your brand. What you may not know: Search engine optimisation isn’t just a national exercise.
And knowledge of this simple fact can be the difference between success and failure.
Use this guide from The ABA Agency to learn all about national and local SEO and what makes them different.
How National SEO differs from Local SEO
Google uses different algorithms depending on what shoppers are looking for, so knowing the difference between these terms is important. Google uses a variety of parameters to determine which pages are most relevant to a search, including proximity, relevance, location-based terms, and authority.
There is, of course, some overlap between the factors used in national searches and those used in local searches, but in general, you’ll get very different results when you compare the two. The local 3-pack is the best example. Local 3-pack refers to Google’s practice of placing the top three most relevant local business listings at the top of the results page, along with a Google Maps image and location pins.
What is National SEO?
This form of optimisation focuses on driving national traffic to a specific website and is also known as traditional SEO. This is also where we can see the first and biggest difference between local SEO and national SEO. Compared to the specific regional parameters of a local strategy, national search engine optimisation strategies will target a much wider audience.
National strategies are great for building general brand awareness with potential buyers wherever they are. You need a solid national SEO strategy to convert these far-flung shoppers if you’re running an e-commerce store that caters to customers in multiple states.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO strategies focus on a specific geographic region, targeting searchers and buyers within that area. In comparison to national SEO, local strategies have the following objectives:
- Convert a smaller area surrounding a physical store or office
- Target searchers with a high level of purchase intent
- Outrank competitors with more specific keywords in a much less competitive environment
60% of mobile searchers have made contact with a business directly from their local business listing on Google. Local SEO will make sure that your listing is the first one that they see.
The difference between national SEO and local SEO
The biggest differences between these two approaches to SEO are worth taking a closer look at.
- National SEO targets a broad, nationwide audience of buyers, while local SEO focuses on a smaller group of buyers based in a particular county, city, or town.
- National SEO generally focuses on high-volume but less specific keywords that are relevant to multiple states, while local SEO uses location-specific keywords, often including the name of the city or neighbourhood.
- National SEO uses general blog posts, articles, infographics, and videos, while local SEO uses listicles, reviews, business listings, and events.
- National SEO is aimed at increasing brand awareness and driving traffic, while local SEO is aimed at increasing traffic and driving local sales.
- National SEO will generally require a larger budget due to the wider scope of the campaigns, while local SEO can work with a smaller budget but will require ongoing maintenance.
- National SEO prioritises quality links from authoritative industry websites, while local SEO focuses on local websites, directories, and forums.
Local SEO vs. National SEO: Which is better?
There is a time and a place for every strategy. As a business, it’s best to consider how to use them synergistically rather than separately. Let’s take an oversimplified example of a clothing retailer who wants to increase their online sales while attracting more customers to their local stores, and how this might affect their choice of keywords and content.
- National SEO uses a broader keyword strategy that would target more general, industry-specific keywords such as “premium men’s t-shirts,” whereas local SEO focuses on a more localised strategy and would focus on area-specific keywords such as “premium t-shirts in Dubai.”
- National strategies call for the creation of content that will appeal to a wider audience everywhere, such as a generic blog titled “How to find the best premium t-shirts,” whereas a local strategy calls for businesses to respond to the needs of their local customers. This could be an article in a local magazine with the title “The best premium t-shirt store in Deira.”
So when it comes to discussing how the two differ, the only right answer is: both! Managing both a local and a national SEO strategy at the same time can be a challenge, so our advice is to work with a trusted digital marketing agency to avoid costly mistakes.
The best practices for local search
Local and national SEO are not as separate from each other as the names might suggest. The ranking factors used by search engines can overlap all the time, and focusing on a single ranking factor could have an impact on both your local and national rankings. For example, mobile optimisation is highly valued for both types of rankings.
This means that you’ll need to take advantage of Google’s unique local ranking factors to make your mark. If you’re looking for growth, it’s time to put the ‘local SEO vs. national SEO’ debate behind you and optimise this business profile.
Google Business Profile
In every local search, your Google Business Profile is the face of your business. It’s likely to be the first thing a user sees. You need to make a good first impression to attract them. More importantly, if your profile is active and up to date, you are more likely to be ranked in the top three results in both Google Search and Google Maps. At a time when 40% of shoppers are directly using map apps to find local products, this is particularly important.
Here’s how you can use GBP to boost your SEO on a local and national level:
Fill in the blanks:
GBP allows shops to showcase everything they have for sale, and there’s no reason to miss out on this feature. Add the relevant product categories your business offers, but be careful when selecting the ‘Primary’ category. It carries more weight than the others.
In the same way, you can use the Posts feature to let searchers know about any upcoming events or sales that you might be having. When it comes to comparing local SEO with national SEO, this is where local SEO shines. It’s also a great way to build a community and, at the same time, demonstrate the reliability of your business to search engines and shoppers.
Reviews:
Responsibility and authority go hand in hand. Before making a purchase, 87% of shoppers use local business reviews on Google. Your business needs to demonstrate its authority to influence shoppers, just as with national SEO.
Whenever possible, encourage your customers to leave a review. Make the process as easy as possible. Provide a scannable QR code/NFC card in your store or office.
Take the time to respond when a customer leaves a review. Responding shows that your listing is active. It shows that your business cares about its service. You can also use this as an opportunity to add more content to your listing that is relevant to your keywords.
Questions & Answers:
For many brands, this section tends to fly under the radar. Use the Q&A section to connect directly with potential buyers. Demonstrate your commitment to good service.
Link Building
Both local and national SEO include link building. This is another area where your local SEO strategy can be very different from a national one, going back to the ‘local SEO vs. national SEO’ topic.
Local links carry a lot of weight for local SEO. They can even help you beat a competitor that’s closer to the searcher. These links may look unimpressive when analysed with a link tool. But they’re incredibly valuable locally.
How does it work in practice? Imagine a dentist’s office that needs more foot traffic. Even if the two businesses are otherwise unrelated, they could get a link from a local church’s low-DA website to improve their local SEO ranking. In a way that national SEO isn’t as important, these links signal that your business is located and involved in a specific local community. There are other ways in which local links can be developed:
- In exchange for a backlink to your website, sponsor a Little League team.
- Push to get featured on a local event website.
- Be featured on a local action news website. Or be mentioned in a featured quote by a local blogger.
- Building a profile and backlink in local business associations and directories
National link building is far more expensive and difficult when it comes to local SEO versus national SEO. It will always be easier to get a local citation than to get a shout-out in a Forbes article, for example. When building local links, use the relationships you’ve built in your area to give you a competitive edge.
On-Page Local SEO
For both local and national SEO, on-page search engine optimisation is important. Don’t forget to include your business name in all relevant places. This will show search engines that you are a local business. You can add the name of your town or city:
- Title tags and meta descriptions
- The headline of a blog that focuses on a topic of local interest.
- Your landing page content
- A relevant image’s alt text
- The URL (this is less important, but it is good to have it if possible)
Last but not least, don’t forget to embed Google Maps on your landing pages! Using an embed can help shoppers find your store. It also gives a positive signal to search engines.
Become a master of local and national SEO
National and local search optimisation strategies can be a powerful tool for growth in the right hands. A national campaign can push your business to the top of the list when shoppers search for your products. Local SEO can help seal the deal by showing them that your business is trustworthy. It’s time to stop comparing local SEO to national SEO. Grow with both.
Be a master of both strategies at once. This is easier said than done. Put your business on the map by working with a top SEO agency. Let the experts take your brand to the top with proven strategies. With the ABA Agency, you can rank first across all search engines. Contact us today to get started!
Separation of Strategies: An Unnecessary Complication
Occam’s razor suggests that when solving a problem, the simplest solution is probably the best. In the same way, the simplest approach to SEO is likely to be the most effective. That’s not to say that SEO can be done with just the basics (although I’m a proponent of the minimalist approach to SEO). But the fewer complications you add, the better.
The addition of another ‘wing’ of SEO could potentially confuse your local SEO efforts, especially if you have different team members with different responsibilities. For example, if you have one set of people working on national SEO and another on local SEO, you could end up working towards different goals, ultimately weakening each other’s potential success.
Every company can find value in both strategies.
Some companies completely eradicate one side of the spectrum to focus on the other, rather than focusing on national and local SEO as separate entities. For example, a single-location restaurant could avoid national SEO altogether and focus solely on local 3-pack rankings. Conversely, a large financial institution with locations in multiple states may completely ignore local SEO.
And both national and local businesses can use AI to scale their efforts in today’s world.
Both types of companies can benefit from each other’s strategies. For example, even if the majority of hits come from a local position, the restaurant could achieve a higher national rank and see a trickle of inbound traffic. The financial firm could easily optimise for its specific locations and generate tonnes of local-specific traffic, resulting in greater visibility.
Too many common ranking drivers
Each algorithm works almost independently. However, they are based on a large pool of identical ranking factors.
You can easily start to influence the other by proxy, even if you decide to focus on one exclusively. For example, both the local rankings and the national rankings depend in part on the authority of your domain as an independent website.
For both types of SEO, getting more inbound links from high-authority external sources will increase your rankings. For both national and local rankings, mobile optimisation is also important. The list goes on and on. It’s much easier to do both at the same time than one or the other.
Algorithmic strategies become less important.
Individual algorithms are becoming less important due to a handful of technological developments. It was possible (and advisable) to optimise separately for Bing and Google a few years ago. Today, search engines have evolved so much that one ranking is almost indistinguishable from the other.
The emergence of digital assistants such as Siri and Cortana has also muddied the waters. They hide the algorithms they use to return results and combine them with other offline search features. The modern search engine is almost algorithm-agnostic. This means you need to pay less attention to the quirks and subtleties of individual algorithms.
Organic traffic is organic traffic.
While you can easily tinker with your Google Analytics account to find out which visits are coming from your local rankings and which are coming from your national rankings, at the end of the day it is your total organic visits that you need to focus on. Organic visits and both national and local SEO rankings are the best measure of the effectiveness and ROI of your SEO campaign.
The majority of best practices are user-centric
Although there are many technical requirements for high rankings, most of your search rankings depend on user experience factors. Lower bounce rates, better content, more active social media profiles, and offsite relationship building all contribute to increased brand awareness and better customer relationships.
This will also help your local and national rankings. The bottom line for any SEO campaign is to make your users happy. If your users are happy, Google is happy, and you’ll rank higher. Keep your focus on the customer experience. It’s hard to go wrong.
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