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Organic vs Local SEO: What’s the Difference?

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Originally Posted On: https://www.thewebdetective.com/blog/organic-vs-local-seo-whats-the-difference/

 

Did you know over 50% of trackable web traffic comes from organic search? That’s a significant number of people who can find your business online—if you know how to target them. But, of course, targeting your audience correctly means using the right keywords.

If you want your business to be visible, you need to know what consumers look up online. A good SEO strategy targets users in your area. Understanding local SEO vs. organic SEO can help you reach customers in your neck of the woods.

What Is Organic SEO?

Modern Workplace with Laptop showing Landing Page with Local SEO – Search Engine Optimization –

Organic SEO is determined by organic search traffic. With the statistic listed above, an SEO strategy favoring organic traffic could bring many customers. However, building up visibility organically takes longer and requires expertise.

Search engine optimization in Massachusetts requires content different than other regions. Optimizing your site, keywords, and content all depend on how well you target customers. But organic optimization isn’t just location-based.

With organic traffic, you can target a wider variety of users online. Organic search targets users on several factors. Demographics, psychographics, and other segmentation data help narrow your ad campaigns for target markets.

Organic traffic does encompass other forms of search engine optimization, including local SEO and more. Let’s break down what local search traffic means.

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO narrows organic search traffic to a geotargeted location. Usually, local targets range from smaller to larger areas, depending on your target market(s). Local searches prioritize location and ranking with Google’s local map pack.

Over the last few years, using the phrase “near me” has increased by 500%. This is just one indicator of the potential effectiveness of local search engine optimization. Massachusetts and Rhode Island businesses can benefit from information like this (especially when working with experts in SEO).

Different businesses and industries benefit most from local search optimization. Those organizations with physical storefronts clearly benefit the most, as well as service and hospitality-oriented businesses.

What’s the Difference Between Organic and Local SEO?

The biggest difference between local and organic search traffic depends largely on how you target your audience. With organic traffic, you can explore broader targeting strategies. For example, your segmentation can explore microsegments, but this isn’t ideal for small businesses.

Geotargeting local users benefit small businesses as it reaches consumers already nearby. Unfortunately, the organic search ignores specific keywords, focusing on more generic consumer interests. A digital marketing Rhode Island expert could help distinguish keywords specific to your local consumers.

Organic traffic offers its benefits, yet it lacks the specificity of local searches. With specific keywords, consumers will trust your band. As a result, virtual visibility will increase, improving site referrals and increasing conversion rates.

How to Optimize Local SEO for Your Business

Working with experts in SEO and digital marketing will elevate your strategy. Now you understand how organic and local traffic work together, you need to understand SEO best practices.

Your search engine optimization Massachusetts or Rhode Island experts use many ways to optimize service. Learn the best ways to leverage your local search traffic below.

Branded Keywords

By now, you should know that keyword research is a major part of any expert SEO service. Most of your content should be keyword-focused to draw the most organic traffic possible. However, even if you target keywords, unspecified or unbranded keywords mean you may miss local consumers.

Branded keyword search often contains a business name. It may also include location-specific phrases such as “digital marketing Rhode Island” or even a popular neighborhood name.

Unbranded keywords may target products or services most searched within your industry. This is a common practice for organic SEO but not a best practice for local optimization. Although visibility increases with unbranded keywords, you need branded keywords if you pay to appear in local search ads.

If your SEO experts do their job, you will have a pool of well-researched phrases and words to apply to your organic search strategy. From there, you can narrow down which keywords to invest in for branding purposes in local ad campaigns.

Getting on the Map

Another best practice for local SEO is getting into Google’s map pack. Since you are investing in digital marketing, you likely know the value of Google Maps and a Google My Business profile. For local SEO, these are even more important for visibility.

If you do not have a My Business profile, create one. First, make sure the name, address, and contact information are consistent on your website and profile. Once you verify basic profile information, complete the rest of your profile to optimize your search listing.

You can continue to optimize your business profile with customer reviews and other details. On your business profile dashboard, you can mark attributes related to your business, too.

Customer Reviews

Reviews are important for any business, but local SEO benefits from online reviews, especially for small businesses. The more consumers review your business, the more trustworthy you appear.

Additionally, Google ranks higher-reviewed businesses first. Although more reviews do not guarantee a high rating, more reviews also rank your business higher. And, potential customers use reviews from others as personal recommendations.

Look No Further for Your Massachusetts and Rhode Island SEO With the Web Detective

Now you know the difference between organic and local SEO; you know we’re the experts. You can trust us to do more than teach you about SEO strategy, though. You can trust The Web Detective to uncover gaps in your search engine optimization for Rhode Island and Massachusetts, too.

We’ll piece together the clues to solve the case when customers can’t find your business on Google. Contact us today to discuss our expert SEO services. We’ll find the solution perfect for reaching customers in your area.

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