Most consumers nowadays turn to the Internet to find the products or services they need. And this behaviour has been proven by several statistical reports.
A 2019 study, for example, concluded that 53.3% of traffic from multiple websites was from an organic search. Google also said that 88% of users who entered a local search through their smartphones visited the relevant store within a week.
These findings stress one thing: local SEO and organic SEO play a crucial role in how customers find your business and make a purchase.
But how exactly are these two different? Should your service-based business invest in both SEO strategies?
This local vs organic SEO article has the details to help you identify which approach can work best for your online presence.
Understanding Local SEO
Let’s define these two SEO concepts first.
Local SEO is a sub-category of organic SEO that focuses on boosting your online presence within a specific geographic region or physical location.
For example, if a potential customer types in “chiropractic clinic in Melbourne” online, search engines will display websites relevant to this location-based search.
Locally optimised websites will naturally be at the top of the search results.
And if users keep seeing your business first, local SEO can effectively generate traffic, leads and sales. It can also help establish your brand or identity and build loyalty among your local clients.
People who enter local searches look for businesses that they can visit soon.
That means operators with brick-and-mortar businesses and a local customer base benefit the most from this SEO marketing approach.
Examples are restaurants, hotels, hospitals, dental clinics, gyms, law firms, real estate, and plumbing or electric service companies.
If your business does not strictly cater to local clients or is not operating a physical store, then local SEO may not be for you.
Understanding Organic SEO
Like its local counterpart, organic SEO also aims to increase your online presence by implementing strategies that make you rank better in the search results.
The only difference is that organic SEO is not location-based. Its focus revolves around keywords.
You aim to create engaging content with relevant keywords or phrases that people use when searching for your product or service online.
That way, search engines can display your website link for potential customers to find and click.
Another essential component of this SEO approach is having other authoritative websites link to your site. With link building, you can boost your site’s relevance and trustworthiness.
These work together to generate organic traffic, leads and revenue. Best of all, organic SEO is ad-free, so the cost is minimal.
That means small businesses and start-ups can benefit from organic SEO, particularly those in E-commerce or with online-only shops.
Organic SEO can also help if your business marketing focus includes website discovery and increasing user searches.
While organic SEO may fit just about any online business, it may not be as effective for those serving a small market or selling a radically new product or service.
Operating a business within a highly competitive industry can also affect organic SEO progress.
Comparing Local SEO and Organic SEO
Local SEO and organic SEO aim to enhance your website’s visibility on the search results page. But it’s also clear that they work differently.
Let’s highlight these differences further through the following optimisation factors.
1. Targeting and Reach
Local and organic SEO differ in audience type. Specifically, local SEO targets users within the vicinity of your business establishment.
Potential customers find you by entering a specific product or service on the search engine plus the city or the phrase “near me”.
Moreover, these online users intend to buy on the same day they search for an item or service.
Statistics even noted that 78% of local searches on mobile lead to an offline purchase.
However, remember that local SEO targets a specific group, limiting your audience reach.
On the other hand, organic SEO casts a wide net by targeting online users virtually anywhere in the world.
Rather than look for a specific product or service to buy, the organic audience type is after information and solutions to a query or problem.
That means you won’t be attracting purely buy-ready customers with organic SEO. However, this strategy can direct them towards the marketing funnel so they convert in the future.
2. Cost and ROI
Local and organic SEO are both cost-effective marketing strategies.
With local SEO, for example, you can register to Google Business Profile for free, so your website appears on location-specific searches.
Similarly, you can list your business for free in several listing directories like Yelp.
Organic SEO is also a low-cost investment, especially when compared with paid searches.
While these involve zero expense, there are still hard and soft costs for the SEO agency, internal employees and other resources needed to make SEO work.
But, once implemented, local and organic SEO continue to drive traffic, attract leads or generate sales with minimal action and expense on your end.
As for ROI, considering that you are targeting buy-ready customers, local SEO results in a higher conversion rate than the organic type.
Organic SEO takes more time to show notable results. And typically, conversion rates begin to pick up as you get better search rankings and become more visible.
3. Implementation and Management
Another fundamental difference between local and organic SEO is their method of application.
Local SEO, for example, is more about creating a Google listing, managing a consistent business profile, registering on various directories, and marketing through social media platforms.
As for your website management, your focus is on writing local content, implementing local schema markups, and responding to customer ratings or reviews.
Organic SEO centres more on on-page and off-page optimisation. Your focus, in this case, is optimising your title tags, headers, meta-descriptions and anchor text.
Researching traffic-generating keywords, publishing high-quality content, and building links are also part of organic SEO.
But one thing common between local and organic SEO management is both require a mobile-friendly website.
And that’s because a recent report shows that half of the world’s web traffic comes from mobile devices.
Comparison Summary
After defining and comparing local and organic SEO, the differences between these two concepts became clearer.
Their audience behaviour, implementation method and rate of return vary.
And this comparison further emphasises the importance of matching the right SEO with your business and specific goals.
What product or service do I offer? Who are my prospective customers? What is their intent when searching online?
Answering these questions can help you identify which SEO approach can give you the best results.
Factors to Consider When Choosing an SEO Approach
To help you weigh your options further, here are some crucial business and marketing factors you need to assess.
1. Business Size and Location
Some large businesses, like SaaS and B2B companies, depend on clients outside their local environment. Moreover, these types of businesses do not have physical stores for customers to visit.
So, if you belong to this business category, focusing on organic SEO and ranking for non-location-specific keywords are best for you.
But what about small and mid-sized business owners? Should they focus on local SEO? It depends.
There are businesses with a good reach and high authority in a specific locale. Operators can then enhance their performance better with the organic SEO strategy.
A business with multiple locations can also benefit from the combined SEO approach.
2. Industry and Competition
Organic SEO should keep you relevant and on top of the SERPs if you are a large business with an established brand and high industry authority.
However, a massive competitor like this can be a problem for small and new businesses. Investing in organic SEO, in this case, will not be very cost-effective.
Choosing to leverage your location-specific relevance is more practical.
Rather than compete for high-volume keywords, for example, narrow down your keyword and content focus.
Also, establish trust and loyalty with a smaller audience. Instead of spending time building links, get involved in local events to introduce your business and find new leads.
Utilise business directories to boost your online visibility and gain local reviews.
3. Marketing Budget and Goals
In some cases, applying both local and organic SEO is the ideal approach since you’ll get the best of both worlds.
But that is if your marketing budget is large enough. That’s because both entail resources for implementation and monitoring.
Local SEO, in particular, is a more specialised approach. Fewer businesses are applying this strategy, making local SEO professionals limited and costs higher.
However, deciding which SEO approach to use depends on your business goals.
For example, if you aim for brand awareness, showing your business name and logo through local search results is the way to go.
Your business profile lets consumers know what to expect when they visit your site or store, increasing impressions and recall.
But if your main goal is to establish consumer trust and loyalty, it’s best to put your budget on organic SEO.
Working your way to the top of the SERPs can give you that trustworthy image your target audience prefers.
Comparison Summary
Based on these identified factors, it becomes clearer how deeply embedded your business operation is in your chosen SEO approach.
There’s no fixed answer when determining if local or organic SEO is best for your business.
You need to know both concepts well, weigh their pros and cons, and then apply the one that matches your business environment.
More importantly, your SEO approach should complement your business size, type, budget and goals.
Conclusion
Local and organic SEO are concepts that work for the same purpose. And that is to optimise your business website for improved visibility in search results.
But despite having the same goal, these two differ in many ways. Local SEO focuses on a smaller, local market, while organic SEO goes for a bigger, more varied audience.
You need to concentrate on local content creation and online reviews with local SEO. On the other hand, on and off-page optimisation are vital in organic SEO.
While both are applicable in most business types, operators within the service, health, legal, food and hospitality industries benefit more from local SEO.
Organic SEO is a better fit for online-only businesses, E-commerce shops and those without brick-and-mortar stores.
Of course, either SEO approach requires money, time and effort for implementation. And this is why business owners like you should know the key differences.
Understanding local and organic SEO is only part of the process, though. You still need professional help to integrate them successfully and hassle-free.
So, don’t hesitate to call us at 03 9043 4444 or email us at hello@infiniteace.com. Let us help you with your SEO needs and dominate your local area.
