National search engine optimization (SEO) typically encompasses more of the at-a-distance aspects of the search engine algorithm. It includes analyzing your website’s content to rank well in searches with a national scope. National SEO involves approaching keyword research from a top-down, macro perspective and typically targets cities in other countries.
Local SEO is all about finding those happy little nooks that aren’t quite part of the larger picture yet, doing your homework about what people are looking for in that region or area, then approaching optimization from a ground-up perspective.
Now, although the terms are often used interchangeably, there may be some subtle differences between local and national SEO that you must know about to stay on track.
To illustrate the differences between local and national SEO, let’s take a break from our typical weekly local SEO blog post and take a look at how the two approaches are different:
National SEO vs. Local SEO: Key Differences
Key Step No. 1 – Choosing Your Key Phrases
Key Step No. 2 – Choosing a Keyword Research Strategy
Key Step No. 3 – Planning Your On-Page Optimization Strategy
Key Step No. 4 – Using Local Citation Opportunities
Key Step No. 5 – Choosing the Right Local Keywords
Key Step No. 6 – Calculating Your AdWords Keyword Bid Prices
Key Step No. 7 – Manually Check Your Site for Local SEO Spam
Key Step No. 8 – Obtain a Quality List of Local Directories to Promote Your Site
Why are these differences so important? Because with every step you take that is different from what most local businesses do, you stand to gain a competitive advantage over all the rest! Why? Because, in this case, doing things differently will take more work than doing things like everyone else.
Now the question is: do you want to stand out from the crowd by doing things that take more work, or do you want to go with the flow and see what happens? The choice is yours.
Key Difference #1 – Choosing Your Key Phrases
The strategy for national SEO differs from local SEO in that it has no specific geographical boundaries. It has a wider scope and should attempt to target as many key phrases as possible with your content so that it ranks well for information seekers who are located outside of your city.
Key Phrase Example: “Restaurants in Los Angeles”
National SEO (example): “Restaurants in Los Angeles, CA”
Local SEO (when targeting one city): “Best restaurants in Los Angeles, CA” or “Top 10 restaurants in Los Angeles, CA” or “Best restaurants to try out this weekend in Los Angeles, CA”.
In the above example from a national search engine optimization standpoint you will want to target the term nationally and not locally.
Key Phrase Example: “Best Commercial Painting in Los Angeles”
National SEO (example): “Commercial Painting Los Angeles, CA” or “Commercial Painting Companies Los Angeles, CA” or “Top 10 Commercial Painting Services in Los Angeles, CA”.
Local SEO (when targeting one city): “Best Commercial painters in Los Angeles, CA” or “Top 10 Commercial painters in Los Angeles, CA” or “Best commercial painting company in LA area to work with this weekend for urgent job”.
In the above example from a local search engine optimization standpoint you want to target the term locally and not nationally.
Key Difference #2 – Choosing a Keyword Research Strategy
National SEO: For the most part, national SEO and keyword research strategies are very similar. There are no major differences in strategy because the content is going to be reused across a wide geographical location.
However, there may be some minor variations that you should consider when choosing your keywords. For instance, if your business is located in Los Angeles but you have clients or partners in other cities, then using these names of those cities might help you rank well for additional related key phrase searches.
For example, in the above example, you could use “commercial painting orange county” or “commercial painting los angeles ca”.
Local SEO: For local SEO and keyword research strategies there are some major differences. Because the scope is local, you must do your keyword research with a local focus. Keywords for local SEO should perform extremely well for those living in the town or city that you want to target. If you live in Los Angeles and run a commercial painting company but want to rank well for people browsing commercial painters in Orange County, CA then your keyword research strategy will be very different than someone who doesn’t have clients outside of their immediate area.
For local SEO your keywords should be tightly focused on not just the service you provide, but the geographical area in which you serve. In other words, they should be extremely relevant to the town or city you are targeting.
For example, if you were a commercial painting company and wanted to get your site to rank for “commercial painters Orange County” then you would want to use such keywords as “commercial painters in Orange County” or “commercial painters near me”. So make sure your keyword research strategy fits your specific needs.
Key Difference #3 – Planning Your On-Page Optimization Strategy
National SEO: Because you will be targeting a large geographical area with your content, it is extremely important that you plan out all of the pages that will need to be optimized so that you can properly optimize every single page on the website. Once you have a good foundation, you can then solidify and strengthen the foundation by making sure that everything is carried out in accordance with your original plans.
Local SEO: Because the scope is smaller, it will be easier for you to plan out each page on the website that needs to be optimized. All you will need to do is determine which pages need optimization based on your keyword research and then optimize each page accordingly. Once this is done, keep track of your work so that you can constantly work on perfecting things for better results.
Key Difference #4 – Choosing a Local Search Engine Optimization Agency
National SEO: If you want to rank well in national search engines then you will need to hire a search engine optimization agency that has the experience and know-how to help you. You should also find someone who either has previous experience working with businesses like yours or someone who is up to date on what strategies are currently working well for all types of businesses. Your search engine optimization agency should also have experience in the national SEO market so that they have the know-how to properly optimize your website for national searches.
Local SEO: Because local search engine optimization is more geographically focused, you will not need an agency to handle all of your efforts. You can easily do everything on your own by targeting key phrases and optimizing each page accordingly.
Key Difference #5 – Using Local Citation Opportunities
National SEO: Because national SEO is for large companies with set budgets, you have more flexibility when choosing how you want to spend your marketing budget. As a result, there will be more leeway in terms of when and how you choose to use local citation opportunities.
Local SEO: Because local search engine optimization is more focused on a narrow area, you will have to rely on your own efforts to get your business listed in local citation directories. As a result, you will not have the same leeway in terms of when and how you use local citation opportunities.
Key Difference #6 – Choosing the Right Local Keywords
National SEO: When conducting keyword research for national SEO, you should always choose words that are extremely broad. You should also focus on words that are extremely long-tail. These long-tail words will give you the best chance at ranking for a good number of related key phrases. You should also try to use words that have high search volumes on Google AdWords. That is because it is known that when users do a search, they are more likely to click on the first or second result from the top of the page. If your keywords have a high competition, you will be competing with big companies for those conversions. But if your keywords are well researched and properly targeted, you will be able to generate more clicks and conversions.
Local SEO: When performing local search engine optimization research, your focus should not be on the keyword itself. It should be on how you plan to optimize that keyword and then carry out your optimization efforts correctly. When searching for keywords, the focus should always be on what you are trying to accomplish for the particular keyword and not on the keyword itself.
Key Difference #7 – Calculating Your AdWords Keyword Bid Prices
After you have chosen the keywords you want to use on your website it is time to start calculating your AdWords keyword bid prices. These bid prices will be used to optimize your AdWords campaign so that you can generate more traffic from search engines.
Key Difference #8 – Optimizing Your Local Mobile Website
Mobile optimization is extremely important if you want to rank well in the local search results. You must optimize your mobile website so that you can be sure to attract mobile visitors with the right keywords.
Key Difference #9 – Increasing Organic Visibility With Google Reviews
If you want to rank higher in local search engine results then you must increase your organic visibility with Google reviews. This is an easy way for people who might not have heard of your business to see what it is and maybe even make a purchase or hire you for a job.
Key Difference #10 – Manually Check Your Site for Local SEO Spam
If you are ranking in local search engines, you will need to manually check your site to make sure that there are no backlinks coming from spam websites. This is a very important first step before the more advanced steps in the process.
Key Difference #11 – Start Making Local SEO Backlinks
When it comes time for backlinks, you will want to start making them with local websites first so that you can help rank your site in local search engines with these links.
Key Step No. 8 – Obtain a Quality List of Local Directories to Promote Your Site
Conclusion: There are many key differences between National SEO and Local SEO, which is why it is important to choose the right Search Engine Optimization agency for your needs. At 123 agency , we have experience working on both national and local SEO projects.
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