Local and global SEO are two sides of the same coin. They help you increase organic traffic to your business site, albeit by targeting local or international audiences.
When starting a new search engine optimization project, the first thing you need to do is decide which approach you wish to pursue. For example, if you’re a small HVAC business, there’s no need to compete against a massive global audience. Instead, you should simply focus on the local market and get as much traction as possible.
As seasoned veterans, MiroMind team has extensive experience with both methods. We also have many clients who employ these two tactics at the same time. In this article, we want to share everything we’ve learned over the years, teaching you the differences between two SEO types.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is tailor-made for small companies that want to dominate the market in their home city and the nearby region. It is much simpler in nature, although it still requires quite a lot of work. Here are a few things you need to do to target audience in local search:
- Claim your Google My Business listings
- Add the website to as many directories as possible
- Create articles that focus on relevant local keywords
- Gain as many positive reviews as possible on Google
An interesting thing about this SEO strategy is that it hinges on both the marketing provider and their client company. While search engine optimization experts can do all technical work, it is your job to leave a positive impression on your clientele. This way, you gain positive scores in Google, which is crucial for increasing visibility and conversions.
Local optimization is the true reflection of a company’s underlying business activities.
What is Global SEO?
Global or international SEO is a marketing approach that targets a large, global audience. Online shops and corporations use this tactic, and it is especially valuable for brands that have physical locations in various countries. The complexity of global SEO increases with the number of countries, which is why this tactic requires a dedicated, full-time team.
Here are a few ways to improve global exposure for your brand:
- Determine which countries you want to target
- Decide whether to use a multilingual site or separate domains
- Discover keywords relevant to a diverse international audience
- Get featured in the most popular publications
Global SEO strategy might require numerous iterations of the same site. So, besides marketing experts, you’ll also need numerous translators on your team. For a successful campaign, you have to understand the cultural nuances of a specific geographic location so you can convert visitors at a high rate.
Comparing Local and Global SEO
If you wish to build a strong online presence, you first have to understand what you need. While local and global SEO have numerous similarities and are often used in conjunction, they provide completely different benefits. That said, you might invest lots of money in local optimization and barely make any money out of it.
So, before optimizing your business site for search engines, we suggest you learn more about the differences between local and global SEO strategies.
Audience
The main role of global SEO is to generate as many leads as possible. This is especially true for online stores that ship products worldwide. As you don’t care where the client comes from, your only concern is to get as much organic traffic as possible.
On the other hand, local optimization is much more focused and generally has high conversion rates. When someone’s looking for a restaurant, hairdresser, or car shop in their vicinity, they’re obviously getting ready to make a purchase.
The global approach is much more complex as you have to tackle a large pool of prospective customers. You need to do much more in terms of research and website customization to onboard them.
Conversion
The ease of conversion depends on many factors, but it seems people are more likely to buy from local brands. On the contrary, they might have limited info about international companies, which is why they might be reluctant to give them a chance.
We also have to consider the method of payment. International brands usually do business online unless they have physical locations in a specific country. This is especially true for large multinational web stores. As a result, people do extra research before sending money online.
The secondary effect of slow conversions means global businesses require complex funnels to generate leads and convert them. This means more content and better internal linking. All of that makes global SEO more convoluted and strategic.
Keywords
Global businesses have much more leeway when choosing keywords. In theory, any type of traffic is good traffic as long as you can put the visitor in a funnel. This means you can experiment with different phrases and even publish content that isn’t directly related to your product or industry.
On the other hand, local businesses have to be laser-focused in their keyword research and implementation. First, the keywords they’re using have to be relevant to the local audience. Most SEO experts use phrases relating to a certain city or neighborhood when using local SEO strategies.
There’s also less flexibility in terms of topics. Blogs of regional businesses usually focus on the same topics and regurgitate content over and over. This makes it a bit tricky if you don’t do a good job from the start; you’ll probably have to revisit the same articles over and over again.
Search Focus
When creating posts for global businesses, you have much more leeway. As mentioned, any form of traffic can prove to be valuable as long as you’re good at creating funnels and reaching out to people who left their data.
The main purpose of local SEO isn’t necessarily to get featured in the standard search results. Instead, companies want to be shown in Google 3-Pack. That way, they’ll also be placed on the map together with their Google review scores. The data allows users to quickly decide between several available businesses.
Links
Both local SEO and global SEO require links to make an impact. Still, the effect of links is much more noticeable when you’re trying to rank in general results. In this particular case, backlinks are one of the most vital factors and a point of emphasis for marketing experts.
Local optimization is much more reliant on reviews. As long as you get positive feedback from people who have tried your products or services, you have a solid chance of ranking among the top results. Things are a bit different for specific local pages, as they also need links to be shown at the top of SERPs.
Software
Whether you’re interested in local or international SEO, you’ll need to rely on a few basic tools, such as Google Analytics. General marketing software, including SEMRush, Ahrefs, or MajesticSEO, will also come in handy.
Still, the necessary toolkit is much smaller for local optimization. You’re dependent on a few niche tools and local citations and might not have to invest heavily in all-in-one SEO platforms. This is another reason why optimizing a website for local search engine results is much cheaper than focusing on global keywords.
Which Strategy is Better?
Based on everything said so far, you might think local SEO is a better option. Not only is this method less expensive and less complex, but you have more control as a business owner. As mentioned, a good company will always come on top with this methodology.
Still, that doesn’t mean that international optimization is useless. If you want to spread your message and maximize profits, using this tactic makes much more sense. In fact, local SEO provides no value for certain types of commercial sites. So, before you make a decision, you need to answer the following questions:
- Can I sell on a global level?
- Is my service digital or offered in-person?
- In which direction do I see my brand growing?
- Do I have the money to run a complex strategy?
It’s worth mentioning that international SEO can be a good choice, even for small local companies. By using this strategy, you set the table for growing the business to other locations. Nevertheless, if this is the case, you’ll have to think about multilingual sites and support, international payment transactions, shipping, and other factors.
Conclusion
If you’re interested in either one of these strategies, MiroMind is here to help. Our marketing company has extensive experience with both tactics, and we can devise a fantastic custom methodology for your brand. Even if you’re not interested in our services, we can provide valuable answers regarding these two tactics and recommend the best one for your business.