local seo
About 80% of people use search to find local businesses. The other 20% are looking for things that have nothing to do with location.
Both need SEO. But the strategies are completely different.
Pick wrong and you’ll spend months optimizing for searches that don’t matter to your business. Here’s how to get it right.
Local SEO optimizes for searches tied to a specific place. When someone types “dentist near me” or “plumber in Lexington,” Google serves results based on proximity, relevance, and reputation.
The core pieces:
Google Business Profile — This is your storefront in Google Maps and local search. Most important single piece of local SEO.
NAP consistency — Your Name, Address, and Phone number must match exactly everywhere online. Discrepancies confuse Google and tank your rankings.
Local citations — Listings in Yelp, Apple Maps, and industry directories. More citations = more trust signals.
Reviews — Google weighs volume, recency, star rating, and whether you respond. All of it matters.
Location-based content — Pages and blog posts that reference the specific geography you serve. “Best practices for Kentucky homeowners” beats “best practices for homeowners.”
You need local SEO if:
Higher visibility for nearby searches with strong purchase intent. Someone searching “emergency plumber” right now is ready to call.
Effective at driving in-person visits and phone calls. The conversion path is short.
Builds community presence. You become the known option in your area.
Reaches a smaller audience by design. That’s the point — but it’s also the limit.
Doesn’t help if you sell nationally or digitally. A SaaS company doesn’t need to rank in Google Maps.
Requires ongoing management. Local algorithms shift, competitors optimize, reviews come in. It’s not set-and-forget.
National SEO targets broader searches with no geographic component. You’re competing for terms against every website in the country — or world — that wants the same traffic.
The core pieces:
Broad keyword targeting — High-volume terms with no location modifier. “Project management software” instead of “project management software in Ohio.”
Content marketing at scale — Building topical authority through comprehensive, consistently published content. You need depth and breadth.
Link building from authoritative sources — Domain authority matters significantly more at national scale. Links from respected industry sites and publications carry weight.
Technical SEO rigor — Site performance, structured data, Core Web Vitals. When you’re competing broadly, technical excellence becomes table stakes.
You need national SEO if:
Broad market access. Anyone, anywhere can find you.
Long-term growth potential as you build domain authority. Rankings compound over time.
Works across any geography. One strategy serves everyone.
Significantly more competitive. You’re fighting everyone, including companies with dedicated SEO teams and big budgets.
Requires substantial investment. Content at scale, link building, technical optimization — it all adds up.
Takes longer to show results. Building authority from scratch is a multi-month (often multi-year) process.
Ask four questions:
Who are my customers, and where are they? Local customers → local SEO. Customers anywhere → national SEO.
What does my business model require? A restaurant needs local visibility. A software company needs national reach. A regional HVAC company might need both.
What are my actual goals? Drive foot traffic? Local SEO. Build brand authority across a broad market? National SEO.
What are my competitors doing — and where are they winning? If your direct competitors dominate national search, that’s the battlefield. If they’re strong locally, fight there first.
One thing we’ve learned: don’t compete on the incumbent’s terms. If everyone in your space is fighting for the same broad national keywords, look for neglected sub-categories or underserved local markets where you can build a wedge. Win there first, then expand.
Many businesses eventually need both strategies. A regional accounting firm might dominate local search in three cities while building national authority for specialized tax services.
The strategies aren’t mutually exclusive — they just require separate execution.
Local SEO centers on Google Business Profile, citations, and location-specific content. National SEO centers on content depth, domain authority, and link building at scale.
Start where the highest-value customers are. Build from there.
Most businesses waste money trying to do both at once with no clear priority. Pick one. Get traction. Then expand.
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