SEO is the base of every website. How much traffic will be drawn to your website and the entire monetization strategy of your website is dependent on your SEO approach?
As an organization, how much do you invest in your SEO and should you use a global approach or a local approach, these are typical questions we keep getting from our clients.
This blog provides an overview of the two different types of SEO, local SEO and international SEO.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is a process of optimizing a website to generate leads and brand awareness from local search. Local SEO services is better for a locally focused city or region. It is best suited for the small business that wants to target its customer in a location or a specific area.
Local SEO solutions provides results that are relevant to a seeker based on their current location. The keywords in your site content should be optimized for the targeted location – this increases the chances of your website ranking in the search engine result page.
For example, if you are providing plumbing services in Delhi, and you want to rank your website for “plumbing services in Delhi” of “the best plumbing services in Delhi” then your keywords and site content must be optimized for this location.
Common tasks associated with Local SEO:
- Finding local keywords
- On-page elements
- Google my business listing
- Building Citation
- Managing review & ratings
- Social Media Marketing
- Relevant backlinks
What is International SEO?
International SEO is also known as Global SEO, which means targeting various customers internationally through several global search engines. International SEO services is primarily used by businesses that offer their products and services worldwide.
By using geo-targeting, hreflang tags and other localization signals, you can target content to your users worldwide. Special signals help Google and other search engines to know the content of your website is suitable for which country or language. As you start focusing on other countries and locations, you should first focus on translation and currency conversion rather than creating native content.
Your global sites should not have a “copied” version of your country’s website in different languages. You have to optimize the messages and offers of your website according to the local audience of each country.
A site that is performing well in India may not do as well in Australia or in UK, they may require additional content editing and optimization work.
Essentially, you must have a defined architecture that clarifies what the content and pages belong to each language or country.
Common tasks associated with International SEO:
- International keywords research
- Website structure for international SEO strategy
- Content optimization
- Technical SEO signals
- GEO targeting
- Google my business
- International link building
International SEO vs Local SEO
In International SEO strategy , the targeting of keywords and traffic are globally. This implies that you are trying to attract potential customers to your website from all over the world. There are many benefits of this strategy including improving global sales if you provide your products and services to people who are not in your physical region.
You will also face global competition as you will compete with local websites in those regions. The Global SEO focuses on largely generic keywords to drive traffic to a website.
In contrast, the Local SEO services, the competition level for the products or services that you are providing on your website will not be the same as International SEO. Local Search Engine Optimization services focuses on a limited region and geography. This means that if you have your own physical store that has a specific location in the city, you can display the website of your large or small business to customers located in your area.
Local SEO focuses on locally searched keywords to be able to get traffic to a website. Local language, contacts, city and locality are important for a Local SEO campaign. There are many other techniques used to promote your business, including setting up business profiles in business directories, online maps, and more.
| Factors | Local SEO | International SEO |
| Content Needs | Low as you are only focused on one region | High as you have to create unique content for multiple websites even if you are selling the same services |
| Cost of SEO | Low as the SEO team is focused only on one website | High as the SEO team has to manage and optimize various websites simultaneously |
| When to use | Businesses with target audience only in specific region or city | Businesses with target customers spread across multiple GEO’s |
| Competition | Depends on the keywords specific to that region or city | Country and keyword dependent, some keywords may be low in some countries and the same keywords may have higher competition in other countries |
What is the right option: Local SEO or International SEO?
The answer to this question depends on the goal and ambition of your business. Now you know the differences between the local SEO and international SEO. If you are a small business and want to expand slowly, then keep your SEO efforts local for now. But want to increase the range of your services or your products are ready for international customers, then you should do it globally.
So, before you apply any SEO strategy to your website, know what kind of SEO you need: Local SEO or International SEO, which place you want to target, who is your target audience, what are your keywords.
If you are confused about local SEO or international SEO implementation at your website, then we can help you with this. Contact us today.
