Local Search

Local vs. Organic SEO: A Quick Synopsis

Up until recently, “search engine optimization” had two distinct sides to it. First was the “traditional” SEO work, of owning and dominating search results for broad-base keywords (e.g. “hardware”, “books”, “maid service”, etc.) on a national level. By contrast, “local SEO” referred to searches specific to an area — the searches that read “hair salon, dallas” or “plant nursery, bloomington, mn” and so on. While the differences between these two have largely collapsed, due to Google searches favoring local results in general, there is still some separation between the two.

One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that all of your information is consistent across dozens of different directories, applications and local search sites. We provide our clients with powerful collection of cloud-based tools organized under “PowerListings”. Watch the video below for a quick overview.

Prior to early 2012, Organic SEO referred to any national search engine optimization effort by or for a business. The move to increasingly locally relevant search results has changed (and, some would argue, marginalized) the value of Organic SEO for most businesses.

However, organic results will show up in local listings in certain cases. For example, directories with a strong representation in a specific geographic area will show up in localized search for that area, despite the directory itself being ostensibly national in scope. The key factors for these types of results showing up in search appears to be twofold: first, there must be a significant presence in that geographic area; second, the directory or other result must be considered “authoritative” by the search engine.

As most know, an authoritative source is determined by that site’s link density, or how many other sites link to it. To create the sense that a business has a locally-relevant presence, most directories or chains will have a regional landing page. (An example: Noodles & Company: Indiana.)

PowerListings’ technology lets you seamlessly update, sync, enhance and monitor your business listings across the web.

Click Here to See How Your Business Is Listed Across the Local Web

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