“SEO” gets thrown around like one thing, but for a local business there are really two games — regular SEO and local SEO — and chasing the wrong one wastes time and money. Knowing the difference tells you exactly where to put your effort to actually get found by customers.
SEO vs. Local SEO: The Difference
Traditional SEO is about ranking for searches regardless of location — useful if you sell online or serve everyone, everywhere. Local SEO is about ranking for people near you: “near me” searches, the Google map pack, and your service area. For most service businesses, local SEO is where the real customers are.
Point Your Effort the Right Way (free)
- Selling to your town or region? Prioritize local SEO — profile, reviews, service-area pages.
- Selling online or nationally? Lean into traditional SEO — content and keywords.
- Most local businesses should put 80% of their energy into local.
- Don’t scatter. Trying to rank for everything usually ranks you for nothing.
Why It’s Hard to Get Right Alone
Even once you know which game to play, ranking takes the right structure, content, and consistency — and competitors are playing too. It’s easy to spend months on effort that never moves you up the page.
How We Help: Managed SEO
- A strategy built around the right kind of SEO for your business.
- The ongoing work — on-page, local, content, and citations — handled for you.
- Clear reporting tied to rankings and the leads they bring in.
Figure out your focus yourself today for free. When you want the rankings handled, we’ll take it from here. Book a Strategy Session »