Local vs Organic Searches: What Are The Differences And How Can I Utilize Both to Grow My Business?

If you are working on improving your company’s online presence, you’ve probably been hearing terms like local search and organic search results. But what exactly do those terms mean? Understanding Local vs Organic searches can help focus your marketing efforts in the most beneficial places.

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Local Search

Local search results are just that – results for businesses that search engines believe are local to you or the area that you are searching in. They are accompanied by business information, like address and phone number, and a map showing where each business is located. For example, when your Google My Business listing shows up in a search – that is a local result!

Being present in local search results is the best way to connect to customers that are close by. This is especially important to businesses with brick and mortar locations – such as restaurants, shops, mechanics, etc. Potential customers who are looking for these types of businesses, are generally looking for someplace nearby and not willing to travel long distances to dine or shop for goods. Optimizing your GMB listing is essential to building a strong local search presence.

Organic Search

Organic search results will show up beneath local search results, or they may be the only results if no local businesses can be found. Organic results link back directly to a website and include a snippet, or title and description, of the page. Organic search results are directly tied to the content and optimization of your web page.

Businesses that are service-oriented, like plumbers, pest control, or cleaning services, are more likely to serve a larger area. Therefore, these businesses will want to be found by more potential clients than those in their local vicinity. For service providers, it is vital to work towards a presence in organic search results, since they may not be a local result for much of their target audience.

At ZipLocal, we aid our clients in cultivating both their organic and local online presence. Regardless of your starting point or goals, we have solutions available to answer your business’s marketing needs.